Here’s how to create a happy, healthy, and productive place to work.
Does your workplace suffer from burnout, incessant absenteeism, and high employee turnover? If so, your company culture could be the deer in the headlights - it's been staring at your this whole time, but you didn't know it was the problem.
A bad or even hostile company culture can cause all kinds of problems, from the issues mentioned above to growing mental health issues, decreased feelings of psychological safety, and as if a gray cloud follows your employees throughout the day.
If this sounds familiar, you need to fix your company culture. This article is about that.
In this article, you will learn:
What a positive company culture looks like
How to improve your company culture
How to set goals and measure company culture progress
Want to skip straight to the benefits of a positive company culture? Talk to us today and take the first step towards a happier, healthier, and more productive workplace.
What is a positive company culture?
A positive company culture is one where employees feel satisfied at work, happy, and productive. It’s an environment where employees can collaborate effectively and produce high-quality work.
Conversely, a poor or toxic company culture is the opposite. It often includes poor communication, a burnout culture, and, in some cases, a hostile and abusive work environment.
It goes without saying that you want to cultivate the former—a positive company culture and a culture of wellness. So how do you do it?
How to improve company culture?
Improving your company culture won’t happen overnight. For your workplace culture to change, attitudes and beliefs, and behaviors will have to change, too. And that takes time! But that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t get started today.
Here’s how to start improving your company culture at work.
1. Define your company values
The values you set for your organization guide every aspect of your company culture. It can help to see values as expectations—how you expect employees to behave and engage with one another daily.
We suggest setting your company values as a team—it’s easier to get the team on board when everyone is involved in the decision-making process. However, at the very least, involve upper management and take on board employee feedback.
Example company values you may choose to embed include:
Teamwork
Respect
Accountability
Innovation
Compassion
Excellence
Health
Diversity
The above are great places to start, but you should also brainstorm your own ideas for the best outcomes.
2. Prioritize effective communication
I’m sure you’ve heard this before, but communication is the cornerstone of any successful company.
And the same applies for improving your workplace culture. This is currently more true than ever because of remote and hybrid workers.
If you don’t already, consider using a project management system such as Asana or Notion to assign tasks, update projects, and keep all employees in the loop. This eliminates back and forth and improves communication.
You should also have dedicated Slack or other communication channels for work and other projects. This will help everyone get on the same page and move one step closer to effective communication.
Some further tips for communication and how to improve your culture at work:
Don’t message or email employees outside of work hours
Set healthy communication boundaries
Lead by example
These are some basic but effective methods to start improving communication today.
3. Set goals for your culture
You set goals for marketing, brand awareness, product releases, and revenue, so why not set goals for your company culture?
It can help to visualize these goals as extended company values. Example goals you may wish to set include:
Leading by example
Improving diversity, equity, and inclusion
Investing more in upskilling and professional development
Improved team collaboration
If you want to take it a step further, you can set goals using the SMART framework. The acronym stands for:
Specific: exactly what do you want to achieve?
Measurable: how can you measure the success of your goals?
Attainable: are your goals challenging but within reach?
Relevant: how do your goals contribute to your overall company objectives?
Timely: set a realistic timeframe to increase accountability and urgency
Apply this framework to your culture goals and measure your progress frequently—more on this shortly.
4. Reward employees for hard work
Show your appreciation and reward hard work. It’s a simple way to start and certainly a means to go on.
In fact, a study by Deloitte found that 85% of professionals want to hear a “thank you” in their day-to-day interactions. Your employees want to be recognized, so start showing your appreciation.
As well as a nod of the head and a verbal thank you, provide tangible rewards for hitting milestones, completing a big project, or simply being themselves and getting their work done.
Example rewards may include:
A handwritten thank you card
A gift basket
Gift vouchers
Tickets to a movie or show
Tickets to a sporting event
A raise or promotion
For an added incentive, customize your rewards to meet your employee needs. If you reward hard work with tickets to the Royal Opera, but they hate singing, there’s no longer an added incentive. Personalization is key!
5. Promote inclusivity at work
Inclusivity should be a part of your company culture—and there are numerous ways you can incorporate it.
For starters, rethink your hiring process by removing unconscious bias. You can do this by removing names, gender, age, and other identifiers from resumes and personal statements.
Second, consider diversity training at work. This can increase awareness, reduce prejudice, and help eliminate discrimination. It also helps your team perform better by improving communication.
6. Provide employee growth opportunities
The 2024 LinkedIn workplace learning report found that 7 in 10 people say learning improves their sense of connection to their organization. A further 8 in 10 people say learning adds purpose to their work.
If you’re not yet providing growth opportunities for employees, you risk lower retention rates and less satisfied employees.
Furthermore, when you help employees improve their day-to-day work, they can produce better work for you. It’s a win-win!
7. Track your progress often
Without a goal, you can’t score. It’s important to track your progress, whether that’s once a quarter or twice a year.
But how do you track your progress and change in company culture?
A basic, but very effective method is to administer surveys to employees anonymously. If setting SMART goals, as previously mentioned, you can compare these to your goals and make any necessary changes.
To Conclude
Your employees feel more engaged in their work when they feel supported and your company culture plays a big role in supporting your employees. We have a mix of offerings to help improve and support your employees, from health fairs to inclusive employee wellness programs to engage and support your team, whether hybrid, remote, or in-person.
Talk to us today and take the first step toward improving your company culture.
Key takeaways:
A positive company culture is where employees feel satisfied, happy, and productive at work
Define your company values and set culture goals
Provide employees with growth opportunities
Ask for feedback on your culture and monitor changes overtime
FAQs
How can employees improve workplace culture?
Ultimately, culture change needs to occur from the top down. But, employees do play a role, especially when it comes to communication. Focus on improving communication to improve employee culture.
How to fix culture in workplace?
Reassessing your company values, prioritizing effective communication, rewarding employees for their hard work, and providing growth opportunities are great ways to start fixing your workplace culture.
What are signs of a poor company culture?
Signs of a poor company culture include increased sick days, high employee turnover, poor communication, burnout, and more.
Looking for more? Contact a Wellbeing Manager to discuss your organizational wellbeing needs.
We provide workplace teams with mindful practices, personal and professional wellbeing growth, fitness instruction, and opportunities for social connection. We aim to inspire the highest potential in people at work, in life, every day, so they can show up healthy and at their best.
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