7 Ways to Improve Culture in the Workplace

Research shows companies with a strong work culture are more likely to outperform competitors by 20 percent. 

It’s no secret that refining culture in the workplace improves employee productivity, customer relations, and your business’s reputation in the industry. Companies know this as 94 percent of executives and 88 percent of employees believe work culture is essential to a business’s success.

But how do you create a culture in the workplace and reap all these benefits? Don’t worry, we’ve got the answers. Here’s everything you need to know. 

What Is Workplace Culture?

There are many ways to define work culture, but our working culture definition is “the environment you have created for your employees”. This determines your employee’s work satisfaction, relationships, and how far they progress career-wise. 

When we define workplace culture, we mean a mixture of your company’s leadership, values, traditions, and attitudes that affect the emotional environment of your workplace. These are often unwritten rules that establish bonds between your team.  

Why Is Workplace Culture Important?

Good culture workplace has many advantages. Some of these include the following.

Attracts and Keeps Employees

Every office wants to have a team of talented employees and the only way to guarantee this is by creating an enjoyable work environment.

In a lifetime, we spend around 90,000 hours at work so it makes sense to invest in creating positive office culture for your employees.  

Improves Productivity and Retention

Around 96 percent of employees believe showing empathy is an important way to advance employee retention. It also encourages employees to confide in their bosses and co-workers, key for working well as a team.  

Culture in the workplace articles proves how culture keeps employees engaged as they understand their role and how to achieve their own professional goals. 

Boosts Company’s Performance 

A survey conducted in a sales team shows happier employees worked faster and achieved 13 percent more sales than their co-workers.  

This proves that creating an inviting work environment influences how employees perform, which will then impact your company’s financial profit.

Seven Ways to Improve Culture In the Workplace 

You know the advantages of promoting culture in the workplace. Now it’s time to discover how to do it.

1. Promote Inclusivity and Diversity

A fantastic way to create an inclusive and diverse workplace is by welcoming people from many backgrounds and celebrating their differences. Work with HR to make diversity part of your recruitment strategy and provide diversity training. This introduces employees to different cultures and how it affects how people work and communicate.

If your team is too uniform, invite a guest of a different gender or cultural background to share their opinion about a particular project. A variety of perspectives working together is a brilliant way to spark creativity and innovation. If you’re struggling with inclusion, you can find out more here.

2. Encourage Face-to-Face Interaction

It’s easy to get swept up in e-mails and instant messaging but some conversations are best face-to-face. Before shooting off an email, ask yourself whether there’s a risk an employee may misinterpret your tone or not understand what you mean.

Clear communication is the backbone of culture in the workplace as it strengthens employees’ trust in the company and creates a less toxic environment. Be proactive and schedule time once a week for employees to come together and give them the chance to share their feedback.  

This is crucial as it proves you care about their opinion while giving employees the chance to highlight any pain points in your company. If not, employees may resent the business unbeknownst to you and leave in frustration.  

3. Plan Social Outings

We’re social creatures so give employees the chance to know each other outside work to create meaningful relationships.

For instance, have a Friday happy hour in the office or organize potlucks for your departments during lunch.  

4. Career Development Training 

Your business must offer employee developmental training so they can expand their skillset and become better leaders.

Employees will appreciate your dedication to their career advancement which will also improve their productivity and engagement. 

5. Recognize and Celebrate Wins 

Managers must understand the value of frequently recognizing employee progress and achievements.

Encourage employees to share their success stories with the rest of the team which will also teach others to achieve similar results.

6. Be Mindful of Burnout 

According to a Deloitte survey, nearly 70 percent of professionals feel their employers are not doing enough to prevent or alleviate burnout within their organization.

Rest is crucial for your employees’ health and level of performance. Overworked employees are a telltale sign of unhealthy company culture and it’s essential businesses understand that. Instead, reward hours over results and let employees leave on-time so they’re less likely to burn out. 

7. Establish a Zero Tolerance Policy  

An important aspect of positive work culture is giving employees support and resources if they need it.

HR representatives should be available for personal conversations and consider creating an anonymous sexual harassment hotline so employees can report any incidents privately.    

Final Thoughts 

Culture in the workplace recognizes how crucial it is for businesses to take care of their employees. You can do this by creating transparency, celebrating diversity, recognizing wins, and not overloading your employees with work. 

It’s a company’s responsibility to create a safe place for employees so they can come forward about any personal issues and welcome opportunities for the team to collaborate and develop a powerful bond. Strive for this and you’ll see higher job satisfaction and a bigger financial profit. Good luck!  

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