A positive work culture can only be developed by the human resources department (HR), but fostering that culture takes buy-in from leadership. A lot of people do not realize that, if HR is given freedom to incorporate key procedures and initiatives, they gain the ability to create and implement the necessary strategy that will lead to a positive work culture. Additionally, the way the management and HR teams interact with employees speaks volumes about this and how much it is valued. You should view your work culture as your brand, not just internally but externally as well, by working on gaining trust from, communicating with, remaining consistent with and training your employees regularly.
Creating a positive culture does wonders for:
• Developing the company brand.
• Consistently keeping employees engaged and knowledgeable.
• Gaining and retaining employees' trust.
Why Is It Important To Gain Trust?
In my role as a corporate culture coach, I am tasked with helping organizations rebrand or develop their culture. I can honestly say that culture development is not an easy task; it is usually something that develops over time, but it always starts with trust as the main ingredient.
Employees should feel comfortable coming to you with their issues or concerns whenever necessary because this allows you to keep a pulse on what is happening behind the scenes. The whole point is to get them to let you inside their minds so that you can more efficiently keep in-sync with their thought process, no matter how hard it may be. Trust allows any relationship to continuously blossom and it will do the same within your organization.
Communication Matters
How you communicate can make or break any organizational change, and it all starts with the dialogue. I highly recommend having an open-door policy, because it’s the most efficient way to encourage employees to reach out whenever they have an issue or concern and need someone to discuss it with.
Do not get caught up on nuances of the open door. It is simply a tool for encouraging communication in a judgement-free zone while fostering that positive work culture you seek. Employees must feel comfortable coming to HR, their manager or anyone in upper management to communicate the good, the bad and the ugly without feeling penalized for sharing. I can’t begin to tell you how many managers lose employees because they make them feel as if their opinions don’t matter.
Consistency Is Key
Your clients aren’t the only people you need to impress — you must consistently deliver exceptional service to your employees. Employees are customers too, and your first priority should be to wow them so they can do the same for your clients. Below are a few ideas you can implement to stay connected to your employees and provide exceptional service:
1. Get a dedicated HR Hotline number for employees to call: Make sure that multiple HR employees are available to answer the calls coming in so that the phone is always attended to and no one is left without help.
2. Get a dedicated HR email: For example, HR@CompanyX.com. Have this email accessible by all your HR staff so employee issues or concerns can be addressed in a timely fashion.
3. Create a HR newsletter: Consistently publish an HR newsletter every month, highlighting important company news and employee activities. Treat this like your family album, and employees will look forward to reading the updates every month.
Training And Development
Training and development are key to maintaining a positive work culture. You cannot effectively embed an employee in a pristine work culture without being groomed. Employees usually do not start off knowing everything; they need to be taught, directed and led down the right path with no judgment. If you work to create the right path for your employees, they will eventually begin to walk it on their own!
As long as your company continues to grow, training and development never really stops. You must constantly be training your employees on new changes and direction, rules and just about everything that goes on within your organization. If you implement changes in your company and employees do not get formal direction on these changes, it can discourage them and diminish their trust in you. Not to mention, they will feel out of the loop, as if they are not worthy or valued enough to be entrusted with the new information. It is key to create an environment where your employees feel as if they are a part of the decision making process.
Package And Use It
Trust, communication, consistency and training are the recipe for a positive work culture. Maintaining these vital aspects will streamline the relationship-building process, and the ship will begin to run more smoothly and efficiently for you in the long haul. Now, I challenge you to take a moment to evaluate these pertinent points within your organization and see if they are up to par.
