A strong corporate culture sets the tone for business success. By providing a positive work environment, you make it easier to retain employees and create an atmosphere conducive to high productivity and accelerated innovation.
Despite its importance, creating and maintaining a winning culture presents a daunting challenge. You can’t just will a strong culture into place. It’s not enough to talk about it. You have to take directed action to make your cultural vision a reality.
But how? What concrete steps can you take to foster a positive environment? Here are ten policies you can enact to develop an optimistic, upbeat, and productive atmosphere:
Provide Positive Feedback
People often only hear from management when they do something wrong. This one-sided approach creates a rift between supervisors and front-line employees. Don’t fall into this trap. Instead, take time to provide positive feedback as well, complementing good performances and congratulating workers for successfully achieving their goals.
Express Gratitude for Going Beyond
Workers often come in early or leave late, all without hope of an immediate reward. However, they won’t make the extra effort if it doesn’t seem appreciated. As such, recognize when people go the extra mile. It will foster that winning spirit throughout the organization.
Maintain a Friendly Environment
People should look forward to coming to work. Of course, even the best jobs can become a chore at times, but, in general, the workplace should remain friendly and welcoming. Creating this atmosphere starts at the top. Keep discussions upbeat and optimistic. Focus on the positive as much as possible, and make sure all communication is constructive and professional.
Keep the Office Tidy
The emotional environment of the office is essential. However, don’t ignore the physical environment. Just having a tidy workplace creates an atmosphere of organization and productivity. People might not actively notice a clean office, but they will undoubtedly notice a dirty one.
Make People’s Jobs as Easy as Possible
Everyone’s job includes some annoying little tasks. Things like paperwork and meetings can fill up a worker’s schedule, keeping them away from more productive activities. Do what you can to limit these small annoyances. Make everyone’s life as straightforward and focused as possible, so they can maximize output and avoid employee burnout.
Recognize Talent
Some people perform better than others. It’s a fact of life in any workplace. Don’t create a situation where your best employees feel forced to seek new opportunities to maximize their talents. Focus on your top performers and make sure they can thrive. This will help you build and maintain a killer team.
Encourage Learning and Growth
Workers want to feel their careers developing. Employees who feel stuck in dead-end positions will become discontented and, eventually, seek out new opportunities. Avoid this by actively developing your best employees. Provide opportunities for workers to learn new skills and gather fresh, professional experiences
Treat Employees as Individuals
Companies can become obsessed with policies and quotas. This focus on bureaucracy can make employees feel like small parts of a machine, not valued teammates. Do what you can to avoid this issue. Treat your employees like equals, showing that you appreciate them as individuals. It will help engender loyalty and will encourage exceptional performance.
Build Social Connections
Culture relies, at least in part, on teamwork. Teamwork, in turn, gets its fuel from strong working relationships. Coworkers don’t have to be best friends, but they benefit from a high level of trust and respect. You can foster this by helping people build social connections. Do this by hosting company events and encouraging interactions among employees. It will pay off in better teamwork and a more welcoming culture.
Make People Feel invested in Success
In some companies, corporate success and individual success are separate things. Wins for the firm don’t necessarily translate into wins for the workers. This disconnect has a corrosive influence on culture. Make sure it doesn’t happen to your company. Keep your employees invested in collective success.
Take Your Business to the Next Level with Qualified
A positive culture starts with the right employees. A top-flight recruiting partner, like Qualified Staffing, can help you find the right people to take your business to the next level.
Contact Qualified Staffing today to find out more.