Your workplace may have a muggy personality or it may be filled with charisma. Either way, your organization has company culture. It’s one of those things that is always there, just not intentional. That can change though. You may feel like your teaching the old dog a new trick, but it’s possible. Company culture is very important to retention and attracting the A-Players on your team.
Recently a survey featured on The Wall Street Journal showed 63% of Millennials would rather make $40,000 per year at a job they love than $100,000 a year at a job they think is boring. What this is telling you is it doesn’t matter how much you’re willing to compensate good employees, company culture matters. Create an atmosphere where people would be willing to sacrifice $60,000 a year just to work there! Obviously, we are not telling you it’s a good idea to cut pay and tell everyone not to be board. We are telling you…if you don’t invest in the people, in the atmosphere, it’s going to cost a lot more than just their wages.
No matter how great the culture is, no one will be attracted to your organization unless it is shared. Find a few volunteers to help with increasing the brand visibility. Offer movie tickets or simple gestures for volunteers who write blog articles, tweet brand experiences, share images on Instagram. Leverage the social media accounts of team members and the company to show off the people who make up the team. Using fun #hastags can create unification and communication outside daily work activities.
A popular company culture characteristic is the desire to work for companies who are socially responsible. This is a great way to get team members to come together and work for something with a deeper purpose. Find a charity, non-profit or community group where you feel like you can make an instant impact. Nothing feels better than service. Working with your co-workers to give back can create long lasting relationships.
Taking the lead to organize activity clubs is a great way to get employees to have quality interactions. Popular activities have been book clubs, biking groups, Cross Fit and even joining a team for a Spartan Race. Help organize activities where people can demonstrate their passion. This is a great way for people to feel included and involved.
This is a big area of focus right now for many companies. Engaged employees lead to increased productivity, longer retention and lower risk. Create a group that creates a reward structure for engaged employees. This is a great way to build a positive company culture. A peer reward system is much more powerful than a top-down approach. They will work together to become more engaged and produce higher quality output.
Like was previously mentioned, Company Culture exists regardless if planned for or not. It’s important to help guide and direct what type of culture you want to be part of. Create a place where people are proud to wear your logo. Somewhere people feel like they belong. You’ll have a better atmosphere and one you’ll enjoy bragging about. With that all said, never lose site on the work. The goal is to enhance output and increase morale. It is not an excuse to have fun and fail to deliver on projects.