Over the last 20 years, building a positive “company culture” has been a big focus in business. But, how important is it really? Well, according to the numbers, it’s not only important, it can make or break a business.
Studies consistently show that a company’s culture has a direct impact on employee turnover, productivity, and overall company success. Using turnover rates as an example, a recent Columbia University study found that the likelihood of job turnover in organizations with poor company cultures is 48.4%, while it’s a mere 13.9% in organizations with strong cultures.
But, you ask, doesn’t building a robust culture required a robust budget? How can my business compete with company cultures like those at Google and Facebook who create state-of-the-art offices, host lavish company parties, and offer benefits and perks that have employees proclaiming their eternal loyalty?
Well, I’m happy to report that building a positive company culture doesn’t have to involve fancy buildings or expensive freebies (although a foosball table is always nice). Here are some ways smaller companies can give their culture a big boost without, well, going broke.
Acknowledge…and Reward.
One of the biggest ways to keep employees happy, fulfilled and productive is to acknowledge their successes and contributions. In fact, looking again at turnover rate, a study by Deloitte found that the top 20% of companies with a strong recognition culture had 31% lower turnover as compared to their competitors.
And, while a verbal “thank you” and “great job” can go a long way, offering more tangible rewards are important too. Acknowledge a job well done with quarterly or yearly performance bonuses, years of service gifts, on-the-spot bonuses, and employee appreciation celebrations. Again, these types of rewards don’t have to be extravagant to inspire extra motivation and loyalty. An after-work happy hour or a company BBQ can go a long way…
In addition to such “top-down” forms of recognition, peer-to-peer acknowledgement is also effective in boosting employee morale. Beyond encouraging lots of peer-given praise, once again, money talks. A great way to integrate this into your culture is to offer a token of excellence system. In these types of programs, co-workers can give their peers real or virtual recognition mementos that can be later traded in for tangible rewards like gift cards, company products or even cash rewards.
For more information and resources on how to build a recognition-rich culture, take a look at this Employee Recognition Guide from the hrcouncil.ca website.
Give and Solicit Feedback…Frequently.
Leadership trainers Zenger Folkman recently looked into the feedback practices of 22,000 leaders globally and found that those scoring in the top 10% on giving feedback had employees that were three times more engaged than employees of those scoring in the bottom 10%. This study also revealed that the bottom 10% of leaders had employees who were three times more likely to consider quitting. Click here for the full study.
Think you’re fitting the feedback bill with those yearly performance reviews? Think again. HR experts across the board agree that, while these once-a-year evaluations are a valuable forum for giving and getting feedback, they hardly cut it when it comes to giving employees the tools they need to thrive. If an employee is consistently failing to meet expectations, that crucial feedback shouldn't be sprung on them as a year-end surprise. They need to know immediately when expectations are not meet. And, most importantly, they need support along the way to correct the situation.
Mindtools features a good article on giving feedback effectively. It, as well as many other online articles and tools on the subject, emphasize the importance of timeliness, frequency, providing specific suggestions and following up. Be sure you and your leaders study up if you want your employees, and your business to succeed.
Kick Up Your CSR…and Quick!
Long gone are the days when incorporating social responsibility into the workplace consisted of little more than putting out a couple of recycling bins and killing the lights at the end of the day. In fact, studies show that creating a culture of social responsibility is now more important than ever, and can greatly impact a business’s ability to attract, retain and inspire fresh talent.
According to the 2016 Cone Communications Millennial Employee Engagement Study, 64% of Millennials seriously consider a company’s social and environmental commitments when deciding where to work. Furthermore, 64% said they won’t take a job if a potential employer doesn’t have strong corporate social responsibility (CSR) practices.
Clearly, this is a must-do if you want to maximize your hiring and retention rates. But, how can you do it well while keeping costs down? One way is to adopt green practices. These don’t have to be extreme. You can do things like setting paperless policies, committing to purchasing green office supplies, and allowing employees to telecommute a few days a week. The U.S. Small Business Administration offers valuable suggestions and resources for ways to incorporate more green practices into your day-to-day operations.
One of the most common ways small and large companies boost their CSR is by giving back to the community. Some have BOGO programs where the company donates an exact item match for every item sold. Other businesses offer employees paid time-off to volunteer in their communities.
Another charitable giving practice rapidly gaining momentum is donating a percentage of a customer’s purchase to the charity of their choice. This has the dual advantage of building an internal culture of giving back, while also increasing customer loyalty externally. To get a sense of how wide-spread this practice has become, check out Goodshop.com, a popular online coupon site that features coupons from thousands of retailers who will donate a percentage of a shopper’s purchase to the cause of their choice.
Get Flexible…(you won’t break, I promise).
Apparently, Gumby got it right when it comes to smart business. In order to attract and retain great employees, many businesses are becoming more flexible when it comes to work schedules and telecommuting options. In a study from the Journal of Applied Psychology, researchers found that flexible work schedules were very effective in increasing employee satisfaction and productivity, as well as reducing employee absenteeism.
Worried that offering flexibility will leave your workers floundering for ways to connect? One of the keys to adopting flextime policies is to be sure all teams have easy and efficient ways to communicate, collaborate and share documents. Luckily, today’s advanced communication technology offers a plethora of online tools to help co-workers keep in touch.
Skype, Slack, Google Hangouts and HipChat are all good tools for messaging and conferencing, while Dropbox and Google Docs are good for file sharing. There are several other choices, many of which are listed in PC Magazine’s The Best Online Collaboration Software of 2017.
As an extra tip, be sure to check online for extra savings when purchasing these programs and platforms. Here are some coupons and deals on business software which can definitely save you a bundle on software for remote collaboration, as well as general business operations.
In conclusion, I hope my article has helped generate some fresh ideas on how to enhance your company culture without eating away at your bottom line. In fact, by implementing these practices, you just might find that the rise in employee productivity and retention will give your bottom line just the boost it needs to make your business thrive!