Many companies take the position that their culture is what it is — and expect workers to adapt to it. Unfortunately, that approach doesn’t engage employees, help them be productive or make them feel like they never want to leave. Instead, taking steps to build and continually evolve your organisational culture can help your business become a talent magnet.
Organisational culture drives job satisfaction — and vice versa. While many companies are expanding their payrolls, they may still be unable to hire the skilled workers they need in today’s tight hiring environment. And this is on top of another problem: talented employees leaving to pursue new opportunities.
Employers can address both issues by assessing their culture and determining whether it promotes job satisfaction. It’s not enough for employers to offer competitive compensation and compelling benefits and perks. These factors alone won’t make employees feel truly satisfied in their jobs — or compel them to stay with an employer for the long term. According to Robert Half’s workplace happiness research, professionals derive job satisfaction from less tangible things, including:
- Having pride in their organisation
- Feeling appreciated
- Being treated with fairness and respect
- Having a sense of accomplishment
- Engaging in interesting and meaningful work
- Building positive workplace relationships
Though you can’t control every factor that contributes to your employees’ satisfaction at work, it is possible to create a workplace that allows positivity and productivity to flourish. Here are five tips for building that type of corporate environment:
1. Stay current
According to a new Robert Half survey, 91% of senior managers polled said the workplace has become more relaxed in last 10 years.
Is your company keeping up with the times?
Whether it’s offering a more relaxed dress code or dropping restrictions related to working from home, it all ties into what’s not only acceptable but what will make your company a place where people want to work and feel they can be themselves.
Change should be ongoing and evolving — not something that’s forced or rushed. Management needs to match what team members (and customers) want on a continual basis. That takes re-evaluation and communicating how the company is relatable to job seekers.
Hiring managers should communicate during the interview process how they take into consideration the needs of employees, such as through employee engagement surveys. Supervisors should also keep their teams current on changing policies to show how the organisation is keeping pace with staff members’ wants and needs. Businesses must modernise to stay marketable, bring in new talent, retain top performers, recognise diversity of thought, and celebrate successes and accomplishments.
2. Offer new challenges
If you learn everything there is to know about a job but aspire to keep growing as a professional, why would you stay in your current work situation? You wouldn’t.
That’s a hard lesson many employers have learned. Millennial and Gen Z workers, in particular, value continuous learning and are constantly looking to build new skills and tackle new challenges. Don’t let talented people stagnate at your organisation if you want them to stay. Build a culture that emphasises ongoing professional development.
3. Discuss career paths
Another tough lesson is discovering valued employees left the organisation simply because they didn’t see an opportunity to advance in their career. Keep in mind that “up” might actually mean “different” — and not a supervisory role. For example, an employee might want more responsibility, like handling bigger projects or accounts, or to work in a different team.
Take time to understand what each team member aspires to be or do in your organisation, then help your employees set those plans in motion. Connecting staff with leadership training, cross-training and continuing education are some ways to foster a work culture where people can reach their professional goals.
4. Help colleagues establish bonds
Managers can play an important role in helping their employees build camaraderie and promoting a welcoming culture. From team-building exercises to staff outings to mentoring arrangements, there are many ways to help your staff feel more connected to each other as well as to the company. Encouraging employees to share success stories of how they worked together to solve problems for the business — and giving them open praise for their achievements — also helps your workers feel empowered and part of a winning team. And it can also serve as a recruiting asset to continue to attract top talent when employees feel socially supported by their peers and leaders.
5. Provide meaningful work
Talented people want to be in jobs that make the best use of their abilities and give them a sense of accomplishment. Your employees need to understand how their work impacts the company’s bottom line.
If possible, help them also see the connection between what they do and the company’s core mission and broader business goals. Staff meetings, performance reviews and regular check-ins provide opportunities for managers to explain to employees how their contributions benefit the business.
It’s easy for employers to view culture as a nebulous thing that is less important to an employee’s job satisfaction than salary, benefits and perks. But the takeaway here is the strong correlation between a company’s environment and its ability to attract and retain talent. And while corporate culture can be challenging for a business to define and shape, doing little or nothing to make your company a place where people want to work all but assures your failure to secure the talent you need.
Source: Robert Half https://www.roberthalf.com/blog/management-tips/how-to-create-a-corporate-culture-that-attracts-and-keeps-top-talent [Blog Post] Retrieved 1/28/2020