There is something of a revolution happening in employment at the moment, as UK workers resign from their positions in unanticipated numbers. A combination of factors has been pinpointed in the now-dubbed “Great Resignation,” but one rises above all others as a significant driver: company culture.
The following suggestions require a level of investment on the behalf of the company and you may even consider a small business loan to assist your company to further its growth. While this kind of investment doesn’t directly benefit the profitable areas of business, it does increase employee retention, as well as morale and even public image.
The following are four measures your business can take to nurture that culture, and reverse a worrying trend in the jobs market.
Fostering Positive Relationships
An excellent place to start is with the internal relationships of workers, across departments and hierarchies. A cold management team can lead to a dispassionate workforce, where a positive and friendly working relationship is more likely to engender positivity and, in turn, productivity.
Making communications less formal and more frequent is key to a welcoming workplace. Communication channels such as Microsoft Teams or Slack are great places to start, as they offer employees a way to communicate in an authentic way, even when they are at work. These channels also make communications across different teams a lot easier, giving employees the opportunity to grow their networks, as well as their understanding of the company’s operations.
Personal Employee Development
An employee is more likely to value the business if they themselves feel valued. A key way to demonstrate their value is through investment in their career. Providing internal training and development opportunities to employees can improve their work, as well as signal your dedication to their improvement and investment in their skills. Goals can be set not only in terms of profitability, but to also celebrate employees’ achievements, milestones in their career, or simply life events.
Flexibility and Trust
Another crucial component to fostering a positive company culture comes with the elimination of micromanagement tactics. Employees that feel limited by their schedule or superiors are less likely to give their best, while autonomy to govern their own working day – and flexibility with regard to how they work – can pay dividends for morale and loyalty alike.
Start with offering flexible working hours to employees and then institute new task management processes by department. Creating smaller teams might also be beneficial. If your team is too big, there is a good chance that not everyone will be engaging, whereas smaller teams make engagement levels rise, along with trust and productivity.
A Business with Purpose
All of these company culture shifts can be unified under one central thing: a sense of purpose. By clearly advertising the company’s purpose and message, workers can identify more with their own work, and the contributions they bring to the workforce. In adopting ESG measures (Environmental, Social and Governance), companies can inspire a sense of pride in their workers, as tangible social benefits arise from their work.
Company culture is, in essence, the atmosphere of a company’s working environment – defined in part by the actions of its leaders, as well as departmental decision-making and overall employee treatment. It is a crucial aspect of any business, being the primary motivator for workers in younger generations to accept an offer with a given company.
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