Company culture. It's what all companies are looking to hone so that employees both enjoy working there AND work effectively.
It's not an easy balance to maintain. Too fun and relaxed, and your employees may struggle to keep up with their work. Too rigid, and they may feel stifled and become burnt out quickly. Both scenarios are no good for company culture.
Developing your corporate culture is a bit of science. It will take some trial and error, and some things that work for other corporations may not work for yours. However, there are several things that pretty much any company can do to improve their culture overall.
1. Update Headshots Across the Company
Appearing in sync as a corporation is essential to conveying the right message to your employees and customers. You can create the image of a united front with matching headshots for your entire company.
You'll want to focus on things like a unified background, standards in dress and grooming, and the right photography angles. Most importantly, you want to stay within a specified budget, which can be challenging at a corporate level.
It might help to study a corporate headshots guide to help you curate the best images for your company at the right price point. Researching these tips and tricks will help you feel more confident when implementing these photography specifications in your company headshots.
2. Have Clear Communication
Doesn't everyone need to work a little harder at communicating? Most of a company's problems seem to boil down to a miscommunication somewhere along the lines. Implementing communication systems can help your company avoid a whole slew of misunderstandings.
It might help to reestablish the chain of contact so employees know who to contact when there's a problem or announcement. Who do they need to include on their email chains? Who do they speak with when they need to solve a specific problem? Who do they report to at the end of the day?
Implementing automation in communication can also be helpful. Project management software, email protocols, in-house tech security, and other artificial intelligence features can be extremely helpful in streamlining communications across the board.
3. Create Core Values and Stand by Them
Do you know your company's core values? If the answer is no, you may have found a key problem in your company's culture problems. Every employee should know your company's mission and value statements, which shape what your company stands for. This information will detail how they should act and treat others, along with what they offer to the world.
If you haven't developed core values, now is the time to do so. If you have core values that are not clearly defined and advertised, start working on a solution. It might be as simple as printing a poster for every office space in your corporation stating the values and sending an email encouraging employees to familiarize themselves with them.
4. Provide Team Building Experiences
Cultivating stronger employee relationships is important, which means focusing on team building. That doesn't necessarily mean the cliche solution of hosting a retreat where everyone does a trust fall with their nearest coworker. But it does mean implementing certain experiences with the express purpose of team-building.
It could be as simple as designating a specific eating area or occasionally ordering lunch for everyone in the company. This will encourage more people to gather at different parts of the day and interact with peers and superiors.
Of course, it doesn't hurt to throw in a good team-building exercise like a trust fall here or there, but don't overdo it!
5. Build Trust Through Transparency
Your first step in building transparency is improving communications, as discussed above. You want your company to have up-to-date communication tools and designated systems to help employees use them effectively.
It's also important to stress transparency both top to bottom and with clients and customers. Focus on what you can and should share rather than what you want to hide from others.
Talk openly about successes and challenges your company faces. Get your employees involved in the process of solving problems, and congratulate everyone who had a part in mounting successes. These simple moves make your employees feel valuable to the corporation, encouraging them to stay and contribute more.
6. Recognize Employee Achievements and Contributions
What you water will grow. If you're constantly pointing out the negative, like mistakes that employees make, they'll most likely focus on those things and struggle to know how to excel in their jobs. Conversely, if you repeatedly point out the good in employees, they'll know what you value and how to aspire to reach your expectations.
This doesn't mean you shouldn't hold your employees accountable or that you should have a low standard. You always want to clarify your expectations and encourage employees to do their best. But use positive affirmation, continual recognition, and appropriate rewards to incentivize success.
7. Avoid Micromanaging
A corporation only works when each tier is allowed to function at its level. When you have a person or a few people at the top constantly stepping in to make suggestions and oversee day-to-day operations, efficiency goes out the window.
As a manager, your job is to create an environment where your employees can share their unique skills and talent sets. Doing so means giving room for flexibility, encouraging creativity, and asking for new ideas across the board.
Let your employees do what they do best and only interject guidance when absolutely necessary. You might be surprised at how amazing your employees are when they can shine in their respective spaces.
Enjoy the Benefits That Come with Improved Company Culture
Developing a positive corporate culture is a marathon, not a sprint. You won't see overnight results, even if you implement these steps perfectly. Rather, you'll see improvements by degrees, so don't worry if you don't see results immediately.
That being said, continually evaluate your efforts to improve your culture. If it's been some time and you're not seeing the results you want, it may be time to try something new.
The most important thing is to be flexible and allow your employees to put their best selves forward. With this foundation in place and continuous effort in your place, you'll no doubt see a significant improvement in your entire corporate environment.
