Is Your Company Lacking a Culture? What to Look Out for and How to Improve It

Perhaps your turnover rate isn’t as good as it’s been in the past, or maybe you’re employees are showing signs that they aren’t truly invested in the business. There are several tell-tale signs that a company’s culture is failing or even nonexistent. When you’re the leader of the company, it’s your responsibility to steer the business in the right direction, and it’s becoming more and more crucial that a company’s culture is thriving in order to not only keep employees from running toward a position at a different company but also to ensure that everyone is motivated within their roles. The following are some red flags that your company’s culture has gone off the rails, but the good news is that you as a leader can turn it around.

1. There’s little room for advancement

Even if your employees enjoy their current position, there should be clear roles they could eventually step into that would help them become more valuable to the company. Most people want to have opportunities available that serve as an initiative to grow and perform well within their department. If these advancement opportunities are few and far between, it’s a good idea to look at your company’s professional development initiatives.

What you can do:

Hire from within whenever possible. If you’re constantly hiring outside talent for managerial roles, employees can get frustrated with that as it seems like their efforts are being overlooked. While hiring internally is not always an option, more roles may be able to be introduced that would show seniority for your high-performing, dedicated employees.

2. Employees don’t know where they fit

As far as the success of a business is concerned, every employee can serve as a catalyst for the business’ accomplishments. If an employee does not have a clear-cut understanding of their role within the department and how they fit into the success of the business, it can be detrimental to any company culture. In a culture that needs improvement, employees can lack motivation when they are unsure how their work is meaningful to the organization.

What you can do:

Be transparent and allow your employees access to the company’s quarterly or annual goals. Hold meetings that your employees are invited to that will keep them informed on the progress of the company and what you mean to accomplish as a leader. Every department should have goals for the year that clearly define areas that need improvement, and each employee should be able to meet sustainable goals within the year. Along the way, you as a leader should recognize when an employee is not meeting the goals and work with them to get back on track.

3. Work/Life balance is a struggle

Employees who are dedicated to their work often find conflict in their work/life balance, but even the outstanding workers will find themselves faced with burnout if they don’t strike a balance between their work life and their personal life. If your employees in a specific position feel like they can’t get the amount of work done that’s expected of them in a reasonable amount of time, it’s time to reconsider the role.

What you can do:

As a leader, you should offer your employees to speak out in a non-threatening way and voice their concerns. Oftentimes, people don’t want to complain to their bosses in person, so having an anonymous survey once or twice a year to gauge your employee’s happiness will be helpful in determining whether or not people in your organization struggle with obtaining a work/life balance.