In recent months, I’ve published several blogs on improving company culture. We all know that culture is a critical—if not the most critical—success factor in the business world. Our people are our most valuable asset, and creating a culture where they can thrive is the only way for them to be consistently effective, productive, and happy.
The good news is that creating a positive company culture is based on some relatively simple ideas. At the same time, it takes dedication and investment to make lasting changes. Here are five aspects of company culture to address:
#1. Hire Well
You need to bring in the right people to create a positive culture—people that fit into what already exists, or the culture you are aiming for. Build time into your hiring process, so you can be patient and carefully search for the right hires.
“You’ve heard people tell you to ‘hire well’, but what does that really mean? And what does it take to implement a modern hiring system that takes advantage of the latest best practices?”
Read more from this blog on 5 Practical Steps to Better Hiring.
#2. Embrace Learning
Perhaps even more important than hiring the right people is creating a culture of learning. Reusing this quote from a previous blog because it’s that important:
“The single biggest driver of business impact is the strength of an organization’s learning culture.” Bersin (1)
The research on learning cultures is really good news for your bottom line—because it shows that self-directed learning is more effective than formal training—and formal training is a whole lot more expensive. Read this blog on how to let your employees lead the way to a better learning culture.
#3. Take Risks
A positive company culture encourages risk-taking at all levels—the organizational level, the executive level, and the individual employee level. Do you encourage your employees to take risks? Do you take risks? Have you fostered a culture in which it’s safe to take risks?
These are all important questions. Read this blog on how to create a risk-taking culture, including why you’re not taking risks today and how you can fix it.
#4. Support your Employees
Hopefully your employees don’t hate their jobs—but statistically speaking, some probably do. Today’s business world requires a focus on engaging employees and appealing to the growing number of millennials in the workforce. So it’s important to understand why people end up hating their jobs, and what you can do to avoid the problem.
This blog goes into four core reasons employees hate their jobs—and how to fix them.
#5. Empower your Employees
The best company cultures are filled with empowered employees. Everyone seems to know that empowerment is important, but few seem able to capture it within their companies. I suggest simplifying the solution and committing to a change of attitude. This change requires new ways of thinking at the executive level because in order to empower employees, you have to shift responsibility down the line.
This blog outlines 5 Ways to Create an Employee-Empowered Culture.
What did I miss? Are there other key parts to a positive company culture? Share your ideas below.
References:
Photo: Shutterstock
