‘Company culture’ is a nebulous phrase that is often thrown around when discussing your company’s values and goals, but what does it mean in practice? And how do you improve company culture? Here we will go through everything you need to know to create a healthy and positive working culture.
What is a company culture?
Company culture refers to the general atmosphere of your workplace, the relationships between workers, and the overall wellbeing of your employees.
The importance of company culture cannot be overstated. A good company culture positively influences your business reputation, work output, employee satisfaction, and hiring prospects. One survey said that more employees would leave their job for a better workplace culture (58%) than would leave for a 10% pay rise (43%). Therefore, maintaining a strong culture should be a priority for Human Resources and business leaders.
How can HR influence company culture
Firstly, it’s important to figure out where your culture may be lacking so you can understand your priorities. Conduct anonymous surveys with employees, check you have ample diversity within your company, and listen to the way your employees talk to each other.
Strong communication is essential to having a positive working culture. All employees should feel comfortable communicating with each other without receiving judgement, regardless of seniority. Provide employees with avenues to discuss issues and feel listened to.
Transparency about the state of the business and updates about upcoming projects can foster trust and inclusion with your team, as well as provide you with multiple opinions and insights regarding possible roadblocks. Also enable organic opportunities for collaboration and friendly competition, to naturally form bonds between the team.
The work environment also has an impact on culture. Remote workers may find themselves more isolated than their in-person counterparts and can feel less integrated into the team. Loop remote workers in on business conversations that occur in the office and plan events when all the team can interact in-person. Create areas in your office where employees can relax and talk away from their workspaces and allow people to casually converse as they work, to create a more welcoming and comfortable environment.
Share successes and wins with your team, and recognise the work that employees do, this will improve morale and encourage them to keep working hard as they feel valued. Employees who don’t feel recognised are 2x more likely to quit their job in a year. Trust your employees with managing their workload and grant them autonomy. Introducing flexible working hours and allowing freedom to work remotely or hybrid shows that you trust them to do the job they have been hired for.
A strong company culture should be integrated into every aspect of your business, so it may take time for you to fully implement it. However, by making communication, collaboration and commitment a priority, you will boost productivity, quality of work, and the mental health and overall wellbeing of your workers.
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