Building a Team That Thrives with the Power of Positive Company Culture

Let’s paint a picture. Imagine an office where employees are working under loads of stress and afraid of making even simple mistakes. Bosses micromanage employees by constantly hovering over their heads, and new hires are confused about their job roles. Guilt, gossip, and gaslighting are the new norm. Does this picture seem familiar to you? What you have just seen is a short example of a toxic work culture. No team can thrive under these conditions. True productivity needs a positive company culture where a worker is respected and not treated like a replaceable cog in the big corporate machine. No wonder 88 percent of people want to work for a company with a positive culture. If you create a hierarchy of job seekers’ demands, respect is the number one thing new hires look for in a company.

In this article, you’ll see 7 tried-and-true ways to create a positive company culture in your organization:

1. Clarify Your Core Values

Establishing your company’s core values should be an essential part of the hiring program. New hires believe that a company’s culture and values are their top influence when they’re deciding where to apply for a job. Another interesting survey shows that one-third of new recruits give their two-week notice just 90 days after joining because the company culture was below expectations.

Ask yourself these simple questions when creating a mission statement:

• What is your goal?
• What is important to you?
• What motivates you to stay in business?
• How is your company changing the world?

It’s equally important to update your company values with time. If your organization gets bigger and welcomes more employees, give your mission statement a much-needed overhaul.

2. Make Diversity a Priority

The best way to build a team that thrives under favorable and unfavorable conditions is to make diversity your top priority. Welcome people from all backgrounds and ensure your company has a zero- tolerance policy against discrimination. No bullying or harassment should be tolerated, either on company premises or from a worker’s social media accounts. This will motivate people of diverse
backgrounds to join your company.

Here’s why you need a diverse workforce. A diverse workforce:

• Is more creative
• Comes up with innovative ideas
• Makes more intelligent decisions
• Works a lot faster (i.e., better productivity)

You can take these simple actions to promote diversity in your organization:

• Encourage employees to share pronouns
• Celebrate different religious/cultural festivals
• Use diversity hiring methods to welcome diverse folks
• Incorporate unconscious bias in your recruitment drive

Remember the saying (I can’t recall who said it, though): A lack of diversity is a missed opportunity.

3. Appreciate Hard Work

Never miss a chance to appreciate your hardest-working employees for their contributions. After all, they are the driving force behind company success. It won’t hurt to acknowledge their diligence and commitment to company values, would it? A few words of appreciation go a long way in boosting employee productivity and loyalty to the company. Here’s how you can appreciate your best workers:

Give them a raise and reward top performers with financial incentives tied to their achievements.

• Paid time off will help them relax and avoid burnout
• Recognize their efforts in front of the whole squad
• Prizes and shoutouts will never go out of style
• Employee of the Month” awards always do the magic

4. Celebrate and Have Fun

Studies show that employees are more engaged in their jobs when their friends work at the same company. Workplace friendships do wonders for employee productivity and form an essential part of company culture. But it’s impossible for all of your employees—or even most of them—to have buddies
working there as well.

The obvious alternative is to boost camaraderie among already existing workers. Plan social outings so your workers can spend some time after hours and get to know each other. Company picnics, weekly lunches, and Friday happy hours are a few ways to bring employees together as a “work family.”

Workplace friendships can be a valuable asset for employee retention. Strong connections with colleagues can promote a sense of belonging, improve morale, and make work more enjoyable. As a result, your employees will be less likely to quit.

5. Feedback is Important

A silent office is a breeding ground for discontent and demotivation. Stagnation and complacency reign supreme in an office devoid of feedback. Picture an office where employees try to bring something to the manager’s attention, but nobody gets back to them. They have new ideas to improve business operations but nowhere to share them.

Nothing demotivates a person faster than being unheard and ignored. Ask yourself this: Why would someone want to work at a place where employee feedback doesn’t merit a response?

If an employee comes up with a good idea, appreciate them for trying to improve the company. Listen to your workers and make them feel heard and valued. Remember the story of Flamin’ Hot Cheetos? While the exact details are debated, some accounts credit a janitor with suggesting a new flavor that became a
massive hit.

6. Invest in Employee Education

I remember studies from ten years ago (2014, sounds not too distant, does it?) saying, “Look, employees are leaving because they don’t get trained properly.” One might expect things to change in 2024. Sadly, a lack of training sessions and employee education is still a major challenge for company culture.

New workers need constant training during the onboarding process. Training makes them a good fit in the company, and slowly, they start getting the hang of it at work. Unless new hires can see how much they have grown after joining your organization, how else will they stay motivated to stay?

Even old employees must keep on learning thanks to the power of continued education. Education and pedagogical support are the two pillars of a positive work culture in this era of upskilling and reskilling.

7. Allow for Remote Work

Another great thing about a positive work culture is flexibility. Let’s face it, the days of rigid schedules and ‘come-hell-or-high-water’ expectations are fading fast. Speaking from experience, the worst workplaces are those where employees are supposed to show up to work no matter what. Regardless of weather conditions, flooding, or curfews, management expects employees to be at their desks by 9 AM. Yeah, that isn’t how you should run a company. Instead, it would help to let them work from home for a few days every month.

Work-from-home opportunities are no longer a perk, they’re a necessity in today’s competitive job market.

Wrapping up

Let’s be honest: a good salary isn’t the only thing that matters to employees. What they want more than anything else is to work somewhere they feel valued and respected. A positive company culture makes them comfortable, so they become more engaged at work and share their creative ideas openly.

You should implement these 7 tried-and-proven ways to build a super-productive team.