How to cultivate and nurture a working environment which motivates, rewards and supports employees
Company culture can be the reason people are attracted to join a company, why they stay at a company for a long period of time, as well as why they leave. So it makes sense that you would want to invest time and energy into creating an environment that engages, motivates and rewards employees. Gabrielle Sigelski and Hayley Cole from Stellar join me to discuss what you can do, as a manager and as a team member, to cultivate and nurture company culture to ensure it's a desirable workplace for current and future employees.
“Company culture can mean different things to different people but at the end of the day, people want to work in a company and environment that motivates them, rewards them and where they feel trusted and respected"
Listen to the full episode on The PR Pod podcast for more tips on creating company culture. You'll also find this episode on your fave podcast players, just search "The PR Pod".
WHAT IS COMPANY CULTURE?
It's the shared beliefs and values established by the leaders which connect a team or company. It relates to the attitudes and behaviours employees are expected to share, and is often reflected in the energy of team.
HOW DO I KNOW IF MY COMPANY HAS A GREAT COMPANY CULTURE?
There's a few questions you can ask yourself to determine whether your company has a culture you admire:
Are you proud to work at that company?
Do you feel trusted, supported and respected by your manager and team members?
Does the company have good retention of staff?
Do I feel like my manager and company have my best interests at heart?
Are your personal and team wins celebrated in a meaningful way to you?
MY COMPANY DOESN'T DO MANY 'FUN' EVENTS - IS THAT REFLECTIVE OF A BAD COMPANY CULTURE?
Not at all. Just because a company has a strong social identity it doesn't mean they have a great cultural identity. Fun means different things to different people so company culture should not be based around the amount of after-work drink sessions your company hosts. Sometimes a personal acknowledgement of your role in that success if far more meaningful than being taken out for a drink.
HOW IMPORTANT IS IT TO HIRE EMPLOYEES WHO ARE A GREAT CULTURAL FIT FOR THE TEAM/COMPANY?
It's important to identify what would balance a team out, when you are hiring a new employee. If you have a collection of creative, 'big idea' employees who are strong in coming up with ideas but poor on actually executing them, then that tells me you would benefit from having someone whose strengths are in the details and in project management.
Consider cultural alignment isn't necessarily completely identifiable in an interview. It's a stressful environment where people aren't necessarily showing their true colours. Make the most of a probation period to determine whether a new employee is integrating well.
Think about how you expect the company to develop over the coming months and year, and how that may be reflected in the company culture. Keep that in mind when hiring and ensure the person you're hiring has the capacity to adapt to an evolving company culture.
WHAT CAN I DO TO CREATE A FRAMEWORK FOR COMPANY CULTURE?
Ask a leader in the business if they would support you in taking on the project of developing an outline of company culture.
Understand each person is different in how they are motivated and how they like to be acknowledged for their success and achievements so this should be factored in. If you have an inflexible structure of how to reward or praise employees, you risk not connecting with them.
Get feedback from team members and other employees as to what they believe the company culture should reflect. Remember, everyone has a different idea of what motivates them and what they want from their work environment so it's important the culture ethos is reflective of that.
If you feel other departments at your company have a great cultural environment, as them for feedback on what makes it so good. Do the same with any friends and family members that work somewhere they love.
Combine the feedback and research and identify elements that you feel best represent what the company should stand for and how that can be shared and reflected in a set of values and beliefs.
Consider management need to lead by example and live by the same values, attitudes and behaviours expected from employees.
Consider how you can share your company culture externally through your assets and digital channels in way that will attract great employees.
If you'd like some tips on how you should plan for a crisis, check out this podcast episode.
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