We’ve all heard the phrase, “It’s the people who make it”, and in a workplace, this couldn’t be more true and critical to the success of a company.
Forging and maintaining a positive culture within your team should be an integral part of your business strategy. Happy employees go hand in hand with ensuring your business’s longevity and success – and the best part? Everybody wins!
At RBK, we pride ourselves on implementing and upholding a strong sense of culture in order to ensure every employee feels valued, and most importantly, motivated to put their best foot forward every day.
We’ve outlined our top tips in creating and driving a positive office culture, and how you can make that happen.
- Being open
As an employer, it’s important to remember that the business doesn’t run just because of you alone. Every day, each and every one of your employees are adding to its success. Because of this, showing that you are open to their feedback on the way things are run is key. Better yet, seek out their feedback – it’s easy to get swept up in your own work and be unaware of things happening in the background. Proactively seeking this out might actually reveal things you otherwise might have missed.
Then, it goes without saying that acting on feedback is also just as important – your employees will notice it and be grateful that you’re making the effort, even if it isn’t something that can be solved immediately.
- Accessibility
It’s important to understand how your employees are feeling about their work, and an essential component to this is ensuring your team feels comfortable in approaching you and other senior team. Side note: You don’t have to do the old remove-the-door-to-your-office trick just to prove how much you’re into the open-door policy, there are plenty of small things you can do that’ll illustrate just as much to your team.
If your desk is in its own office, try walking around the wider office a couple of times a day and stop to chat to the team. Your presence alone can be a big comfort to your employees in knowing they can approach you about anything.
Similarly, engaging with your team and finding out a bit more about their lives is also a good way to show you are approachable. Whether they have kids, a big event coming up or anything along those lines, ask them about it! It’s a nice way to show you’re interested and invested in them.
- Communication
Communication is key to ensuring your employees feel confident in the work they are doing. If something new or out-of-cycle is happening, communicate it! It’s much better to be upfront than keeping your employees in the dark.
New appointments, business growth, milestones and key wins are some of the things your employees are sure to take interest in.
- Recognise and reward success
In order for your employees to feel valued, it’s important to recognise their successes, big and small. Sometimes, even the little things can feel like a huge commitment to some people, and recognising that their hard work did not go unnoticed is sure to keep morale and energy high.
Whether it’s a shout-out when the team is together, or a voucher for a nice restaurant, these little things will keep your employees motivated to continue providing the wins for your business.
- Create a high-energy workplace.
This one is our personal favourite. People spend a big part of their lives at work, and it should be as enjoyable as possible. And while the work itself might sometimes be out of your hands, there are plenty of things you can do outside of this to keep the energy high.
It can be something as simple as a team meeting once a week where you outline key achievements, shout outs (see point 4) and anything notable coming up for the business. This will keep things transparent and your employees will feel in the know.
The floor plan of your office can also make a big difference. Open-plan offices are great for bringing about a sense of team spirit and collaboration, while a communal kitchen with tea, coffee, bread and even a fruit bowl will make your team feel looked after.
Friday snacks or drinks is also a great way to encourage interaction beyond work-related discussions, and it’s a great way to forge friendships in the office – something that will make coming to work each day more enjoyable for your employees.
- Support career growth
Career growth is something that can easily be overlooked, even by the employees themselves. But being proactive about this can make a huge difference both to your company and to the team.
This doesn’t have to be an expensive process. You already have the internal talent, so use it! Try setting up a mentoring program where a junior team member is paired up with an experienced senior team member – this is a great way to help them feel supported within your company while providing them guidance on their career aspirations.
You can also utilise the varied skill sets of your team by arranging weekly, fortnightly, or monthly presentation sessions – is one employee a whiz at technology? Ask them if they’d be comfortable to present their knowledge to the team.
- Celebrate it
It’s easy to get swept up in the day’s work and forget that you’ve actually built something amazing. Celebrate it! The fact that your office is a place where people want to come and do their best work each day is an achievement in itself, no matter what might be happening business-wise. Make sure you’re communicating this with the team – they’ll be happier in the knowledge that they’re in a nurturing and supportive environment.
