12 steps to improve company culture

What defines a great company culture? Let's dive into the 12 key elements that contribute to shaping a culture that propels companies to excellence:

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1. Clear core values

First and foremost, a great culture starts with well-defined core values. What matters to your company? Why should your employees care? What is the organization working towards? These company values serve as the ethical compass that should guide every decision and action within the organization. They’re not merely words to paint on a wall, but deeply ingrained principles reflected in your daily operations.

From the way employees interact to how the company conducts business, your company's core values shape the culture and identity of your organization. By sticking to these principles, a company can build a positive reputation, earn the trust of its stakeholders, and create a cohesive team that shares a sense of purpose.

2. Open & inclusive workplace

Inclusivity is about equally valuing and respecting the different kinds of employees within your company – and an organization's culture can't be considered healthy if some people feel like they don’t belong. By embracing diversity, inclusion, and open communication, you can encourage creativity and adaptability within your workforce. In a healthy culture, every voice is heard and respected, regardless of an individual's position, race, gender, age, sexual orientation, disability, or background.

3. Strong leadership

A great leader not only talks about values, but exemplifies and sets the tone for the entire organization. When a leader embodies the values they preach, it inspires their employees to do the same.

The importance of great leadership cannot be understated – especially when you look at the effects of?bad?leadership.?57% of employees?have left a job because of their boss, with another 32% reporting they have thought about leaving because of poor leadership. And most organizations lose?5-10% in productivity drag?that could be eliminated with better leadership practices.?

Great leaders inspire ambitious actions. Think of Steve Jobs, who after being?painfully ousted?from the company he helped start,?returned and saved the company?from the brink of collapse. Apple Computer has since become the?most valuable company?on the planet, largely due to his tenure during that period.

4. Employee engagement

Employees are what drives a business forward – and need to be the top priority for your organizational culture. Companies that prioritize?employee engagement?recognize the importance of valuing, motivating, and fostering purpose within their employees. When workers feel engaged, they are more likely to be committed to their jobs and contribute to the company's success. Engaged employees also tend to be more productive, have better morale, and are less likely to leave the company – resulting in lower turnover rates.

But unfortunately,?65% of employees?report they are not engaged in their work, which means that they don't?hate?their jobs, but they certainly don't love them either. Low employee engagement increases the chances of quitting, and it also hampers productivity and the quality of their work. Yet, strong leadership is one of the best ways to improve employee engagement and inspire?total employee motivation.

5. Meeting culture

Are meetings helping or hurting your organization? Likely somewhere in-between, but left unchecked, meetings can be disastrous on employees' mental health and productivity. The average full-time employee has to attend?25.6 meetings/week, which leaves them only enough time to get through?53.5% of their planned tasks?every week. Outside of this massive time waste during the workweek, employees are also averaging?7.6 hours/week?of overtime to try to keep up.?

Despite all this time spent in meetings,?71% of senior managers?believe that most are actually unproductive, and?32% of employees?attend meetings they think could have been handled through an email instead. Which leads to an average?48.2% of employees?burning out from too many meetings.

6. Communication & notification guidelines

If you want to create a positive and empowering workplace culture, it all starts with good communication. Communication is the?cornerstone of all healthy relationships, whether they're personal or professional. A lack of good communication leads to misunderstandings, unmet expectations, low collaboration, missed opportunities, and even outright conflict.?

If you’re a fan of?The Office, remember the episode when Jim's new boss, Charles, gave him vague instructions to provide a "rundown" of his clients. Jim accepted without any clarification, and then spent the rest of the episode trying to figure out what a rundown even meant. These are the inefficient, frustrating, and all-too-common situations you can avoid with healthy communication (many viewers call this moment one of the show's most relatable episodes).

But communication has to be respectful of the other person's time too. The average employee is?interrupted 31.6 times/day, and this is causing massive notification fatigue across teams. So, unless it’s something super urgent, use an asynchronous channel like Slack or email.?The #2 cause of burnout is notification fatigue –?with?59.9% of employees?stressing over these distractions, it’s time to start protecting employees from these constant interruptions.

7. Recognition & appreciation

Your employees spend almost a quarter of their lives with you – they put in long workdays, strive for advantageous deadlines, and go the extra mile for the company all the time.?79% of employees?quit their jobs because of a lack of recognition and appreciation. So, the simple act of acknowledging the amazing work they do is by far the easiest way to improve your organizational culture. Recognizing employee accomplishments, both big and small, can completely turn around a person's day.?

8. Work-life balance

Nobody wants to work at a company that doesn’t respect their personal time, or works them to the bone. It's super important to create an atmosphere that promotes a healthy work-life balance and gives employees the freedom they need to juggle their work and personal lives. When employees can strike a healthy balance, they're more likely to feel happy and fulfilled on the job. This is especially true considering?60.2% of employees?report feeling burned out.?

9. Innovation & adaptability

Great cultures are nimble and adaptable. They encourage innovation and are not afraid to take calculated risks, empowering employees to share ideas that can drive the organization forward. The strongest company cultures will frequently involve employees in shaping and improving the future of the organization.

By creating an environment where employees feel confident taking risks, sharing ideas, and voicing concerns without fearing reprisal, you can establish?psychological safety?within your work environment. Different backgrounds, experiences, and viewpoints can lead to more creative solutions and ideas.

10. Transparency & credibility

Open and honest communication is a hallmark of a great company culture. Transparency builds trust and credibility, allowing employees to understand the company's direction, challenges, and successes – and believe in them too. If your organization lacks transparency, then your other culture efforts may ultimately be in vain. No amount of pizza parties or ‘Employee of the Month’ awards will undue the suspicion and resentment wrought by secrecy and dishonesty.?

People want to work for an organization they can trust — but it is almost unbelievable how many are not that fortunate.?87% of employees?want their next job to be more transparent. And employees are not the only ones –?94% of consumers?prefer brands that are transparent and honest. So, building a transparent credible workplace culture won’t just improve employee happiness, but your revenue numbers too.?

11. Social responsibility

Social responsibility is important for?modern job seekers. Companies that give back to their communities and demonstrate ethical behavior in the broader world earn respect and loyalty from both employees and customers. Employees want to be a part of something they really believe in. Simply making more profit every quarter isn't a very inspiring endeavor if your workforce doesn’t feel like they’re a part of a strong company culture focused on something good.?

12. Measure, iterate, & improve

Finally, improving company culture isn't a one-time job. It's amazing that you're here reading this article, actively working on ways to improve your company culture. You are doing a great job by starting, but maintaining your ideal company culture is the hardest part. Bad routines inevitably slip in again, people get busy, and employee wellbeing can all too easily be forgotten or deprioritized after a while.

You need to make a conscious and structured effort to maintain and continuously improve, not just for your part, but also on the training and guidance across the entire company.?

Healthier company culture for a healthier, happier workforce ??

The success of a company depends on its culture. A positive and supportive company culture drives employee productivity and encourages them to contribute more to the company's mission. HR leaders must prioritize and invest in creating an environment where employees feel valued, supported, and engaged – creating a work culture that values its employees will allow you to attract and retain your best talent, innovate, and achieve success as an organization.

Did we miss anything? What is the company culture like at your organization? Mail us at [email protected] ?to let us know!