Building a Better Workplace Culture

Ah … culture. A word that has a different definition depending on who you talk to and what you are talking about. Tack on the word workplace to the front of it, and now we have a term that every business leader and HR professional has put a lot of time, money, and energy toward. Yet, they still feel like they are falling short. Unfortunately, there is data to prove it. Earlier this year, Gallup conducted a poll and found only two in 10 U.S. employees feel connected to their organization’s culture. This statistic is underwhelming especially when businesses spend on average $2,200 per employee annually on efforts to improve the culture. Feels kind of like pushing a boulder uphill in the snow, doesn’t it?

So why does it matter? Why do businesses spend so many resources on what feels like a losing battle? The answer is that it is key to long-term success. Over a three-year period, data has shown a strong workplace culture can impact businesses by:

• Increasing employee engagement by 50 points
• Experiencing 25% growth in the workforce
• Experiencing 85% net profit increase
• Increasing customer retention and new customer growth by 138%

So, what’s the secret sauce to the million-dollar question, “how do I create a great workplace culture?” If I had the answer, I’d be sitting on a beach right now with a fruity drink because I made millions on the recipe to a great workplace culture. But I am not. I’m here in Iowa with the other business leaders and HR professionals, doing everything I can to create an environment where people love the work they do with the people and clients they do the work with.

Like many other businesses in Greater Des Moines (DSM), we recently participated in the Workforce Insights Survey sponsored by the Greater Des Moines Partnership in collaboration with Bâton Global and Reworc. It was an opportunity for employees to provide their feedback on how ready they think they are as individuals and how ready they think their company is for the future. As a leadership team, it was an opportunity to receive their feedback, which we view as a gift, always. Our positive survey results and comments during our debrief from our consultant lead me to believe that maybe we’re on the right path while being aware of our opportunities to improve.

What Makes a Strong Workplace Culture

In the spirit of sharing knowledge and best practices coupled with our commitment to helping other businesses in our community, here are a few things we are doing which we believe is resulting in a strong workplace culture:

• Be Transparent – As business leaders, be as transparent as possible knowing there are guardrails to what is shared and when. Employees want to know how the organization is doing financially and the direction it is headed. Consider sharing financial results and growth plans quarterly. This helps employees understand how their role fits into the success of the organization and what they can do to contribute to the success. As an employee once told me of another organization — “we just want to know if we are winning as an organization.”
• Collaborate and Include – Help employees feel like they are co-authoring many aspects of the company. Include them in strategic planning efforts and request their feedback on what to do to innovate and grow. Employees are closest to the work daily and one of the biggest ways leaders can demonstrate how critical their role is to ask for their input in decision making. Help them connect to how their role contributes to the company’s mission and purpose.
• Ask Questions – It’s easy to get wrapped up in the day-to-day work and operations of running a business. Open the door to receiving employee feedback by asking questions through stay interviews, skip level meetings and exit interviews. This enables a leader to learn what is on the hearts and minds of the team and it’s free. It shows you truly care as a leader and that’s a big deal. It goes a long way toward employee retention and building a great workplace culture.
• Create Autonomy – We hire employees because we know they can do the job. This means we need to trust them to do their job. Providing autonomy is key to employee satisfaction. This does not mean we set them sailing and never check in. Trust but verify is an important aspect of autonomy. This ensures clarity and alignment along the way in expectations and outcomes. As part of this, set expectations as to what decisions they can make and what needs to be approved. Having fun at work doesn’t mean you have a ping pong table in the breakroom. Give them opportunities to play and create within their role and the work they do. You’ll be surprised at the great ideas generated when there is some freedom and the sense of pride and satisfaction that comes from autonomy
• Focus on Development – Implement individual development plans and set development goals annually. Upskill them in their current role or begin to groom them for an elevated role. Ask what they want to learn about and become an expert in. Then meet with them quarterly to review progress, discuss barriers and make tweaks to the plan.
• Actively Recognize – This is contagious. Spend time weekly allowing your teams to recognize each other for the great work they’ve done. The recognition should be specific and timely. Not all employees like public recognition so ask each employee in a 1:1 meeting how they like to be recognized. And recognize across departments — this creates stronger collaboration and connection across the organization.
• Be Flexible – This is as important as pay and benefits. Be flexible where you can and set expectations about what it means in your organization. Flexibility can be in how the work gets done, when it gets done and where it gets done. Each business, industry and even role allow for varying levels and forms of flexibility — seek out what works for yours and can be impactful to your team.
• Don’t Settle – Recently, I heard from team members about how much they love working with other high performers. Their pride and confidence in their work is heightened because they know they can count on a great work product and performance from those around them, guided by how much each of them cares for the clients they serve. Also, they elevate their own game based on those around them. How many of us have left the wrong person in the wrong role for too long? The answer is all of us. What our employees want is to work with other qualified team members and when they are forced to work with someone who is not performing it affects them more than we know. Don’t settle in making sure you have the right person in the right roles.

In the words of a great leader and mentor of mine, “don’t let the start stop you.” Just start somewhere and never give up. The success of your business depends on it.

Learn more about how Connectify HR can help your business succeed at connectifyhr.com.

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