With so many other things on the table, building company culture can seem unimportant. Well, that couldn’t be further from the truth.
Too many employers think culture is a matter of pizza days and ping-pong tables, when it actually affects nearly every part of your business. Your team will work harder and with more commitment, knowing you’ve committed to them in providing a strong company culture.
So, how can you avoid simple window dressing and actually improve your culture?
Start From Day One
Few things are worse than being dropped into a company and being expected to just sink or swim. Equip new employees with the tools they need to succeed and show them that supporting the team is baked right into your business. This might also include ensuring they have someone to rely on in the early days, outlining expectations, and even exploring their personal goals.
Make things personal too! An interesting idea we came across was an employee bingo card with things like “plays the piano”, “loves baseball”, or something the new employee can learn about their fellow team members.
Get Buy-In
Company culture is dictated, it grows from those who are involved. You can issue orders all day long, but you can’t force fun, accountability, growth, or teamwork on people and just expect it to work.
There are two simple ways you can get buy-in from your team. First, get input straight from them and implement changes based on that feedback, and second, make sure they know why something is important. People hate unknowns, so explaining the reasoning behind a choice will frequently alleviate a lot of that push back.
Make Expectations Clear And Realistic
No one should be surprised they didn’t reach their expected goal. Make sure everyone knows their role (and what everyone on the teams’ roles are) and what’s expected of them. Beyond that, sharing the short and long term goals of the business as a whole can help promote a sense of belonging and teamwork.
Also, if career advancement is barred behind 60 hour weeks, not taking sick days, not using all your vacation days, and working yourself to death, good luck building culture. Expecting an unhealthy work-life balance will definitely make your team work harder… at finding another job that appreciates them more!
Check Out Another Blog: Is Remote Work More Productive?
Hire With Your Team In Mind
It might seem like finding the person who is the most technically skilled is the most important thing. However, we would take the second or third most skilled candidate if they align more closely with the company’s values and culture. They can learn new skills, it’s hard to unlearn a personality.
Don’t Be Faceless
In a world of remote working, it can be easy to fall into your own world, isolated from anyone else on the team.
Virtual meetings are your friend and you could also set time aside each month for an in-person meeting or team-building exercise. You would be surprised how many people actually prefer a hybrid working schedule to a fully-remote one. Not everyone mind you, but that’s where hiring the right people comes in!