Jagdish Chugani is the Chief People Officer at Appfire.
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Company culture used to largely be interpreted as the non-compensation perks an organization offered its employees. However, a company’s identity isn’t built around nor defined by the number of coffee flavors on tap or the selection of free snacks in the office. It's built by employees feeling genuinely valued by their employers and knowing that their success is supported.
Creating this kind of culture blueprint won’t take shape overnight. But having an openness to listen to employee feedback and translate that into action is the perfect place to start.
What Employees Are Looking For Today
As the society within which we live and work changes, what working employees care about most is changing with it. Generational changes in workplace preferences—paired with the heavy adoption of remote and hybrid work following the pandemic—are shifting what it means to have a productive and appealing work culture. Employees want to work for organizations that appreciate them as individuals; they want to be seen, heard and supported.
Tangible ways to facilitate a people-focused culture include promoting team building as part of regular work interactions and taking time to communicate with employees individually. Learning and competency development are often key components because today’s workforce wants to know their employers are invested in their personal and professional growth. Additionally, a recurring cadence of constructive feedback helps team members understand what they're doing well and where they can improve, leaving them more confident and motivated in their roles.
By collectively realigning priorities, employees are more likely to feel that they can be their authentic selves at work and, as a result, more likely to stay with the company long-term.
HR's Role In Supporting Company Culture
As the function of HR is less about human resources and more about helping people, many HR teams have rebranded as people operations. But whatever the name, HR teams and business leaders work together to set the tone for culture by establishing and modeling policies and procedures that reflect the company's values. Once these values and practices are determined, HR serves as the promoter of this culture.
Cultivating a strong company culture begins during the hiring process and continues through employee development and beyond. It’s built by supporting the behaviors we expect from people and modeling those behaviors as leaders. On the more tactical side, HR ensures that employees respect the main concerns of both leadership and the business.
Ways HR Teams Can Build And Improve Company Culture
Creating a strong company culture is not easy, but it's worth it. Here are some strategies to help you get started.
• Be accessible and approachable. Beyond regularly, clearly and authentically communicating with employees, make time to visit office locations and sit in open areas throughout the day to connect with team members. Showcasing approachability helps ensure you're hearing from employees at all levels in an unguarded way. This empowers employees to talk to you directly and express concerns more genuinely.
• Model the behavior you want employees to emulate. Leadership sets the tone throughout your organization. Employees will mimic their behavior, attitude and approach to all situations. For example, do you and other leaders check emails or reply to Slack messages while on vacation? While this may be done with good intentions, you're conveying the idea that the rest of the team should be available on their vacation as well. Modeling norms, including setting professional boundaries, provides a behavioral template that will lead to less stress and more productivity for everyone.
• Allow time for meaningful activities. Don’t force-fill work time with something that doesn’t add value to an employee's career or personal growth for the sake of performative busyness. From a career development perspective, offer leadership training. Develop future leaders and trust them to embody the company’s values and identity as effectively as possible. To encourage personal growth, consider integrating philanthropy into regular company initiatives. Volunteer programs, like providing days off to volunteer or incentivizing giving back, help ensure employees come to work energized.
As today’s workforce experiences a pragmatic shift in priorities, business and HR leaders have to keep a finger on the pulse of how employees are doing and how to best support them. If you lead an organization through values and with a people-first approach, you’ll experience positive outcomes. Conversely, if you remain steadfast in returning to “the way things were,” you’ll be left behind. The benefits of a vibrant work culture extend beyond employees; they're good for business. So don't focus on perks. Focus on creating a culture that's authentic and human.
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