Whether you’re a startup company or an established firm that needs a change in direction, establishing a company culture is crucial in creating the right work environment for your organization. Culture needs to be present in the way that each interaction and project takes place, and having a positive culture creates happier and more productive employees. Here are some of the main ways to help you to create a culture you’re proud of.
1. Team-building Activities
From work quizzes to coffee mornings, it’s important to make sure that your team is bonded. After all, they’re spending a lot of time together, and a team that gets on is a productive one too. This is especially important if you want to create a collaborative, positive culture in your workplace and company.
2. Think About the Way You Work
Company culture is so much more than just free beers in the office on a Friday. If you want to create a company culture that encourages your employees to be their best and smash company goals, then you need to invest back into them. With the coronavirus pandemic, the emphasis on flexible working has become a norm across companies, so finding a flexible working space is vital now. People’s jobs are only a part of their lives, so introducing flexible working practices can be done through the office space you choose to work in, with multiple options now available.
Allowing people the freedom to shape their workday around other commitments such as family and mental health will create a culture of care and trust in your company.
3. Publish Some Company Values
Company values set the tone for how your business culture is shaped. And it’s important to know exactly what those values are if you have any hope of establishing a consistent culture throughout your company. Here are some ideas of values you may want to adopt:
- Integrity
- Honesty
- Openness
- Creativity
- Communication
- Positivity
- Trust
- Passion
- Fun
4. Prioritize Wellness
Wellness is a huge way to put your culture in action. Whether you want to help your employees work on personal development, prioritize mental health in the workplace, or increase employee happiness, all of these things can be achieved with a wellness program. It’s crucial to put some budget behind a wellness program if you really want it to have an impact on your team.
You can do a multitude of things to prioritize wellness in your team, from flexible working hours to mentoring sessions, and holding specific wellness events to support your team’s wellbeing.
5. Encourage Communication
Lastly, encouraging communication amongst your team will help you to establish company culture as you can get feedback from the people around you to gauge what the working environment is like from the people inside it. This is the best way to see the impact of your efforts to establish company culture, and will also provide areas for improvement and a benchmark for future efforts. Culture is a living and breathing entity in your business, so will need revisiting at regular intervals to ensure that it’s affecting your company and team in a positive way.
