Quality products, innovative marketing and booming sales are all valuable factors in measuring the success of a company. But who makes it possible for these successes to happen? Dedicated, happy employees who are committed to their organization’s values and mission.
Employees are the backbone of your operation, and if they are unsatisfied, other areas of your business will suffer too. Conversely, a workplace where employees are engaged, feel they are supported by management and can collaborate with other departments will not only help you retain your top employees, it will help you attract new talent.
A recent international study reported that 77% of adults polled would consider a company’s culture before applying for a job there. It’s not only about who can organize the best happy hour or how many Ping-Pong tables you can fit into an open concept office – a positive company culture comes from the top and is enforced at all levels of the organization.
Here’s how to ensure your company culture is positive and will help you retain top employees.
Auditing your current company culture
One symptom is that your company is losing valuable talent. If you are losing valuable employees, the first step is to conduct an audit of your current company culture.
We’ve all heard the claims that hierarchies are out and flat structures are in. However, no matter your structure, the people at the top of your organization should pioneer culture shifts from within your organization. “Culture change needs to come from and be modeled from the top”
Understanding your company culture
It’s hard to typify company cultures. Cultures are an amalgamation of factors: environment, hierarchy, public versus private, decision-making processes, benefits and values.
4 tips for improving your company’s culture
Changing your company’s existing culture is not only going to be a time-consuming process, but it involves nearly every aspect of the organization.
- Demonstrate to employees that their involvement is critical. Invite employees to share their thoughts both during company culture discussions and during day-to-day operations.
- Make sure management’s actions don’t clash with stated values. If the founder, CEO or other executives are not “walking the walk,” employees will not be inspired to do so either.
- Align everything (department, initiatives, processes, etc.) to support company culture, and remind employees that they are invited to contribute to that culture through collaboration and innovation.
- Conduct periodic (preferably annual) culture audits. Don’t wait until something significant happens (e.g., top employees quit) to evaluate if your efforts are working.
Tips for maintaining a positive company culture
Behavioral interviews entail giving a candidate a scenario or test to see how they respond. Depending on your company, this test can vary. Organizations where making decisions under tight deadlines regularly happens could design a test that candidates must complete within an hour.
Of course, beyond how candidates respond to behavioral assessments, you want to ensure that candidates understand your company culture. To do this, communicate your company’s culture and core values in job postings.
Once you’ve chosen a candidate, don’t let your efforts end there. As the employer, you should encourage growth, leadership development and top-down collaboration. Mentorship programs and regular goal-setting and evaluation are other examples of cultivating a positive workplace culture where talent will want to stay.
Join employees in the lunchroom, ask them questions or, if you have a contact in the organization, check in with them.
A company has a healthy culture when it contributes to the creation and accomplishment of a company’s vision, it attracts people into the company, it retains employees, and it focuses on employee engagement.
Changing your company’s existing culture takes hard work, perseverance and commitment. More than 50% of organizations struggle to retain valuable employees. Improving and maintaining company culture isn’t just for show; it is a matter of survival for your organization.
Netmetech specialized as Business 2 Business and Business Developer and help companies build a predictable sales pipeline of 7-figure value within 3-6 months. Let us know How can we help you to grow your business – Book a Meeting
