Does creating a company culture seem like trying to catch air?

You want it. You know you need it. But you can’t quite put your finger on what it is or how you get it.

Creating a positive workplace culture is all the buzz these days, but how?

Let’s break it down into three parts:

1. What is a company culture?
2. Why does it matter?
3. What are the practical steps you can take to create it?

What is a company culture?

Meet Julie. Julie is fun, outgoing, and, some might say, even a little loud sometimes. She has big ideas and is happy to share them with the world.

And here’s Debbie. Debbie isn’t the life of the party, but everyone knows she has a great listening, empathetic ear. Debbie is an incredibly organized planner with a great eye for detail.

The parts of those descriptions make up Julie and Debbie’s personalities. It’s about how they interact and react with the world.

Neither one is more correct than the other, but each is different.

A company culture is the personality of your business.

• It’s how employees interact with each other and customers.
• It’s about the tone of communication within the company.
• It’s found in the workplace stories that employees tell.

It’s why Zappos is known for “fun and a little weirdness,” and Google is famous for its workplace flexibility.

And as intangible as it is, it’s created by concrete actions and choices.

Why does a positive company culture matter?

Every company has a culture, but it’s not necessarily a positive one.

Positive company culture is one where the employees are happy, satisfied, and engaged. But do those smiling faces affect your bottom line?

You bet!

A study by Deloitte found a direct correlation between successful businesses and strong workplace cultures. They compared employee beliefs at high performing businesses vs. their counterparts in less successful ones.

Here’s what they found:

• 30% more employees at successful companies reported that they could clearly explain their company culture to family and friends.
• 20% more reported that their boss often speaks about the company’s culture.
• 27% more felt that senior leadership acts in accordance with company principles.

Why is that so? Because a positive culture affects nearly every aspect of business function:

Recruitment… Loyalty… Job satisfaction… Collaboration… Work performance… Employee morale… Stress…

So, yes, your workplace culture matters. A LOT.

How can you go about creating a positive workplace culture?

Positive company culture comes in all flavors, but there are some key principles across the board.

1. Be deliberate

Positive culture doesn’t happen by itself. Companies with strong cultures spend time, money, and other resources defining and promoting it.

</p>

Updater is famous for its full-day, immersive job interviews. Candidates work with their prospective team for 8 hours to make sure it’s a good skill and culture fit.

Zoom created “happiness crews” to maintain the company culture even as it grows.

Zappos has a unique system to make sure that every new employee is committed to company values. After new employees finish training, Zappos offers each one $3,000.00 to leave the company. The employees that stay are the ones that love the company and are committed to its mission.

2. Show Gratitude

This is Human Relationships 101. EVERYONE, from the mailroom clerk to the C-Suite exec, wants to feel appreciated.

And, no, a paycheck is not a show of gratitude. (Unless it comes with a note.)

Sweetgreen stores host “Gratitude Nights” to thank their employees. And the corporate office reads customer letters and sends handwritten notes to the employees helped those customers.

At Badger Maps, they end weekly meetings by ‘giving props,’ recognizing team members for what they accomplished in the past week.

Pet Benefit Solutions has a “Cheers for Peers” jar in the office where employees can submit a message of appreciation to a coworker. Every Monday, management distributes the messages and hangs them on a cork board near employees’ desks.

3. Crowdsource

Employees want to feel that their voice is heard, that they make a difference. Companies that invite, encourage, and (MOST IMPORTANT) respond to feedback have happy employees.

Edward Jones hires an outside firm to request and gather feedback. Their employees know that feedback will be free of biases or politics.

Screwfix has a set feedback routine in place. Every two weeks, employees can give feedback on any aspect of the company. Employees know their feedback matters because they see it implemented in new initiatives.

Even when working on the workplace culture itself, a company can ask employees what’s working and what’s not.

4. Employee Wellness

Employee wellness includes all aspects of caring for your employees.

Benefits are a good place to start. Zoro reports that 72% of employees said having more work benefits would increase job satisfaction.

Medical, disability, and life insurance are all important and don’t forget voluntary benefits, too.

Pet benefits include pawternity leave, pet medical benefits, dog sitting services, or allowing pets in the office. They create pet-supported workplaces that increase employee happiness by 37%, according to HABRI.

There are lots of other ways to encourage wellness, too.

Intuit rewards workers for stress-reducing activities like tracking monthly mediation minutes, taking a walk, engaging in breathing exercises, and listening to calming music.

And Asana takes wellness to a whole new level with daily yoga classes, free gym memberships, and nap rooms.

5. Encourage Employee Growth

Satisfied employees know their company is looking out for their professional and personal development.

At Pet Benefit Solutions, for example, the company encourages employees to develop their existing skills and learn new ones.

Wegmans offers educational scholarships to their employees, sends them to conferences, and gives them time to take online classes.

Solstice offers employees an annual $5,000 personal development budget. Development and promotion from within are just as important as outside opportunities. Employees feel positively about their company when they see room for advancement in position and salary.

6. Unite the Team

Culture is created through social

interactions. So, if colleagues rarely interact, there’s no starting point for creating a great culture.

Think weekly meetings, company outings, or open office plans. The need to actively promote team unity is more important than ever with the growth of remote workers.

Hireology brings its far-flung team together by including video conferencing in every meeting area and proactively training remote workers.

At its annual sales meeting, Pet Benefit Solutions gathers all its employees, including remote workers, for meetings, team building activities, and dinner at an upscale restaurant.

The Bottom Line

We could go on, but if you’re looking for a bottom line it’s this:

Employees first. Always.

And there are hundreds of ways, big and small, to show it.

When employees know they’re top priority and top of mind, they’ll be your biggest ambassadors for a positive company culture.