Cultivating a Positive Work Culture

Are you seeing NOW HIRING signs up everywhere? There seem to be a lot more jobs than people who want to work right now. I wish I had the magic bullet. Unfortunately, I don't or I would slap a patent on it, but I do know that you must have a positive work culture in order to recruit, retain, and engage employees.

SHRM is predicting a turnover tsunami as we emerge from the pandemic. It is estimated that 52% of employees will be actively or passively seeking another opportunity in 2021 (Harris Poll). Yet another reason to focus on work culture. So, what is work culture? It is essentially a company's personality. It is made up of elements such as leadership, performance management, teamwork, hiring, firing, mission, communication, feedback, and conflict management.

The following are what I believe are the pillars of positive work culture:

*Good managers

*Praise and recognition

*Two-way feedback

*Clarity and purpose

*Teamwork

*Communication

*Flexibility and wellbeing

*Personal and career growth

*Empowerment

For this article, I will expand on just a few of these pillars. One of the most important is a good manager that builds trust, treats employees with respect, and shows empathy. The large majority of people that quit their jobs are really quitting their boss. And according to Gallup, managers account for 70% of the variance in engagement scores. You can see how this is such a critical issue! Oftentimes, people are promoted into management because they are good technically but they may not have the skills and abilities to be a good manager. In addition, organizations generally do a good job training managers on administrative tasks but not so good on emotional intelligence and other soft skills that are critical for leadership. Bottom line - it is very important that you provide managers with the development opportunities to help them be successful. And ultimately, if they aren't a good fit to manage people, you may have to make difficult decisions or you are likely going to struggle with retaining employees.

The second pillar that I am going to focus on is praise and recognition. Employees who report they are not properly recognized are three times more likely to quit in the next year (Gallup). I have heard many leaders say that they don't have a budget for recognition but praise and recognition don't have to be expensive. Verbal praise, thank you notes, emails, and shout-outs in meetings are all low-cost recognition methods that pack a big punch! Organizations should put some general guidelines and programs around recognition in place and train leaders, and really everyone, on its importance. In my company, I have placed a weekly recognition reminder on calendars which has prompted some additional activity.

If you'd like to learn more, join Your Consulting Resource for a free virtual workshop - Cultivating a Positive Work Culture: Engagement, Retention and Wellbeing on July 15 from 9 to 10 a.m. EST

To register: https://bit.ly/theresourceculture

Or contact me at [email protected] if you are interested in more information.