Ways to improve culture in the workplace

When we talk about workplace culture, what it means is the everyday experience of those working in an organisation. Culture is the shared values and the behavioural norms within that organisation. It does a lot to determine how happy and productive your employees are – so the healthier your culture, the more successful your company will be.

Here are some ways you can change your workplace culture for the better.

Communication & Leadership

Be transparent

If you are transparent with your workforce, they will trust you more and engagement levels will rise. Be open in celebrating successes, acknowledging difficulties and explaining your overall goals.

Listen actively

Make sure that when employees are talking to you, they have your undivided attention. Some examples of active listening techniques include removing all distractions, making use of non-verbal cues and asking open questions to draw deeper responses from them.

Lead by example

If you have a clear sense of how you want employees to act, you should be modelling that behaviour yourself. Workplace culture initiatives will have far more impact on employees if they can see that those higher up the chain are leading by example.

Set clear goals

You should set goals for your employees that are measurable and achievable. You should also explain how these fit into the core vision for the company.

Employee Experience & Growth

Recognise and reward

Put in place systems for measuring employee performance and give recognition to those who meet or surpass goals. Provide rewards like bonuses, training opportunities and promotions for that too, so you incentivise high performance.

Promote wellbeing

Meeting workplace goals should never come at the expense of wellbeing. Foster an environment where the physical and mental health of employees is taken seriously. They should feel able to say when they are struggling.

Offer flexibility and autonomy

Help employees achieve a better balance between work and home life by offering flexible options like working remotely some of the time. Give them responsibilities and the chance to make decisions instead of micro-managing them, so they grow in confidence.

Foster connection

Try to develop a culture where employees feel that they are sharing in something. This can include activities to build team spirit, events for socialising, and mentorship programmes.

Culture & Environment

Define the core values

You cannot separate the culture of an organisation from its values. Therefore you must clearly define and communicate those values to employees and be sure they are modelled by those in senior roles. That way they will be more likely filter down to the rest of the workforce.

Prioritise DEI

DEI stands for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion. It should be at the heart of any modern workplace culture, because it is all about making sure everyone feels welcomed and valued. You should place DEI policies at the centre of your culture and values.

Create psychological safety

What this means is that employees should not feel afraid. They need to feel safe talking to managers about any problems. Employees also need to know that they can make mistakes sometimes without facing punishment. This is how they will learn and grow, which will ultimately benefit the organisation.

Improve onboarding

Onboarding gives you the chance to inculcate new employees with the values of your organisation. This is just as important as making sure they are ready to start their work. Getting people to buy into your workplace culture from the start is easier than when they have been there for a long time.

Continuous Improvement

Solicit and Act on Feedback

Solicit regular feedback from your employees. This can concern the overall culture or just day-to-day work. Doing so will make your employees feel that their input is valued. Furthermore, they are in a good position to highlight potential areas of improvement. Act on their feedback if you think it is useful.

Measure and Adapt

There are numerous measures to gauge the success of the organisation, from staff turnover to employee performance. You must also be able to adapt to wider changes in culture so your company is not left behind.

At FiveRivers Consulting, we can provide you with an employee relations consultant in Northampton with experience in implementing successful culture change. Call us now for details.