Ask any successful business owner, and they’ll tell you that company culture is instrumental when it comes to attracting and retaining the best possible talent. However, even the greatest marketing genius of our time won’t be able to conjure a great culture out of thin air. Instead, you need to instigate effective, ongoing contributions from both management and low-level employees. If you feel you’re struggling to create a strong company culture, here are some valuable pointers to take on board.
Start with Yourself and Upper Management
While everyone in a company has their part to play in shaping the culture, the process all starts with the CEO, and the most senior leaders of the business. The aim here is to create a universal, tight-knit culture which everyone is on board with, and keeps your whole workforce organized when navigating through periods of disruption. To get there though, you need to start embedding the culture you’re aiming for in your everyday actions and behaviors. This will instigate a trickle-down effect which reaches every echelon of the business.
Give Millennial Workers Experiences and Allow them to Make a Difference
Perks are always a great way to inspire a stronger company culture, from free food to gym memberships. Having said that, millennial workers have been found to value experiences considerably more than professionals from generations X and Y, and giving them opportunities for this is essential for engaging effectively with them. Any kind of experience which takes them out of the usual scope of their work will be great for fostering a strong company culture, but you should specifically aim for non-profit ones, that allow your workers to make a real difference. Look into local community projects or something on a larger scale which your company could get involved in.
Know When You Need Help
While the CEO usually has a pretty clear idea about what they want the company culture to be like, it can often be very difficult to get their whole workforce to mesh together as one, and become part of the overarching vision. If you’ve been trying to create a stronger company culture for some time, and feel that you’ve failed consistently, then consider reaching out for help. Like anything these days, you can now outsource team building and organization with companies such as Six Disciplines. Of course, not every firm is going to be a good fit for yours, so shop around and spend wisely!
Make Room for Employee Contributions
As I’ve mentioned above, although the process of shaping the company culture should start at the top of the pyramid, everyone needs to be able to contribute to the company culture in order for it to remain authentic. If you feel that you and your lieutenants are simply dictating what the culture is, and your workers are just smiling and nodding, then you may need to make some changes to ensure the whole thing is a little more grassroots. Think about the current structure and nuances in your business, and make some changes to ensure employees can contribute more.
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