We all know there's no magical one-size-fits-all strategy to creating a high-performing culture where employees don't just show up just for a paycheck, but show up because they're proud of the company they work for and truly feel happy and recognized. Studies have shown that employees who work at companies who value culture and employee satisfaction tend to be happier and and more productive. Having an eye for talent is just one small part of the equation though, while culture makes up the bigger percentage. Looking to transform your company culture to drive better employee performance and work satisfaction? Continue reading!

There are 2 key elements to building a great company culture where employees thrive and can be the best version of themselves everyday. The first is creating an engaging environment where your employees are excited to show up to work everyday. The second is creating an environment to bring your global population together to promote collaboration and encouragement with all employees.

Below I’ll share some insight I learned from when I used to lead organizational development & employee engagement initiatives at both small and large corporations.
 

1) Leadership

Change always starts at the top. This isn’t just the written text you see at the water cooler or on the front page of your company’s employee welcome packet. Own it. It is your job to ensure these are words you embody everyday so your team will start to do the same.
 

2) Environment

Take a deliberate approach to designing the work environment your workforce is immersed in. For example, if you want to create a culture of openness, lead by example by creating fun open discussions or have an open office layout that encourages employee engagement.

4) Discipline

No company culture exists without a bit of discipline. Instilling discipline will reinforce driving engagement and results.
 

5) Image

Whether your brand image is fun and trendy, or more corporate, it is important to have guidelines that are reinforced through your company’s communication channels that start from the top. A great start to aligning on your brand image is incorporating it in company-wide memos, emails, or printed in communal break areas.

6) Transparency

Employees tend to feel more connected and invested in the companies they work for if there is full organizational transparency. Being kept in the loop means everyone, from top to bottom has visibility to all matters going on within the company, as well as the financial reports. Communicate productivity and goals to reinforce elements of the financials that may bear strategic or short-term opportunity.
 

7) Open Communication

No employee wants to be told their ideas or thoughts are not important. All employees want to feel valued and recognized for their work and/or ideas, so encourage it! Make your employees ideas heard, implemented and nurtured, and I promise you it will have a transformational affect on your company. As a leader, meet with your team frequently and talk about their ideas. A little encouragement goes a long way!
 

8) Feedback, Feedback, Feedback

This one reinforces our last point even more. Ensure you have mechanisms in place for cultivating feedback from your employees. These can be as easy as anonymous email tips or suggestion groups on your company chat software. Fostering a culture of feedback will not only help improve the weak spots in your infrastructure, but will nalso make your employees feel heard and valued.
 

9) Set Them Up for Long-term Success

Just as strategy alignment is a more engaging factor than compensation, so is career development. We all need to get the sense that we are going somewhere, moving forward, and growing both professionally and personally. Check in with your employees from time to time and conduct a performance management process to understand where your employees are and how they are feeling in their current position.

10) Reward & Recognition

Once you know what behaviors your company desires from each position in the company, ensure the right mechanics are there to support them. This can be rewards, recognition, promotions, and bonuses. Recognition is by far more critical than the reward itself. Most of us won’t ask for recognition, which makes it a hard personal need to fulfill. Just remember that recognition must immediately follow the positive action, it must be public, and most importantly, it must be sincere.

All in all, it is your job as a leader to be cognizant about the way the culture should be, taking a read on the current climate & behaviors of the organization, and closing gaps between the two that may exist. Employees will watch what you do and not what you say. So be deliberate about the organization habits that you want to see manifested and over time you will find your company take on the culture it set out to be.

Anthony Diaz
Founder and CEO of Health Hero