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Human Resources
11 April 2024 - 4 min read
A strong company culture is not something that is built overnight and instead takes time, patience and input from an entire organisation. A strong company culture stems from shared goals and values, being receptive to change, creating difference and replicating behaviour between employees and leaders.
In this blog we’re going to discuss how to build a strong company culture, with tips and insights from HR experts.
Every company’s culture will vary, but in a general sense, Forbes describe company culture as the “living, breathing persona of your company, capturing the norms, values and behaviours that define the very character of your business”.
As culture builds, you’ll soon see the following benefits come to fruition:
When a company has strong values, is clear of their purpose and leads their workforce in a collaborative way, it will mirror in an employee’s behaviour and work ethic. Employee health and wellbeing will improve as individuals feel connected to the work they are doing and can see the overall impact it has to the organisation.
When a workforce is motivated and engaged with their deliverables, they’ll often feel more inclined to find new and innovative ways to work. Creativity and innovation spark from feeling inspired and a strong company culture helps to create this.
What may seem like the most obvious, a strong company culture ensures employees feel comfortable in the workplace and comfortable individuals, are productive. If employees feel the values they hold are representative of the company they work for, trusted relationships build and productivity increases.
A strong company culture improves both employee satisfaction and engagement. When employees feel engaged and committed to the work they are doing, they’re more likely to remain at that company for longer.
Now you know the benefits of a strong company culture, how do you build one?
“With structured feedback strategies in place, you can monitor employee satisfaction levels and help to manage issues in real time”. – Michael Page
Making space for employee feedback is vital when creating a strong company culture. Not only does this build trust, improve psychological safety and make room for collaboration, it allows you to act on employee feedback in real time. This means conflicts and issues can be solved before they become detrimental, and staff can visibly see that their feedback has been taken on board.
“Developing a culture-first mentality means focusing on employees’ total quality of life – including physical, mental, social, emotional and financial health”. – Megan M Biro \ CEO of Talent Culture.
Company culture is not only created within a company, but bleeds into all aspects of life. Individuals will spend a third of their lifetime working, which inevitably means that jobs and workplaces can significantly impact an individual’s wellbeing.
If you want your staff to champion your culture and therefore create a strong one, they must feel that their employer genuinely cares about their health, both physical and mental. This is where benefits that will actually impact an employee’s overall wellbeing come into play, such as flexible working, inclusive workplace socials, mental health assistance programmes and regular review of salary and bonus’.
“We all feel empowered when we have ownership. Then, we can create together”. – Pat Wadors \ Chief People Officer at UKG
At some point in everyone’s career, feelings of belittling or micro-managing are likely to occur. However, if this is something you are feeling consistently, then what you’re feeling is a lack of autonomy in your workplace.
Culture builds when individuals feel they have the space and support to collaborate, grow and learn. If autonomy is lacking, individuals will soon be left demotivated and uninspired. To create a strong company culture, employees need to feel as if they have the space, means and resources to develop.
Being a culture warrior may not come in the form of organizing huge initiatives; everyday HR work can impact culture if we approach it from a culture mindset.” – Cassie Whitlock \ Director of HR at BambooHR
We previously mentioned that company culture isn’t built overnight and such environments can take months to build. So, at the beginning, it’s recommended to focus on one or two things that you can make changes with immediately and implement them.
These changes will eventually evolve into bigger initiatives, but by starting small you are providing your employees with evidence that changes are occurring.
These changes could include:
Company culture starts from the top, which makes leadership style vital. To build a strong company culture, leaders must lead in the way that they would like to be led.
Leading by example could include:
A strong company culture is a diverse company culture, one in which all individuals feel both included and that they belong. Focus on:
In a competitive environment, company culture acts as your differentiator. This means that over time, your culture will turn into something that is unique to you as an organisation, echoing through duties, workforce, customers and future employees.
Support the development of your company culture and gain a CIPD 100% Online HR qualification with ICS Learn today.
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