Following the Great Resignation, many business leaders asked, “Why aren’t employees happy?” The top reason people were moving on was not around compensation but a toxic work culture.
The culture within a company impacts whether your business can attract new talent in today’s landscape. According to research by Deloitte, 94% of executives and 88% of employees believe a distinct corporate culture is vital to a business’s success.
So how do you create an attractive work culture that retains the best talent? Unfortunately, many businesses fail by mistaking culture for perks. Free yoga, pizza parties and supplemented gym memberships might be nice, but they fail to contribute to a culture valued by workers.
Here are three areas businesses can improve upon to create a workplace culture that leads to happy, engaged, productive employees:
Become People-Focused
Do you remember to prioritise your staff? So often, business leaders get caught up in the running and growing of their business that they forget about creating and nurturing a healthy culture alongside it. It is a simplistic view, but a successful business will follow when you focus on creating an environment where people can thrive and enjoy doing what they do.
Putting people first involves remembering that your team are people who have feelings, passions, and other things going on in their lives outside of work. By creating a culture for flexible working, in most cases, employees tend to reciprocate the respect given and become more productive in their duties.
Additionally, ensuring employees are equipped with tools and processes that set them up for success goes a long way. When a business has suitable systems and software in place, staff will be happier, work with greater efficiency, and have more time to focus on strategic tasks that benefit the growth of the business.
Be Transparent
Are you open and honest with your teams? Perfection may be an unrealistic expectation, but honesty isn’t. When honesty and forthright communication are the norms, they contribute to a better work environment. Company leadership should proactively communicate, in advance, with staff about policies, strategic moves, and how changes will impact them.
In addition to outgoing communication strategies, leaders should also seek honest feedback from team members. Transparency and regular feedback ensure that issues are dealt with appropriately, in a timely fashion, and that everyone in the organisation feels heard.
Partner with Employees on Professional Development
Do you consider future career paths and growth opportunities for your staff? Your work culture should value employees’ opportunities to grow and achieve their professional goals. When your team has opportunities to increase their expertise, they perform better and experience more job satisfaction.
When employees have the chance to pursue professional advancement in your organisation, they are also less likely to quit to pursue other opportunities.
To help with this, company leaders should:
- Meet one-on-one with workers to help them set professional development goals
- Give employees time and resources to pursue training and education
- Provide training and education reimbursement
- Offer opportunities for development in the workplace, such as cross-training
Professional development also reduces the kind of worker attrition that can impact morale and leave existing staff overworked.
Mentorship can also be a benefit. In some cases, employees may not be sure of the path they wish to take or are simply unaware of their options. These workers can benefit significantly from being matched with mentors who will provide them with insights and guidance.
With the COVID-19 pandemic, we have all learned to adapt to new ways of working, which has provided an excellent opportunity to review existing employee processes and introduce these new approaches that build an attractive workplace culture. Credico UK recommends fostering a work culture that is fun, empathetic, and allows people to try new things.
A good company culture ultimately drives existing employee engagement, boosts retention rates, and drives interest in top external talents.