Hey there, founders! Dr. Ehlinger here again with the Resilience Accelerator, and this month we’re chatting about how to cultivate a positive company culture. Satisfied and healthy employees are more productive, stick around for longer, and drive innovation, change, and creativity. Without paying attention, it’s easy to let your work culture slip into a place where you and your employees become dissatisfied. Let’s dig into some of the most helpful ways you can make changes to your business to create a culture you’re proud of.?
- Define your mission, vision, and values - and lead by example. The first step to cultivating a positive company culture is to define what that means for you and your business. Start by defining your company’s mission, vision, and values. These three cornerstones will help you to find intrinsic motivation for your employees to find satisfaction, help define a direction for growth, and lay out how others will work together. Make sure you set aside as much time as necessary to make sure leadership within your organization are clear and aligned with these, and create space and conversation around these topics. If you’re still unconvinced, consider this - a study published in the Journal of Business Ethics found that when entrepreneurs perceive their work as meaningful and consistent with their values, they are more likely to be engaged with their work, which increases their work-related well-being.?
Of course, it’s not enough to simply set these at the start of your venture, or to define them later on. The real effect on your work culture happens when you live and demonstrate these values at work, and use them to guide your decision-making. Your employees will take notice and are more likely to act in line with these values as well.
- Set clear expectations and don’t micromanage. Be clear when outlining the objectives and expectations for each team within your organization. When employees have tangible results and expectations, they are more likely to focus on performance and collaborate together to achieve those goals. Work with teams when setting those goals and watch out for feedback that could inform them later on. More importantly, find ways of supporting your teams without micromanaging them. The stress created by micromanagement can lead to frustration and disengagement with work in the long-term. And employee disengagement can have a real effect on your business - disengaged workers reported 37% higher absenteeism and 60% more errors in their work, as well as 18% lower productivity and 16% lower profitability, according to the Queens School of Business.?
- Fuel positivity by establishing a culture of recognition. Whether it’s a shoutout in a team meeting, a formal employee recognition program, or even a handwritten note - acknowledging hard work goes a long way. When employees feel seen and appreciated, they’re more likely to be motivated and engaged. And you don’t just have to recognize the good - leaders who demonstrate kindness, empathy, and compassion during tough times foster resilience and independence in their employees. Even further, employers who go out of their way to be helpful develop loyalty and commitment from their employees. When employees feel safe, this leads to superior performance outcomes.?
In the fabric of your company, your employees are the threads that hold it together - so it pays off to create a healthy company culture! Your company will be that much more likely to attract great employees, retain awesome talent, and increase productivity. Try some of these strategies, and watch your company culture change for the better. See y’all again in March!
