4 areas to support positive work culture
Everyone wants a positive work culture, but what does that mean and how do you accomplish that? We can all envision it right? Employees come to work engaged, highly productive and overall proud and happy to be at work. Yet why do so many businesses struggle to achieve this?
1. Vision: A business does not become highly successful or grow by accident. Successful businesses are not run on the premise of “lets do what we want and hope we make money and grow.” Clear vision for the growth of the company and benchmarks to get there are necessary. This includes what you want your employees to say about your business. That is your starting point. Without that bullseye, you are just throwing darts (i.e, perks, bonuses or more pay) randomly at a board – don't be surprised if they don't stick.
2. Leadership: There needs to be leadership to execute the vision. To look at how all the facets of the business support the vision and vice versa. In some companies an executive may be assigned to assess this and provide clear input. In other companies, large and small, a consultant who comes along side of the leadership can help coach those in charge on how to integrate the pieces and execute the vision. The point being, its not intuitive to all leaders and its also as challenging as marketing, accounting and innovation. Don't skimp and get help when you need it. Employees can sense when a leader is sharing a clear vision or when they are “just shooting from the hip”.
3. Transparency: In a recent Harvard review survey of employee engagement, over 70% indicated they are most engaged when senior leadership keep them updated on what is going on in the company and the direction that the company is moving (American Psychological Association, 2014). Yet, over half of employees surveyed by Career Builder indicated they do not trust their bosses, due to a lack of honesty and clarity. Furthermore, more than one third of employees say they are likely to leave their jobs because of their perspectives on the boss’s performance. How does this happen and what can we do about it?
Its all about transparency. This does not mean you need to open the “books” or share personnel challenges. It simply means that interactions between the boss and employees includes sharing of company goals, processes by which to get there and a genuine interest in input from staff on how to solve problems or optimize systems to reach a shared goal. And yes, leaders everywhere will tell you they have asked their employees for feedback and either they heard “crickets” or received irrelevant ideas. That does not mean stop asking, it just means that the vision is not clear, the leadership is not communicating correctly and/or some folks were not the right hire. Fix the problem not the symptoms.
4. Shared Growth: in order for the company to realize its vision for growth and positive work culture, those within the company need to be on the same path. For employees to share in problem solving, stay engaged and committed, they need to have clear expectations for a job well done, be clear on the expected outcomes and how they themselves can continue to grow along with the company. Complacency is the death of growth. Often when leaders think about keeping their employees happy and engaged they revert to bonuses, perks and more pay. These are great tools in moderation for reinforcing exceptional performance, they are not however the key to high productivity and engagement. That comes from within, as a result of a shared vision and a clear path.