Seven Simple Initiatives To Strengthen Your Work Culture

CEO & Founder of Impactful Imprints Training & Consulting| HR & Culture Expert| Master Trainer| Leadership and Engagement Coach.

A robust work culture is more than just a set of values plastered on the walls. It's the collective ethos that permeates every aspect of an organization, guiding interactions, driving decisions, and fostering a sense of belonging and purpose among employees.

The good news is, as complex as this ethos sounds, there are simple ways to build and strengthen your organization's culture. Take it from an HR and culture consultant — I've seen appointing culture ambassadors, for example, do wonders for the onboarding process. Ambassadors are selected based on their passion and how well they embody the company's culture values. Before the official hire, they sit with potential candidates and assess them based on company culture awareness and fit. It makes for great pre-boarding and ownership of maintaining the culture.

To further help leaders who are looking for ways to get started revamping their work culture, I turned to members of the Healthy Work Cultures Group of Forbes Human Resources Council, a community I lead, to share their top advice.

1. Prioritize Connection Before Strictly Work Items

One strategy I've introduced, which has significantly uplifted our organization's culture, is dubbed "Connection Before Content." This approach kicks off with every leader, establishing a precedent for fostering a supportive work atmosphere. It prioritizes interpersonal connections before diving into work-related topics. - Tania White, Canary HR Consulting

2. Create A Calendar Of Engagement Activities

We craft an annual engagement calendar and nominate the "Culture Champions" from diverse functions, age groups and regions. Doing so also supports building an inclusive, fun and positive work environment and significantly improves our engagement scores. - Hitashi Malik, Rasan

3. Host Breakout Sessions

Through breakout sessions, I guide participants on a journey of self-discovery to dismantle stereotypes and reveal their unique identities. We break down and eliminate traditional cultural definitions by unlocking bridges across intersectionality. This method has been effective in everyone seeing the strengths of each piece as an integral part of the whole. - Kevin Walters, Top DEI Consulting

4. Implement A Culture Committee

Implementing a "People and Culture" committee is the secret sauce to positively impacting workplace culture. You can get employee buy-in when you put titles aside and allow them to share ideas. This way, they're able to exercise their voice when decisions are made and change occurs. This has been the strategy when changing benefits, and it has increased our employee net promoter score. - Tish Hodge, The Shine Institute

5. Incorporate DiSC Training

Frequent DiSC training has brought a lighter feel to working together as a team when individuals have different work styles and priorities. It brings laughter and smiles, and it adds levity to sensitive discussions that could be much more painful! - Shay Hurst, OncoHealth

6. Create A Continuous Feedback Loop

Collect teammate engagement data on their anniversary and provide feedback to your leaders to take action. Leaders should get informed throughout the year but the teammate once: on their work anniversary. This enables a continuous and current feedback loop, building trust in the team and holding leaders accountable. It's impactful in larger organizations as traditional methodologies take a year before teammates provide feedback to leaders in a psychologically safe manner. - Vishal Bhalla, Advocate Health

7. Foster Peer-To-Peer Recognition

We initiated a simple process of peer-to-peer recognition programs based on the company's values. Peers nominate their teammates each quarter, and we announce the winner who earns a medal and a bumper prize to retain that title for the maximum number of quarters. This has enhanced our values-based culture. - Reema Akhtar, Seer Solutions

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