Improving Company Culture and Morale in Uncertain Times

Uber for Business is your secret tool to keep up company culture and employee morale

The changing business trends requires changes in systems and processes within organisations. The working culture of many companies needs to change due to the global outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic. Business leaders have to rise to these current challenges whilst finding innovative ways of maintaining, sustaining, or building a competitive advantage for their business.

And the key to long-term survival and success? Read on to find out.

Under all the HR jargon, what does the elusive term ‘company culture’ actually mean?

Peters and Waterman made the term organisational culture popular after their publication “In Search of Excellence” in 1982. Organisational culture can be described as a system of shared values which defines what is important, and norms which spell out appropriate attitudes and behaviours of a group of people.

Organisational culture can also be interpreted as the way things are done around organisations, for most companies, it represents an active and living phenomenon by which key members create shared meaning. The culture of an organisation is the driving force and is the most important sustainable competitive advantage a company possesses because it cannot be easily copied. In fact, organisational culture may be the crucial impetus for the survival or failure of organisations in the times of global stress.

During periods of change, the impact of founders has been described as the most important factor for cultural beginnings, so also is the impact of business leaders (CEOs, Directors, Senior Management, etc.). Moreover, some have argued that organisational culture is developed as organisations learn to cope with problems of direction and flexibility as well as problems of external adaptation and internal integration. 

Globally, there is currently a need for companies to adapt to external changes. Beginning from the first quarter of 2020, almost all countries have been hit by the COVID-19 pandemic (coronavirus pandemic) caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS?CoV?2). This pandemic has affected several industries, and many global companies are experiencing a drastic change. Companies that can improve company culture and employee morale will emerge from this global crisis on top, and they can achieve this by using Uber for Business. Below, I highlight the importance of Uber for Business in more specific details.

New cultural challenge: The way employees commute to and from the office is now a matter of HR policies

With restrictions being eased in England, the UK government has encouraged more people to go back to work. The government says people should avoid public transport such as taking the bus or train to work. They recommend that people should walk, cycle, or drive instead.

These options possess several challenges for many people. Some might not be able to walk or cycle to work due to distance, while a lot of people do not have a personal car, or even drive. Companies can help solve this challenge. Companies have to ensure that employee commute is as seamless as possible and extend their support for employees beyond the physical offices and into the realm of ground transportation, especially since public transport options are limited today. 

On 25th May 2020, the Telegraph reported that “the London Underground is still running, but with a restricted service. Forty Underground stations that do not sit on intersections of tube lines have already been closed, reducing the service offered, and the Waterloo and City line, primarily used by commuters, has been closed.”

Uber for Business allows companies to control the travel of their employees across the globe. Companies can create a commute program that will help employees get to and from work with ease. This will go a long way in showing that they care and value their employees. Ultimately, this will improve the morale of their team.

Traditionally business travel was saved for... well, business executives, while the rest of the organisation did not have to even worry about commute policies beyond allowances for public transport. But the times are changing rapidly, and the latest brand-new challenge you didn't know you had is to solve the problem of commute for all of your employees. The free Uber for Business dashboard can help your employees to easily define how they ride via an all-in-one dashboard, and the Uber app does the rest. They will never have to worry about taking out-of-policy rides or finding their receipt for expense reports.

Integrating new process seamlessly

The current climate provides opportunities to develop and implement new processes for businesses returning to some normality. Streamlining the process now will future proof companies against the ever-shifting global work culture. A lot of what you have undoubtedly heard over the past few weeks is how communication is key, and how a multitude of platforms are ensuring businesses can maintain effective client and employee relationships. Multiple management platforms are over-complicated and hard to use. Uber for Business can help solve this problem. Specifically, businesses can give employees access to all the benefits of the Uber for Business | SAP Concur integration with just a few clicks using Employee Roster Sync.

Eats on Uber for Business

Another means of improving company culture and employee morale is via Eats on Uber for Business. Countless studies document the importance of a motivated workforce. Now more than ever, maintaining productivity, remotely, is a challenge. Services like Eats on Uber for Business which includes both travel and food for employees working from home and for those working in office locations can help. A lot of canteens and restaurants are still closed to the public, and a few of them only deliver food. The ease of ordering food on Eats and the safety element are particularly important. Since it is hard to do great work on an empty stomach, companies can provide a meal program that employees want.

Show your employees you care by pivoting your policies here and now

Organisations need to encourage flexible approaches that will help improve company culture and motivation due to changes in the external environment caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Basically, they need to favour emergent approaches that help employees commute seamlessly, integrate new processes, and keep productivity high by letting employees order meals to the office or home from a simple mobile app.

There is no need to reinvent the wheel: by adapting your organisation's approach to tools already used by your employees, you will be blending company policies with day-to-day employee expectations to the benefits of all involved. Let them choose for themselves: how they want to commute to work, and whether they would like to have food from local restaurants delivered to them and support the choices your employees make for themselves daily with Uber for Business.

Join Uber for Business on June 23rd for an HR webinar retrospective: ‘Stop - Start - Continue; Why Your Employees Demand New HR Policies’ with Vaishali Patel - a transformation coach and Ted X speaker, Dr Kay Sahdev - organisational researcher, author and Fellow Member of CIPD; plus Uber’s EMEA Senior HR Manager Jane Si. 

Witness this unique roundtable discussion on why employees demand new innovative policies, what companies can start doing to emerge from the crisis, how to change your professional focus by expanding your influence internally, as well as when to pivot policies for your people, among other crucial conversations that are shaping the HR landscape. 

To book your FREE virtual spot and learn more click the link below: 

https://ubr.to/2YnCzVp