How to Build a Winning Work Culture.

Creating a positive work environment is easier than you can imagine. If you want to build a work environment where your employees enjoy working, follow these steps. Make sure your employees are happy and content. Work hard and lead by example.

I am not telling you there’s a direct causality, but what we do know is that over time if you’re an unhappy employee, you’re going to lead to unhappiness spreading.

I have found that happiness and satisfaction affect everything: business results, products, customers, everything. And I find that when you get to a certain size, or a certain point in a company, if you still have that strong culture, and your leaders believe in it, you can scale it.

You can have these North Stars that can guide you, and then you can, you know, communicate them out to more people, and you can scale it and you can have that ‘aha’ moment every once in a while, like, ‘oh wow, I just experienced something'

Even though there is no magic formula for creating a positive work environment, keeping these tips in mind can help you get there.

Take Care of Your Employees

If you want to build a winning culture, you have to first take care of your employees. Your employees aren’t just cogs in a machine. They are human beings.

As an employer, it’s your job to make sure you take care of your employees. Your employees have families and lives outside of work. Make sure you are flexible when it comes to scheduling and work hours.

“To me, the key ingredient is: take care of your people,” says Dan Schawbel, author of Promote Yourself: The New Rules For Career Success. “People are doing more with less, getting less training, getting fewer raises, and worried about losing their jobs. Leaders need to have an open-door policy and make sure they know their people.”

So many employers don’t give enough thought to the kind of culture they’re creating for their employees. They just say, ‘you have to be here at this time,’ and never ask if that policy is helpful.

If you take care of your employees, your employees will take care of your customers.

Encourage Collaboration

If you want to build a positive work environment, encourage collaboration.

Look at the Googleplex [Google’s headquarters]. The conference rooms have big circular tables that seat 10 people. Google believes that working with others not only creates a better end product but builds community within the organization. Google knows that happy employees are the key to success.

If you encourage collaboration, your employees will feel like part of something bigger than themselves.

There’s a difference between just having a job and having a career. Having a career means that you are in control of your future. If your employees feel that they’re part of a team and that their work environment is positive, they will feel that they’ve chosen to have a career.

Leaders need to think about why their employees are in the office. They’re in the office because they have a job to do. They need to feel motivated to be productive. Leaders need to figure out ways to keep their employees motivated and, frankly, excited about coming to work every day.

Set Goals

If you want to build a winning work culture, set clear goals.

I’ve always believed that companies succeed or fail based on how well they execute. What happens day-to-day is a reflection on the leadership. It’s important to set goals. These goals need to be specific and measurable.

When your employees have a clear sense of direction, they feel like part of something bigger than themselves.

I’ve seen companies that hire a lot of people very quickly, and these employees are running around and don’t understand what they’re supposed to be doing. That’s not a positive work environment. To build a positive work environment, you have to set clear goals.

The worst thing you can do as an employer is to give your employees vague instructions. The best way I’ve seen companies do this is to set clear goals. If everyone understands what they’re supposed to be doing, the company as a whole is going to be more successful.

Focus on Employee Happiness

If you want to build a winning work culture, focus on employee happiness.

I think that a lot of companies are short-sighted. They are so focused on business goals that they lose sight of what’s most important to their employees. I think good leaders understand that employee happiness is a key to success.

It’s important that employees feel like they are part of something. I’ve been travelling a lot, and I’ve seen a lot of offices that have ping pong tables. I’ve seen ping pong tournaments. These are little things that companies do that create an environment for employees to bond. I think these things make employees happier and more productive.

When I talk to employees who leave their jobs, a lot of them say that they were unhappy. A lot of them say that their job was just a means to an end. People go to work to make money so that they can live. A lot of employees feel like their job is a means to an end. They go to work so they can pay the bills. If you want to build a positive work environment, you have to give your employees a reason to come to work.

Companies spend millions of dollars on benefits. Think about how many companies are spending millions of dollars on creating these offices with these cool offices with ping pong tables. These companies are spending a lot of money on benefits because they want to create a positive work environment. It’s important to understand that.

Play-Well With Others

If you want to build a winning work culture, play well with others.

I’ve seen successful companies, but they could never seem to find the right partner. Companies need to partner with other successful companies. At the end of the day, the company that partners well together is going to win.

I think it’s important to have a good mix of senior-level people and mid-level people. Senior-level people keep everyone in line. Senior-level people make sure that things are being done right. Mid-level people are in the trenches doing the work. You need to have both. You need the senior-level people to set the tone, but you need the mid-level people to execute.

People like to work in a positive environment. People like to feel like they’re part of a team. It’s also important that leaders think about how to create that culture. If you’re a leader, you need to think about how you can create a positive work environment for your employees.

Simple Steps to Help Your Employees

Go beyond being a nice boss. Use these simple steps to help your employees.

Offer regular feedback.

A lot of times, leaders think that their employees know what’s expected of them. What you need to do is a check-in with your employees and let them know what you’re expecting. You don’t want your employees guessing. You want them to know what’s expected of them.

Solicit feedback from your employees.

Leaders sometimes think they know what’s best for their company. As a leader, you need to listen to your employees. You need to take a step back and listen to your employees. Your employees may have a better idea than you do.

Make work fun.

It’s important to make work fun. I recommend doing lunch-and-learns. If you’re having a lunch-and-learn, it’s usually pretty short. You can have food catered, and you can talk about a new topic.

I’ve seen companies that like to do ‘bring your child to workdays'. These companies aren’t doing anything illegal, but they allow their employees to bring their children to work. This gives their employees something to talk about, and it makes them feel more bonded with their colleagues.

I think it’s extremely important to make work fun. If you can, have an ice cream truck show up. Have a free lunch. Have a party. Employees want to work in a positive environment. Make work fun, and your employees will do a better job.

Always keep learning.

Even if you feel like you’re at the top of your game, keep learning. Some of the leaders that I’ve talked to said that they feel like they’re perfect. I’ve learned a lot from some of the leaders that I’ve talked to. We’re all imperfect. If you stop learning, you’re going to get left behind.

It’s important to attend conferences. I like to go to conferences where the speakers are current. There are a lot of speakers who were a great many years ago, but they’re not good speakers now. It’s important to go to conferences where the speakers are current.

I’ve been to a lot of conferences where the speakers don’t cover what the audience wants to know. Some of the speakers spend so much time talking about themselves that the audience starts to lose interest.

Conclusion

If you want to build a positive work environment, follow the tips outlined above.

• Make sure you take care of your employees.
• Encourage collaboration.
• Set clear goals.
• Focus on employee happiness.
• Play well with others.

If you follow these tips, your employees will work hard for you.

Leaders create cultures. If you create a positive work environment, your employees will be more productive. When you’re creating a positive work environment, you’re setting the tone for the company. If you’re a leader and you create a positive work environment, your employees are going to be better. That’s the goal of leadership.

I think that leaders have to think about how they can create a positive work environment. If your leaders create a positive work environment, then, by default, your employees are going to be happy. That’s important.

Would recommend a book from Dan Schawbel "Back to Human: How Great Leaders Create Connection in the Age of Isolation"

Can be reached via email at [email protected] or a private message on LinkedIn if you would like to discuss this topic further.