How Can You Build a Corporate Culture That Keeps Employees Happy and Engaged?

Your company culture must be the number one positive force behind your brand, or else it means you are unable to shape the perception, reputation, and retention numbers in your company! Brad Feld, co-founder of startup accelerator TechStars and managing director at VC firm The Foundry Group, says that too many startups focus on hiring for competency over cultural fit. "Many people default into choosing people who have high competence but a low cultural fit," he writes. "This is a deadly mistake in a startup, as this is exactly the wrong person to hire."

A good corporate culture does not mean offering a piece of cake on your birthday or after-work drinks. Corporate culture is actually much deeper; it reaches into the actions and psychology of employees. A good culture makes employees feel safe and important in the work environment, which results in employees staying with the company brand longer. The more your company grows, the more your employee count grows! With a healthy corporate culture, you can retain all employees. Remember—a day without employees is a loss of work and a loss of many clients.

4 Keys to Create a Healthy Corporate Culture

1. Hire for Skill and Culture Fit

Turnover in organizations is expensive. It is important that companies do everything they can from the front end, ensuring they will be bringing the right talent into their organizations. Top organizations not only assess skills but also candidates' natural synergy with the organization's culture. Moreover, top organizations generally hire a less skilled employee if they seem to have a strong culture fit because skills can be trained, but culture cannot be trained.

2. Transparency

Creating transparency is when all employees are given the opportunity to provide feedback or inquire, allowing them to clear their doubts. Moreover, they will be updated on what is happening in the organization. This makes them motivated as well.

3. Value Employees' Opinions

Employees must be encouraged to feel free to share ideas and give feedback. Top managers must give them opportunities to share their opinions, as it would make employees feel important and valued. It would be great if any employee’s idea is put to use; that particular employee should be awarded and recognized.

4. Demand Accountability

Make accountability part of your culture through strong communication and follow-ups. Make it convenient to communicate by using enterprise social network platforms. If employees are not being innovative or trying out something new, it shows that the culture is not effectively built. Their interests and needs will change as the company grows. It would be best if you take time to re-evaluate the motivation factors.

These are the top four keys that would help organizations thrive. You must always remember, employees are the biggest asset for your organization, so you will have to make sure you are putting in an effort to retain your employees. Every successful organization starts with a great culture!

I'd like to contribute some more ideas on creating a happy corporate culture. It's quite simple and involves minimal cost, if any. There are many ways to create a positive working environment. The following methods can transform your workplace into a happy culture in a matter of months.

1. Get to Know Your Employees

First, you should pay attention to your employees' lives. Acknowledge important events and inquire about their families. Workers often appreciate knowing that their boss cares about them beyond the work setting. Celebrating their birthdays and showing genuine involvement in those celebrations is another good way to demonstrate their value to you.

Next, treat each of your employees as an individual. This may be challenging for some, especially in large companies, but try to get to know as many as possible. Learn and remember what each person enjoys and discuss it the next time you meet them. Daily walking meetings can also help you understand different staff preferences.

Understanding your employees' preferences helps you identify their strengths and weaknesses. When issues arise, address them constructively without being disrespectful or rude. Offer constructive criticism and recognize what they do well. Workers often need more encouragement following criticism, so compliments and humor can be effective.

2. Show That You Trust Them with Big Responsibilities

Provide your employees with opportunities to learn and take on challenges. This demonstrates your trust in their abilities. Employees can become bored with repetitive tasks and may leave if they remain unchallenged for too long. To motivate and retain them, keep your employees engaged and acknowledge their talents.

Developing an open-door policy lets your employees know you are attentive to their concerns and willing to discuss their career goals. This approach assures your team that they can confide in you and that you will maintain their confidentiality.

3. Clarify What Your Enterprise Stands For

Employees are often more engaged when they feel their team is working toward a common goal. To help your workers feel they are working for a purpose beyond a paycheck, express your commitment to the company's core values.

Be transparent with all employees by keeping them informed of important events that may impact the enterprise as a whole. Give credit to the entire team when success is achieved. Often, others contribute to an individual's success. Acknowledge this by saying, "Mary managed to attain this success, and I am sure she'd agree with me when I sincerely thank the entire team for their contribution to making this success possible."

There will be times when workers have to work long hours. Acknowledge this and show your appreciation with small tokens like gift cards or by letting employees leave early on a Friday.

When your staff feels they are part of a team, they are more likely to contribute to or support projects outside their specific job duties. Remember, great ideas can come from anyone. Be open to ideas from anyone in your company. Empower your workers, foster their self-confidence, encourage them to try new work methods, and allow them autonomy.

Creating and maintaining a happy corporate culture can positively impact business profits. According to Shawn Achor's book, "The Happiness Advantage: 7 Principles of Positive Psychology that Fuel Success and Performance at Work," a decade of research shows that happy workers boost productivity by 32%, increase sales by 37%, and improve work accuracy by an average of 19%.

If you can successfully combine good services and products, happy staff, and a motivating cultural environment, you will see better productivity and improved profits, as many companies have.

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Building a Strong Company Culture

Have an inverted pyramid structure that encourages dedication, service, and a supportive environment. Respect your employees and build trust and mutual faith. Hire people who fit your company culture.

Remember that no company can build a coherent culture without people who either share and believe in its core values or have the willingness and ability to wholeheartedly adopt those values. That’s why the greatest firms in the world also have some of the most stringent recruitment policies and procedures.

Regards