TOP FIVE TIPS FOR BUILDING A SUCCESSFUL WORKPLACE CULTURE
Catherine Nolan, CN Consulting

There’s been quite a bit of hype about workplace cultures of late. Let’s start with a clarification though: what is it? Put simply, your workplace culture is how your team would describe the workplace to a friend. The workplace culture contributes to whether staff and customers want to be present and engaged, so it in turn has a huge impact on productivity.

Getting your Workplace Culture right has five steps.

1. VISION
The management team needs to be clear and consistent on what you’d LIKE your workplace culture to be. Here are some questions to ask. Where is your business heading and how would you like to achieve that? What are the values you have, that you want to be evident in your day to day business operations? Is integrity and honesty important to you? What does that look like in your business? Who is your target market and what do they value? Is your consumer brand fun? Do you want your workplace to reflect that too? Maybe your consumer brand is professional – does your workplace need to look the same, or can it be slightly different? If your industry is sustainability, it might be that it’s something you value too. Then sustainability is not only your product, but also needs to be part of your Workplace Culture.

Whatever your Vision is, you need to share it with the whole team. Get it printed on mouse mats, put onto posters on the walls and clearly spelled out on your website and intranet. Stick to your vision steadfastly and spread the message broadly.

2. TALENT
A highly successful business owner I know is proud of having an enviable workplace culture. His people are as passionate about the business as if it was their own: they contribute 150% every day, they live and breathe the product and tell everyone they meet about both the product and the great work environment. I asked this business owner how he’s managed to maintain the great culture, as the business has grown. He said it’s not his culture anymore: it’s the collective culture of all those he’s employed. By employing talented people who share the Vision of the business, the culture is consistent with what they’re trying to achieve. Make sure that you’re hiring based on ‘fit’, not just for skills. If there’s a smelly egg on your team who can’t be coached into being what the business needs, then you need to get them off your team. As long as they’re still around, they’re poisoning your workplace culture and having a negative impact on your employees, customers and bottom line.

Your talent pool needs to share your vision and have the right skills and attitude to build to success.

3. TOOLS
Once you have the right people in the team, you need to be sure that they have the equipment they need, to do the job you need them to. That might mean that their business cards never run out, or that your database is in good, clean order, or that your supplier relationships are sound, or it might mean making sure that they’re properly trained in order to perform their job at their best. No matter how inspirational your vision, a team without tools won’t be able to create it.

In the current employment market, a team without tools will find a new boss with better tools.

4. ENGAGEMENT
Many business owners are generous in what they offer their employees. However, many employers come up with that offering from their own inspiration. In other words, they’re providing what they’d like from a boss, not what their team wants. For example, the winery that offers a staff discount but mostly employs under 18’s in production. Those kids wont value the staff discount at all! Or the carpet business that puts a wad of cash behind the bar every Friday night… the employees who drive or have families or sporting commitments simply wont value that investment.

List out all the things you think employees might value – from pay rates to location, hours, flexibility, progression and benefits. Then get feedback from your employees on what matters to them.

5. REWARD
When you’re rewarding your team, make sure the rewards are consistent with the business Vision. You’ve got the right team, doing the right things to make your business a success… make sure that the celebrations are also consistent with the sort of culture you’re trying to create. If honesty and integrity are part of your core business values, don’t wait for the 6-monthly performance review to pat someone on the back. If flexibility is something your business is proud to offer your customers and your workplace, then perhaps time in lieu is a great reward for work well done.

I worked with a business who listed team work as one of their intrinsic values and part of their workplace culture. However, the KPI’s for the sales team were actually set up to reward dodgy dealings and back-stabbing. No wonder their workplace culture was in a mess.

Reward the behaviours that are consistent with your workplace culture. If you don’t, you’ll erode it.

At each of these 5 steps, the message should be really clear: this is what we stand for and this is what we’re doing to protect that. Consistency and good communication is critical. If your business goals are in line with your values, you’ve employed people who share your values and vision and you equip and reward them appropriately, your Workplace Culture will pay you back in dividends.