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How to improve company culture and team building

Spenda
2 September - 8 min read

If customer engagement and marketing is the face of your organisation, your company culture and working environment is the personality.

‘Culture’ far from being just a business buzz-word affects nearly every aspect of your business, from improving employee satisfaction to acquiring new talent and maintaining loyalty from your current staff.

Without a thriving support network and bubbly culture, many employees will struggle to find the real value in representing your brand in their role. This lack of enthusiasm between business and employee will sting your output over time.

In developing your organisation into a fun, relaxing and supportive place to work, you gain an advantage over your competitors. People want to work for companies with a good reputation from current and previous employees saying great things. A good reputation attracts the type of talent that wants to improve it further.

Here are some tips on how to improve your company culture and make your business an enjoyable and productive working atmosphere:

1. Know your team

To create a positive business culture, you need to treat your staff like friends first and employees second. This can be as simple as knowing what sporting team they barrack for, where they’re going on holiday, what their kids are up to or how they take their coffee. Showing a personal interest in your staff can go a long way to making employees feel happier, included and more than just a number to boost revenue or production.

Social activities together outside of the office are the best way to enhance the relationships between colleagues, develop employee engagement, and ensure a positive business culture. True, not all staff are extroverts and enjoy social gatherings, but the thought behind the outing will still help to improve culture. Try to organise various social get-togethers that engage all your staff, boost morale and loosen the notion that work is purely for work.

Knowing your team is important for team building

2. Lower Stress

Positive company culture starts with significantly minimising workplace stress. A highly stressed employee not only loses focus over time but is more susceptible to physical and mental health issues.

Companies with a robust corporate culture tend to see less stressed employees, which helps boost both employee health and output. Ways to battle stress can be as simple as offering staff opportunities to exercise or meditate, rewarding their contributions, cultivating solid coworker relationships, soliciting frequent positive feedback or adjusting the flexibility in their tasks, working environment and hours.

Helping your employees manage their stress helps them work at their best

3. Be Flexible

Being flexible with your employees is paramount to maintaining a healthy work/life balance and keeping staff happy. One way to approach this is by potentially implementing a work-from-home policy that works for your business. Since COVID-19, our team at Spenda have all worked remotely, which has seen huge improvements in our productivity, revenue and cost-cutting to office expenses.

If working from home is not an option, rearranging your office space with vibrant plants or leisurely appliances such as pool tables, beanbags or ‘chill-out couches’ can help staff relax and feel more at home while at work. Allowing employees the freedom to work from somewhere in the office besides their desk if they need a change of scenery is also beneficial.

Being flexible helps your employees get work done

4. Emphasis on employee wellness

Healthy employees mean a healthy business. Staff need to feel physically, mentally and emotionally sound to contribute to a positive culture. Business leaders should ensure that all colleagues have the resources, support, tools and healthcare opportunities they need to live their healthiest life – both inside the office and at home.

Our team at Spenda commonly escape work and head to the gym at least twice per week. Not only is it a great way to blow off some steam, but it also gives us a chance to socialise and improve our mental and physical state together.

Providing flexibility and support on sick, annual or personal leave days also makes staff feel appreciated and sends a clear message that their physical and mental health comes first. Personal hobbies or goals of employees should also be cheered on by your business. You fight for your employees, and they’ll fight for you.

Team work makes the dream work

5. Create lifelines, not deadlines

Deadlines fuel stress. Providing lifelines instead in the form of direct support, tips, time cushions and positive feedback can prevent employees from spinning their wheels, procrastinating or producing low quality work.

Teamwork makes the dream work. As you apply tasks, roles and schedules to employees make sure you also provide the flexibility and support to paradoxically give them more time if needed to ease work pressure. If deadlines are running late, collaborate and provide support to smash out the target.

Work life balance is important at Spenda

6. Talk and listen to employees

Are you still struggling to see how your business can improve in production and culture? A great way to discover tips is by asking your employees and applying their feedback into the workplace.

Doing so will not only make your employees feel that their voices matter, but it will also make your life easier because you’ll discover how to get the best out of your team. While it might be challenging to fulfill all their wishes at once, communicating with your team is a great place to start.

Listening to employees helps to meet their needs before they become demands

7. Reward and acknowledge employees

How many times have your employee’s done exceptional work, exceeded goals and accomplished something inside or outside of work hours that have gone unnoticed?

Rewarding or recognising people with positive feedback will rub off on other employees and help them set their own targets and goals to receive praise. Doing so helps all employees see how their contribution matters, helps them feel valued and appreciated and drives them to succeed for themselves and your business.

Why is this crucial? Employees who don’t feel recognised are twice as likely to quit their job within 12 months, while the top 20% of companies with a recognition-rich culture have a 31% lower turnover rate.

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