3 simple steps to improve culture.
Some company cultures inspire incredible team unity and exceptional achievement while others leave employees feeling deflated, unmotivated and uninspired. And while it is easy to think that employee culture is some kind of social force driven by your employees themselves – it is not.
Employee culture is the shared values, habits and behaviours that drive your people to achieve - or underachieve. Employee attitudes and perceptions are shaped by the words and actions of those above them and it is these individual attitudes that impact both positive and negative engagement.
It is widely accepted that manager interaction is key to employee culture and central to having engaged employees. According to Gallup, managers determine more than 70% variance in engagement so they clearly have a significant impact on how employees feel in the workplace.
Managers however, can only work from the foundation created by the leaders of the business. It is the leaders who cultivate an environment where employees can thrive, where actions and achievements are celebrated loudly and where managers can impact employee culture.
In a recent article, the employee engagement gurus at Gallup stated
“When leaders act as champions of the engagement program, it's far easier for managers to support and sustain engagement.
Leadership's involvement signals to managers that engagement is a priority for the organisation and leaders will hold managers accountable for the program's success.”
However, there is more to it for leaders than setting the tone and holding managers accountable. Engagement will not change if C-level leadership do not support the change the company is trying to implement. It is not enough to just talk about and engagement and let managers know they need to do something about it. Leaders need to foster an environment where the cultural change is accepted and embraced.
Designing a flourishing and inspired culture is not a simple task, particularly for leaders who are focussed on tactical or strategic goals. But with three simple actions that leaders can easily build into their daily routine, they can build a foundation for deep engagement.
What leaders can do each day to drive cultural change.
1. Care deeply.
Caring deeply does not mean you have to be best friends with your team but employees do want to feel respected by leadership and connected to the organisation. Employees at companies with low levels of overall engagement often cite feeling unheard or disrespected by leadership as one of the contributing factors to their lack of engagement.
Simple daily conversations, taking the time to learn a little about each employee and celebrating the big and small moments with them show them you care about them as people, not just what they contribute.
Employees want to be seen so recognise contribution as well. Leaders don’t have to make grand gestures but a pat on the back from a leader, or a message of congratulations in a formal recognition program goes a long way to showing you care about your employees.
Actively demonstrating to your employees that you respect them and their contributions sets the benchmark for managers to do the same and helps to foster a culture of gratitude.
2. Be transparent.
If leaders don’t communicate clearly, or build trust that they will be transparent, employees will assume what is not said, which is not beneficial for employees or your customers. Trust in leadership and knowing those at the top will be transparent in times of change will ensure that employees are onboard with the outcome.
Communicate frequently, through as many mediums as possible, in a human voice. Your employees want to be involved, they want to participate and they want to be heard. Let them in on the ‘why’ not just ‘what’ is happening so they have more than just a superficial understanding of what is happening. They will be more willing to accept the change if they have a deep understanding of how the change will help the company and individuals reach the goals that have been set.
Communication is even more powerful when it happens before the change occurs. This gives you the opportunity to seek feedback and involve your people in the change. Doing this will help your employees to accept the change, adapting to the new way of doing things and readily adopting the impacts.
You may not be able to carry out all the ideas or suggestions that your employees contribute but make sure you acknowledge this and let them know their ideas were considered and omitted for a reason. This will ensure they continue to give valuable feedback when you ask, rather than holding back as they think you are not listening.
3. Foster fairness.
A common narrative in lower performing organisations is one of relative accountability. Employees believe they are doing what is expected of them, it is others who are non-compliant. This is highlighted when expectations are not clearly set, vary across the company or there are limited rewards or consequences.
If model behaviours are not celebrated, others have no point of reference so they remain abstract. Recognising the behaviours and actions that are valued demonstrates to all employees what is expected of them and brings meaning to the words on the wall. Through the act of recognition, you are saying to your team ‘here is an example of this behaviour that I value, and those who exhibit this behaviour will be appreciated’.
Similarly, if undesired behaviours are not addressed, employees consider the expectations to be arbitrary and will act accordingly.
Fair and consistent feedback will encourage employees to act in the company’s best interest and build a positive work culture.
While there is no one-size-fits-all approach to engagement, and no button you can push to make it happen, companies where leaders focus on building meaningful connections with employees, listening deeply, communicating effectively and recognising frequently set the scene for improved engagement results.