What Makes a Successful Company Culture?

business, technology and office concept – smiling female boss talking to business team

Why does company culture matter?

First of all, most workers spend more than half of their lives at work. You’d think with that being the case, most employees would enjoy where they work. Sadly, that’s not the case. In fact, Gallup explains that 63% of employees are not engaged at work.

Now for some good news. A recent study shows that happy workers are 12% more productive than the average worker. In fact, unhappy employees cost American business over $300 billion each year. It literally costs your company money to work with unhappy employees. The lesson here? Workplace culture matters. Making your office a place where your employees want to be is huge.

Here are some ways to do that:

1. Start with your team. You cannot create a company culture without starting with your team first. What are your team members’ desires? How do they view company culture? What do they want to see more of, and what do they want to see less of? Asking these questions will help you discover what your team really needs (and not just what you want).
2. Unite over shared values. Think of your company values as the glue that holds your team together. No matter how diverse your employees are, they were all hired with the same expectation of living up to these values. Create common goals and a culture that unites your team members over these goals. Don’t have a set of company values yet? Now’s the time to define them!
3. Define the why. Why does company culture matter to your team? Why do you want to unite them? Make it personal, and give even the most apprehensive employees a reason for uniting and living out this culture.
4. Communicate. This should be a given, but it’s so important that it deserves a spot on this list. Communicate with your team members regularly to ensure they’re happy and they’re getting what they need from your company. Never assume that your employees are happy unless you know your employees are happy.
5. Welcome change. As your employees grow and change, so will your culture. That’s okay — embrace it! Adapt to what your employees want, not what you’re comfortable with. Ultimately, this will help fuel your culture and bring your team closer together, resulting in more productivity.

Have more tips to define company culture? We’d love to hear them! Leave a comment below.