Ways to Improve Company Culture

A company’s culture directly correlates with its employee engagement, so when one is lacking, the other has hindered success. There are numerous solutions that, when implemented, cultivate a strong culture to ultimately improve overall employee engagement. It can be as simple as defining core values, providing proper training for leaders, and implementing tech-based tools. Below are a few tips to enact these factors into a company’s organizational strategy to maintain a strong and engaged workforce.

Define Your Company’s Culture and Values

Only 12% of executives believe their companies are driving and defining the ‘right culture.’ Employers need to start with their core values or, in other words, the building blocks that determine how a company operates to reach predetermined goals. Core values help construct a workforce that aligns with the overall mission and vision of an organization. Employees who connect with their work and find purpose in their daily tasks have a better chance of remaining focused and motivated toward company goals. This engagement ultimately results in higher productivity and retention. 71% of employees interviewed for a recent study stated that communicating clear expectations was the key to improving engagement. Employers need to document core values in writing, whether in a handbook or digitally, to ensure they’re digestible and easily accessible to employees at all levels as the company grows and evolves.

Implement Tech-based Solutions

Employee engagement needs constant attention, making the implementation of tool-based solutions useful when maintaining information regarding engagement-related practices. A performance management solution within a human capital management software is a lucrative tool that allows employees to track their goals and progress on an ongoing basis. Tech-based tools, like instant messaging applications or social channels for company announcements, should also be adopted within an organizational strategy to allow open communication throughout all levels of a company. Strong, efficient communication allows employees to interact with one another regularly and creates the opportunity to recognize achievements. Peer-to-peer recognition often leads to higher engagement, motivating employees to strive for continued success in their role. Implementing tools to support this creates an open, appreciative, and connected workforce, all factors that construct a strong company culture.

Offer Leadership Training

Harnessing a culture that enforces positive employee engagement lies partly within a company’s leadership structure. Leaders who encourage and model engagement set an example and demonstrate a clear understanding of company values. A recent study found that 86% of employees within organizations that promote a strong culture feel their senior leadership listens to employees, compared with 70% of employees at organizations lacking strong culture. Leaders need to keep their employees involved, with their feedback providing viable glimpses into daily operations. Conduct employee surveys to get their unfiltered feedback and translate it into action, focusing on the largest pitfalls as well as successes relating to leadership in the organization.

Employers should seek new-leader feedback on the training process, with employee engagement applying to leaders as well. If they feel overwhelmed, ill-equipped, or unmotivated in their new role, it could cause poor performance for an entire team or department. Proper training is lucrative to leaders being able to properly support culture and gear the company towards success.

Ensure long-term success

Set quarterly goals to maintain, improve, and benchmark progress in relation to culture. Benchmarking makes it easy to see pain points more efficiently and helps employers determine what needs improvement as the company evolves and changes. What new values need to be devised to match changing demands internally and externally? What is working within the company’s culture strategy that sustains positive employee engagement? What is hindering it from being sustainable? With these questions routinely answered, actions can be taken to ensure continuous improvement.

Make routine feedback a quarterly goal as well to ensure right-from-the-source information regarding engagement amongst employees. Culture needs to evolve to align with changing employee demands and goals. Ensure feedback initiatives cover all levels of the organization to get a full scope of how the company can grow forward in order to remain relevant, keep employees engaged, and stay connected with their workforce.

If your business is in need of help of improving your company culture with quality talent? Reach out to Award Staffing’s account management team today!