Building a Positive Company Culture that is Inviting

???????????????So, you have heard about this new business style, the one that is inviting great employees, retaining great employees, and growing. It is no small feat, but to be competitive in this new world of 2022, we need to build a more than ever-excellent company culture that puts the employee front and center and the needs of the company a close second. This company culture is on each company’s owner and CEO to recognize the need to change the employee-employer relationship immediately if they are to be in the driver’s seat amongst the competitors. Company Culture and the emphasis on employee happiness and ability to choose where they work has come to bear much fruit for every company, whether retail or technical. It is up to each company to flex its yesterday thinking to stretch to tomorrow’s everyday work world.

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???????????What is company culture??In short, company culture is the heartbeat and personality of a company. It is the environment in which employees work. Company culture includes various elements, including the work environment, company mission, values, ethics, expectations, and goals. And why is company culture so influential? It leads to higher productivity, better morale, greater employee engagement, more sales and creativity, lower turnover, and so much more to the way that every employee communicates with one another, the amount of pride they have in doing a great job, and how excited they are to wake up and to go to work.??A Glassdoor study?found that “56% of workers ranked a strong workplace culture is more important than salary, with more than three-in-four workers saying they’d consider a company’s culture before applying for a job there.” Building a company culture, a great culture, doesn’t require a massive budget; whatever your financial situation, company size, and industry, creating a great company culture is entirely within your means. As long you invest real time and interest in the happiness and well-being of your employees, then a positive company culture will grow.

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???????????I have CHANGED THE COMPANY CULTURE IN MOST COMPANIES THAT I HAVE WORKED WITH, BY SIMPLY DOING “Brag Boards,” thank you for your hard work today, at the end of an employee’s day, flexible schedules, lunches from the company to uncontrolled time to regenerate at work. We are talking less than $150.00 for a tiny business to less than a thousand for the larger small companies every month. One extra sale, one less turnover, pays your investment back to your employees for more than six months. Recruitment and training are well delivered by having an excellent culture at any company.

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???????????In today’s work world, employee wellness is the goal. If you don’t have healthy employees, you’ll struggle immensely to create a great company culture. Your employees should be physically, mentally, and emotionally at their best. Why? Because your employees are your company’s core, success would be a dream without them. Therefore, as managers, you need to offer as many?resources as possible, tools, and on-site opportunities?for your employees so that they can live their healthiest life – whether inside or outside the office.?Always look for new ways to?lower employee stress?and?avoid negativity?to perform more productively.

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???????????When you want to change your company’s culture, you start from where you are and make some changes. No reality exists where building a great company culture starts from ground zero. Instead, it would help if you enhanced the current culture. Employees can’t be expected to make a complete 180! Ask your employees what they like about the existing company culture, what they don’t like, and what suggestions they can offer to?help create and foster?a great company culture that works for everyone.

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???????????The people you hire?directly impact your business and company culture, so make sure you aren’t just hiring based on skill or need and consider how an individual will fit into the overall picture. For example, if your company culture focuses on teamwork, but your new hire hates working with others, they can seriously mess or even damage the flow you’ve established.?Make sure your hiring process compliments your?company culture:

• Candidates must appreciate your culture and values:?It is much easier for your employees to work toward the same goal if everyone is aligned with the company culture and values.?Ask behavioral questions?to determine if a candidate will make a good fit.
• Optimize the interview process:?Here’s the thing, you need to optimize your interview process because it doesn’t matter how good the interviewer is; getting the FULL picture isn’t possible in an hour. Therefore, have a team of one or two interviewers to cover different areas – like skills, experience, cultural fit, etc. Different interviewers ask questions and digest the answers, leading to deeper and other conversations to best understand the candidate.?Ask questions?to best gauge the personality of the candidate.
• Attitude comes before skills and experience:?Hiring someone who can do the job “right now” and needs little training is far too easy. Usually, a new hire has an immediate impact but rarely grows with your company, thus raising that turnover rate. You will have tremendous success if you hire someone who doesn’t have all the skills required but fits into the company culture and is genuinely excited to learn and grow. These hires stay longer at the company and can grow into different roles.
• Avoid “mini-me” s:?Hiring someone to fit your company culture doesn’t mean that the individual should look like, think like or act like you and everyone on your team. Instead, you’re adding someone to enhance and diversify the culture. Create a balanced and diverse company culture!
• Your hiring process needs to reflect your company culture to attract candidates who will make a great fit into the rest of the dynamic. Plus, you need to quickly gauge who is and isn’t the right “one.” Talk about their vision and thoughts about Teamwork, Time management, Leadership skills, Problem-solving capabilities, Conflict management, Communication skills, Client-facing skills, their ability to adapt, motivation, Their values, and what is their work ethic.

Here’s how you can better build upon your current company culture:

• Employee Recognition & Acknowledgement:?start a 1:1 chat for individual recognition or a group chat for better peer engagement. Send a company-wide update to celebrate new hires, share milestones to boost engagement, create an employee spotlight, etc.
• Share Success Stories:?connect employees with company achievements and personal achievements by sending real-time updates on business milestones (new deals closed, sales goals met, etc.) and celebrate success stories (include letters, pictures, videos, GIFs, a story, etc.)
• Put Employees Front & Center:?make more intelligent decisions based on survey feedback shared in a suggestion box, start a live poll, and introduce an open-door policy.
• Wellness & Benefits:?provide all essential information in a single place so your team can access it when needed, like the employee handbook, policies, procedures, etc.
• Benefits: Time for Vacation, PTO, and significant family events should be welcomed by the employees and have them feel as though they are appreciated. (Year one, I offer two weeks’ vacation and seven days of PTO, increasing numbers at 3, 5, and 7 years. Medical, Optical, and Dental are definite benefits that every employee gets from day one.)
• Register For Events:?if you throw company events, make it easy for employees to register and learn more right from their phones. (I offer days away from work fun days. Maybe to a fun park, a small nature path park, or a tour of some well-known site that perhaps everyone has not been to.)
• Fun Internal Communication:?use fun GIFs and emojis, enable like and comment functions to include everyone in on the fun, and even start interactive polls like “which Grey’s Anatomy character are you?”, etc.
• A Personal Touch:?share videos and messages from the CEO and higher-ups to your entire team so they are a part of the bigger picture.
• A Reward Program:?Give employees gift cards for birthdays, achievements, or a work anniversary, all with recognition and a solid thank you.

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The investment that you put into the company culture will bring you much more in dividends, from harder working employees, more loyal employees, less turnover of employees, which means less training hours, and more in sales for the company. Remember that completing in-depth training with a ramp-up period also brings a more positive culture. Hire Servant Leader personalities to train, coach, and cheerlead the team daily.

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Your business culture is directly associated with your empathy, compassion, leadership, and appreciation of each employee. You are the guide through this new Cultural world of the company.

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I look forward to working with you to bring positive change to your business. A New Horizon Salutes those businesses that see value in a diversely positive culture.