We’re about four full months into the year, and while it doesn’t seem like much, a lot of what you do in the first quarter will set the tone for the rest of the year, especially in regards to company culture. Bad habits pile up quick and before you know it you’re going down that slippery slope of poor company culture, which can increase turnover, create distance between leadership and staff, and potentially hurt the company financially.
Before we get any further into 2016, let’s go through a few things to make sure that you are on the right track. If not, it’s never too late to start, and we’re happy to help. Let's evaluate!
Leadership
How’s the leadership right now in your workplace? They say that the best leaders are the ones that listen. Does your leadership team spend enough time communicating with their staff? Does the quality of communication need to improve? How well does leadership in your company actually know their staff? It’s important to have great leaders that don’t neglect their respective teams. The only way to improve efficiency and productivity is to really know what’s going on all around the workplace, and the only way to do that is through good communication. Get feedback, get it often, and you’ll be able to make improvements quicker.
Balance
Looking back on the Q1 2016, would you say that the morale has been good? We once wrote about this “startup culture” that is making waves right now, where expectations are set so high that sometimes it’s just overwhelming. Having a good work life balance is incredibly important for good company culture. Without a balance, stress levels kick in and everyone suffers. Make sure there is balance. Engage your employees with team building activities and promote company outings where business discussions are simply off limits.
Recognition
What are you doing for employee recognition? What happens when an employee goes above and beyond all expectations? Do they get a pat on the back, or are you celebrating these achievements with their colleagues? Let’s face it, we’re all humans, and when we are recognized for our hard work, it feels good, and naturally we strive to obtain those feelings again through more hard work. Imagine putting 110% into everything you do and never getting noticed. Pay attention to your team and be ready to acknowledge jobs well done. There are lots of tools and resources out there to help with building a great employee recognition program as well
Feedback
Do you ever get feedback from your employees? Do you actually care to get feedback from your employees? More often than not, getting feedback is something that usually gets put off. It gets put off so much that most companies focus on annual surveys. You’ll never be able to make real-time improvements in your workplace if you are only getting feedback from your team once a year. Whether it’s about leadership, communication, workload, or culture, you should be getting feedback from your team frequently throughout the year. Only then, can you pinpoint exact areas of improvement, and act on it immediately.
To learn more about Vibecatch, and how we can help you build better culture and an efficient workplace, book a product demo with us. Someone from our team is waiting to help!
