How to Build a Constructive Company Culture

Building a constructive company culture is integral to a successful business. A positive company culture will influence every facet of your business from recruitment to customer satisfaction, and it is the main proponent of a productive and happy workforce.

Many companies who make the top listings for ‘Best Place to Work’, understand the value of their employees, know how to help them perform their best work, and promote a constructive, encouraging company culture, from the bottom up.

According to research undertaken by Deloitte, “94% of executives and 88% of employees believe a distinct workplace culture is important to business success” and that there is a direct “correlation between employees who say they are happy at work and feel valued by their company and those who say their organization has a clearly articulated and lived culture”.

It is clear from the above statistics that a constructive company culture means happy, productive employees who are prepared to go the extra mile for the company who values their work, so, how should you go about achieving a positive culture within your company?

The following points will help you understand how and why a constructive company culture can help your business become more successful.

Employee Morale

Promoting a positive culture within your company is guaranteed to improve employee morale through ensuring your workforce are satisfied, motivated, and valued.

In order to maintain this culture over an extended period of time (to ensure that there are tangible factors to your company culture, and not just words) it is worth considering the following points:

• Continuing Professional Development – shows you value your staff and are prepared to invest in their training and career

• Management and Leadership Training – will ensure that there is a trustworthy, pro-active, and reliable hierarchy that can demonstrate and promote the culture within the company

• Mentoring and Coaching – provides a structured framework within which employees can feel supported and assisted

• Goals and Objectives – having clear aims for both your company and your workforce will ensure everyone is working from the same page. Creating a company goal (and ensuring everyone knows what that is) will provide meaning and purpose for employees.

• Social Interaction – positive and trusting workplace relationships are key in establishing a constructive company culture. Improve relationships through social interactions in the workplace such as, team meals, exercise classes, fundraising for charity, lunchtime workshops, and so on.

Employee Loyalty

A constructive and supportive company culture will help you attract top talent, and ensure that you keep them.

A positive workplace tends to encourage loyalty and longevity of service, as employees feel they are treated well and appreciated which makes going to work every day a pleasure instead of a chore.

Your employees are more likely to promote your workplace and business if they believe in your values and share your positivity around the company.

This employee loyalty is passed from your workforce to your customers, encouraging brand trust and continued custom.

Employee Health

Employees who work for a company which fosters a constructive company culture are more likely to be less stressed and healthier, so they take less time off sick and can manage their workload without it affecting their performance or health.

There are numerous ways to encourage a healthier workforce, including some of the following:

• Physical Wellbeing – a positive way to help your employees maintain a good level of physical wellbeing is to offer lunchtime walks, exercise classes, or even weekend challenges such as hiking and camping.

• Emotional Wellbeing – can be supported through initiatives such as, a family fund (for family crises), gratitude notes (given to employees to thank those who have made an extra effort), and open communication channels with HR, management and team leaders.

• Mental Wellbeing – often just having the ability to talk to someone without fear of judgement can be enough to help relieve mental anxiety, so ensuring there is someone available for your employees to talk to about their problems is a priority (this doesn’t need to be a full time staff member but could be a counsellor who visits monthly). It is also worth noting here that helping those less fortunate than ourselves tends to make us appreciate what we have and find value in little things, so supporting a community project and encouraging all staff to raise funds, help out and promote the project will give employees the opportunity to give something back to the community and feel good about themselves.

Building a constructive company culture doesn’t have to cost the earth and can be introduced by any company, in any sector. If employers take the time to genuinely invest in their employees’ happiness and well-being, then they’ll reap the benefits in the long term.

If you would like to talk to us about how Creative Word can help you build a sustainable, positive company culture, then please contact us here.