Workplace Culture Counts
In order to create and/or maintain a healthy workplace culture, it is important that organizations take the time to define what their workplace culture is. Workplace culture is described as “the values, behaviors, and attitudes that characterize a company and guide its employees.” It’s what makes up the “personality” of an organization. That personality plays a big role in how employees interact with each other and with customers.
A positive workplace culture helps improve employee morale, motivation, productivity, and retention. It also makes for a more enjoyable work environment overall. On the other hand, a negative workplace culture leads to all sorts of problems such as high staff turnover, low morale, poor customer service, and decreased productivity. Anyone who has worked in a hostile workplace knows how challenging it can be. So, it’s clear that culture is at the heart of every business.
Creating Change
Here are a few key things that organizations do to create and maintain a positive workplace culture:
- Be clear about the company’s values and to make sure that everyone is committed to them.
- Shared values provide common ground to build trust on.
- Set high expectations for communication. Employees need to feel comfortable giving and receiving feedback in constructive ways.
- This is critical not only for employees on the same level or within the same group, but from top to bottom of the organizational hierarchy.
- Ensure that employees know what is expected of them.
- Illustrate to employees how they are a part of something bigger than themselves.
- Build a culture of inclusion. Everyone should feel valued and be able to bring their whole selves to work.
- Create an environment where people feel comfortable speaking up about their ideas and experiences, no matter how different they may be from those of others.
When developing a productive and positive workplace culture, there are some common pitfalls. Organizations regularly fall into one or more of these when trying to create or improve their culture. One of the most common mistakes is trying to do too much at once. Trying to change everything can be overwhelming for employees and can actually have the opposite effect of what’s intended.
Another mistake is making culture change a top-down mandate. When employees feel like their input isn’t valued, they don’t participate in the process. If employees don’t feel like they’re a part of the process then they’re likely to resist the changes. Finally, organizations can also fall victim to the “not my job” syndrome. If employees feel like changing the culture is outside of what’s expected of them in terms of job duties, they rarely put in the effort required to make change happen.
Best Practices for Culture Change
When your organization decides that it’s time to make cultural changes, here are some best practices for creating a productive and trusting work environment:
- Define your culture.
- What are the values, behaviors, and attitudes that characterize your company?
- Identify where the organization wants to go and what culture characteristics are key for effecting meaningful change.
- Make this an iterative process that is employee driven.
- Map it out.
- Acknowledge and reward honesty and vulnerability.
- In high performing cultures, those at the bottom of the organizational structure share insights and concerns without fear of reprisal.
- Similarly, those at the top of the structure accept feedback not as a referendum of their character or capacity to lead. They view it as an opportunity to learn and adapt.
- Communicate the changes.
- Make sure everyone is aware of the changes that are taking place and why they’re important.
Measuring Change
After implementation, quantify the effectiveness of the workplace changes. Conduct employee engagement surveys. Do employees feel like they’re a part of something larger than themselves? Are they proud to work for the company? Do they feel like their voices are heard? In addition to surveys, evaluate productivity levels. Are key performance indicators improving? Can those improvements be attributed to the changes in the workplace environment? Is the new productivity level sustainable?
Creating a productive and trusting work environment is essential for every organization. By defining your culture, identifying where you want to go, acknowledging honesty and vulnerability, and communicating the changes clearly, you can make your company a better place. At Sea Cliff Consulting, we strive to maintain high cultural standards. We make daily, concerted efforts to communicate effectively, help teammates, be vulnerable, and be honest.
For more workplace content, check out our blog post on differences between working for companies of different sizes: 10K vs. 10 – Sea Cliff Consulting
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