We are firm believers that an organization’s culture matters. And not just a little. A LOT.
For both the employees and the company, culture has both direct and indirect effects.
Culture helps with employee engagement and retention, which can indirectly help boost productivity and innovation. And generally speaking, the employee’s well-being usually directly correlates with their organization’s culture.
Does the culture work on reducing stress? Improving morale? Job satisfaction?
Getting your team fired up and creating a culture that is beneficial to everyone truly does create an ideal work environment that engages employees to help an organization reach its goals and values.
A few years back, we hired a client of ours, FiredUp! Culture, to help us identify, define, and build our company’s culture. We’ve learned a lot over the years, and it has helped us create the culture we have today. This month we won the 2022 Culture Achievement Award from FiredUp! Culture, and we wanted to share five tips to help you boost your culture.
Define Your Values and Mission
It all starts here.
“Our values are the guiding principles upon which our business is built.” – Richard Branson
This is both the blueprint and roadmap that aligns your team to the dreams and goals of your organization. In order to feel a part of something, you must know what that something is, which should never be ambiguous.
Let your values define both what you stand for and what you will not tolerate.
Ask yourself questions to define these values, such as:
What are our company’s core beliefs and principles?
How should we define the behaviors and attitudes that we want to promote among our employees?
What are the ethical and moral values that guide our decision-making processes?
And most importantly, in the end,
How can we ensure that our values align with our mission and vision as a company?
Though you don’t have to start with your values, it will help to craft a stronger mission statement once the stakeholders are aligned with the company’s values. After all, the mission statement is a brief summary of the company’s fundamental values, principles, and beliefs that guide its actions and decisions in pursuit of its goals and objectives.
Communicate Regularly
“Effective communication is the lifeblood of any organization. Without it, you can’t build trust, engagement, or a sense of purpose. Bad communication leads to low morale, high turnover, and missed opportunities.” -Satya Nadella
It doesn’t feel good being left out. Whether it is at work, a friend’s get-together, or a family decision, we can all think of times we’ve been left out, and it never feels good. Bad communication has the same effect in the workplace.
The solution? Simple. Communication is key.
Communication should flow throughout your organization from leadership to employees. Depending on what needs to be communicated, here are some ideas that might help improve this:
Meetings are a valuable means of communication within an organization, but it’s crucial that they serve a clear purpose. If you find that engagement or productivity is lacking during meetings, it’s worth reevaluating their structure and content to find ways to increase engagement and productivity.
Leverage internal communication tools such as Zoho Cliq or Slack. These platforms offer instant messaging, video conferencing, and email capabilities that can help keep your team members informed and connected. Consider creating group channels and encourage leadership to lead by example in using these tools effectively and consistently.
Get feedback. Feedback can be a powerful tool for improving communication within your organization. Consider using tools like Zoho Survey to send out department or organization-wide surveys to gather feedback on your team’s perception of your organization’s communication. This not only gives your team a voice, but also provides valuable insights to help you grow and improve your organization’s communication processes.
Recognize & Reward Good Work
“People work for money but go the extra mile for recognition, praise, and rewards.” – Dale Carnegie
Recognizing and rewarding individuals for good work boosts motivation, raises morale, increases productivity, and helps with retention. All of these attributes directly correlate to an improved workplace culture.
But you need to do a bit more than just recognize and reward good work. It’s important to define what “good work” means for your organization, which requires establishing clear and measurable standards of performance. Once those standards are defined, you can recognize and reward those who meet or exceed those standards.
Additionally, part of the path to excellence for an individual should include opportunities for professional development provided by an organization. Have your leaders identify their team member’s strengths and weaknesses to develop and offer training programs for individuals to grow and sharpen their skill sets.
Do You Want To Be FiredUp!?
Want to know how your company’s culture is doing? We highly recommend reaching out to the team over at FiredUp! Culture to take your organization to the next level. It truly is amazing what culture can do to a business and the overall quality of life of its employees.
