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Company culture can make or break a business, especially in the new era of business. A strongly developed company culture can result in higher efficiency, employee loyalty, and customer accusation.
In consulting we are constantly asked by CEO’s:
Why do I have a high turnover rate?
It is human nature to want to be respected and nurtured, and the business world is no different. As a CEO we do not want to babysit, coddle, or micromanage, however we can nurture and encourage. Often, to fix high turnover rates, you can look to company culture. How many hours are your employees working? What is your feedback policy? In order to create company culture, offering your employees a voice or means for communication will create, not only a positive working environment, but also can lead to profit maximizing ideas. Let’s say it has been years since you as the CEO has been in the field or the trenches like your most junior level employees, a recruit can often offer insight into a new delivery method technology that could save time and errors. Sometimes the best thing we can do is listen. Create an open forum space and encourage your employees to defend their ideas, you might just be surprised.
Why do my employees not want to show up?
A positive company culture is infectious, and unfortunately the opposite is true. What motivates? What can you do to create a positive drive? Letting emotions and “negative energy” effect you as the CEO will inevitably trickle down throughout your company structure. Therefore, some of the best advice is to be not only an owner, but a leader. Take care of yourself and encourage your employees to do the same through your own personal actions and employee newsletters.
Why are meetings ineffective?
Meetings in highly effective companies are dynamic in nature. Of course, as a company you will still need debriefing meetings, team meetings, and quarterly meetings. Is there a way you can mix up the monotony of these meetings? Change of scene, change of structure, add incentives, create an experience.
Benefits of creating a positive company culture:
Team - Large corporate 100 companies have large departments; however, they know that there can be disconnect within their company when people do not work together well or do not know each other. To make operations smooth in nature, I have found the most productive companies take time for lunches, dinners, team building activities, or retreats.
Loyalty and Pride- Your employees will take pride in their work and pride in the company they work for. This will inevitable be your number one word of mouth marketing. How do your rank on sites such as Glassdoor? Feedback is beneficial if you take it as a means for improvement. Take the negative and find ways to develop. If the CEO believes they can still learn and evolve as a leader the rest of the company will follow suit. Use these opportunities to also discover employee potential or employee disconnect. This is a great time to use your powers of perception to asses what works and what you might need to keep an eye on in your company.
Investing in talent and growth- Encourage employees to further their education through certifications. This is a win-win generally, in the long run, this will lead back to the loyalty part of company culture. When you invest in your employees brand you are in turn investing in your own brand and developing future leaders from within, therefore opening opportunities from hiring from within.
The idea of work-life Balance is a new school mentality in business, generally recognized to be a manifestation from the millennial generation. Like it or not, but without adopting means or ideas around this concept you are in turn turning your back on hiring potential new and young talent. The business and especially tech sector have been the first to develop these ideas such as later start times, more vacation days, or mental health days. There is no doubt that a business must run, but often studies have found that productivity increases by 12% when employees are happy.