Company Culture in the Post-Pandemic Workplace
A few years ago, we wrote about how to define your company's culture. Our suggestions were somewhat open-ended and general. To refresh your memory, here they are:
Have a Sense of Purpose
Instill Confidence in your Team Members
Validate Core Values through Action
Sustain Employee Enthusiasm through Culture
You may ask where working remotely, paid maternity and paternity leave, PTO, or wellness stipends fall on this list. Those items are benefits, and there is a difference between benefits and company culture. Sure, benefits are essential and can make the difference between a candidate accepting an offer or an employee leaving for a different job, but culture is much more than benefits.
So why is company culture important? When you intentionally develop your company culture, you create a powerful tool for motivating your people. This “tool” can influence how your team feels about their work and the approach and actions they employ to help determine the direction of your company. While there are many traits a company should exhibit, four are essential to help your company stand out in the marketplace.
Open Communication and Positive Feedback
Mistakes happen. How you respond to them will leave a lasting impression. An error is not the end of the world. However, it can be the beginning of a valuable learning experience. Maintain an open-door policy that allows for transparent conversations. Have regularly scheduled 1:1s to discuss performance and goals and check in with team members personally. Another idea is to use surveys to gather honest feedback, then act on those results. Requiring accountability from the top down demonstrates to your team how important open communication and growth are to your company.
True Transparency
Share the company goals, setbacks, and wins. Then be honest about where the business is headed. Don’t leave your teams guessing because that is when they start trying to figure out what’s going on. When you choose to be open and lay all your cards on the table, there’s nothing for them to wonder about and no story to create. Your team wants to help you reach your goals, but they can’t do much to get you there if they don't know what they are.
Leading From the Trenches
When you started your business, it was challenging, exhausting, exhilarating, and sometimes scary. Now, you’ve got people. Continue to work alongside them and help them meet their goals. Find out what they need and why they need it. Rolling up your sleeves and digging in proves to your team that you care about them.
Opportunities for Advancement
Promote from within whenever possible. No one wants to sit stagnant in a dead-end job. It’s human nature to want to work hard and do more. As you grow and scale your business, ensure you add management levels for your existing members to fill. As your team grows, prioritize promoting from within and fill the bottom rungs with new people. Sure, there will be times when that’s not possible, but whenever it is, make sure you take care of your people first.
The pandemic caused the job market to shift in many ways. In the beginning, many people were laid off, lost their jobs, or were told to work from home. In the current post-pandemic world every company and business is grappling with finding the right employees, so your offer must be compelling and competitive. But you must also make sure your company’s culture is exceptional. You want your employees to talk about it, post about it, and tweet about it. You want your team to stay with you, grow with you, and tell their friends about you. Spend some quality time evaluating how you can either improve your culture or continue to make it a place people want to work. Need a sounding board for your ideas? Feel free to contact us today for a consultation. We're always happy to help.