It’s not an easy task but without a doubt, it is necessary. Without it there’s bound to be any number of pitfalls: plateaus, egos and stagnation, to name a few. Perhaps most significant is the lack of community and growth a company will see when this one thing is not valued or implemented.
What exactly is this seemingly illusive concept? Culture, of course- and it’s a must in today’s Millennial driven workforce. Recently I sat down with Mitzi Flexer, Director at an international CRE firm, to talk about what culture means to her- and the steps to organically create it; here’s what she had to say:
Know Your Team I hate to break it to you, but this goes beyond having the ability to pronounce their first and last names. Instead, managers and team leaders must have a firm grasp of the people who make up their team to truly be able to connect with them. Flexer suggests “building teams slowly at first- especially during a merger or startup- to allow time for the manager to understand who is on their team before adding to or growing. Know their birthdays, their anniversaries, their kid’s names and ages- everything is important and provides missing links necessary for success.”
Second Home
“At the end of the day, company culture means having a second home environment; odds are you see your colleagues more than your siblings and parents- and some weeks even your spouse.” Work to mold and define the culture that you want to be an active member in- a place that doesn’t feel like you’re “simply punching a clock.”
Embrace Technology Flexer is quick to support the use of technology in the workplace- and out. “I don’t believe in only coming in early and staying late. Get your employees off desktops and give them a laptop to take home. If they are right for your company and high-achievers, they will get the work done. If not, then you’ll know and they’ll eventually be gone.”
Remove Micromanaging
One of the quickest ways to lose employees and ruin the culture is to have a boss that micromanages. Showing employees that you respect and trust their abilities to make decisions to complete projects goes a long way towards improving the mentality of the workplace- and increase productivity overall.
Demonstrate Patience
Finally, Flexer suggests demonstrating patience; “I’ve found that the person overzealous to receive recognition rarely lasts in a large company. Everyone is testing the waters and wants to make sure you’re sincere regarding your actions and intentions. Instead, I like the listeners- the ones quietly focusing on their own metrics or the team’s overall.”
To her point, a healthy company culture is often destroyed when egos no longer fit inside a company. It’s when team members stop looking at the goals as a unit that a plateau begins and growth is interrupted. Companies with true organizational culture understand the benefits of success that is brought on by collaboration and an open flow of communication amongst the team.