Introduction
Ask your small band of software engineers and IT professionals how everything is going.
You might get different answers, but how your employees give their responses can be quite revealing. It can indicate how well things are going for your company — in particular, the work culture that has been cultivated.
Healthy company culture is pivotal to any business — even for startups. As a business scales, work culture will lay the foundations for how it introduces new products, hires employees, and resolves internal conflicts.
How you set up your work culture and the timing will mean the difference between inspiring your employees and inciting a virtual walkout. Setting up a healthy and inclusive culture in your business will go far in preventing burnout and marketing your organization to prospective applicants.
Following these tips and tricks, your startup will feel more like a second home for your team and less of a corporate hierarchy.
The Benefits of a Healthy Company Culture: The Proof is in the Pudding
There is a prevailing misconception going around that revenue is the hallmark of a prosperous company. While making large profits with your products and services is a must to sustain your organization, it is a by-product.
In truth, profit is only part of the benefits you will reap from creating and sustaining a positive corporate environment. How else can you benefit from a worker-centered corporate atmosphere?
Let us count the ways: Wolter Smith in his TED talk opened his presentation with a rhetorical question. He asked why work sucks. Indeed, work not being the most satisfying part of the day is something some of us has become accustomed to putting up with. In his talk, he distinguished unsatisfying work from an unsatisfying work environment. He observed that, in most cases, most employees mean the latter whenever they bring up the former. So, if you can create a healthy company environment, it may just lure unsatisfied workers your way. If your company culture is healthy, your social dynamics and the psychological well-being of everyone who makes up your team will be healthy as well. When everyone is happy coming to work, productivity will go through the roof. A 2018 article in Forbes also states that motivation increases in companies with an atmosphere of collaboration and low social tension. Because everyone is working to the best of their abilities, you can expect the rise in motivation and productivity to have a snowballing effect. An employee leaving may not be a big deal for large corporations. For tech startups, the results can be catastrophic.According to Built In, companies with high employee turnover rates end up spending more on onboarding. Conversely, those with low turnover rates bring in four times more revenue than companies where employees frequently leave. Are high turnover rates always the result of a toxic corporate culture? The numbers seem to agree.The Center for Management and Organization Effectiveness found that employees are 50% to 60% more likely to seek employment elsewhere in favor of better company culture and structure. (Check out the infographic) Think of it this way: Decent companies hire people to do what they are being told. Excellent companies hire people to carry forward a mission with a purpose, to redefine their role as needed when they outgrow their current one or gain new skills, and to lead others around them. Ultimately, those companies retain employees and are on the path to success. When your employees or team know that they are valued and cared for, they will be more eager to show up and deliver their best. In an environment where the stress and toxicity are low, you can bet that your team will work not just effectively but willingly and happily.1. Better Recruitment
2. Improved Productivity
3. Low Turnover Rates
4. Employee Morale
What To Do to Create a Healthy Company Culture
Creating a healthy company culture will benefit your organization not just during its infancy. As you scale your business, having established it early gives you the blueprints for what to sustain.
Here are ways to start your work culture off on the right foot. The following practices are also excellent if you are looking to change your startup’s existing corporate atmosphere and culture. When you manage your team, the last thing you want to do is micromanage. Micromanagement can take a psychological toll on everyone — including you. One of the most common areas where micromanagement occurs is with deadlines. Granted, you need to ensure that everything gets done properly and on time. When your IT professionals work, be it from home, in a coworking space, or in your office, the time they turn in work is only one part of the equation. Your deadlines need to be a marriage of two things — an agreed-upon deadline and results. When you set deadlines,be mindful of what your team members are capable of. Make sure to have clear validation steps. This awareness will guide your scheduling. It is also crucial to discuss the deadline with your staff or its members whenever possible. After all, what might seem easy at a glance may take a lot longer than expected. When you get rid of the traditional way of implementing deadlines, the results are not just at par with your expectations. Your team works better, devoid of any stress or unnecessary time pressures. It is easy to call a meeting and sing praises to your team about the plus sides of collaboration. Although not a bad idea, doing this may not always guarantee results. An important step to ensuring that your team works together is toplant the seed of thought that blooms into consistent interaction. One thing you might need to avoid is sending DMs to every staff member about the day’s agendas and tasks. When you think about it, this is what meetings are for. Instead, try a project management or business communication platform where everyone has equal access, or even a simple Google Doc to start. This creates a common area where team members can interact and pitch in whenever problems arise. If you are in the market for one, make sure that it has forum and messenger functions for better communication and collaboration. Examples of such platforms include: Communication, honesty, and integrity are crucial to any relationship — in life and at work. Opening channels of communication allows you to determine the pain points of your employees. Doing this will, in turn, give you valuable insights on what to work on. Perhaps the most eye-opening benefit of promoting and encouraging open communication is how it makes your team feel.Based on the most recent statistics gathered by the CMOE, making employees feel that they matter goes a long way in making them stay. In fact, employees are 60% more likely to rethink their decision to leave if their employer listens to their suggestions and input. Encouraging communication is undoubtedly the key to healthy social dynamics within a corporate hierarchy. However, despite its importance, it is also the easiest to do. It costs little to no money and requires nothing more than a modest investment of time. An open-door policy alone is one example of asimple rule that yields big (positive) consequences. All you need to do is ask your employees for feedback on, well, anything going on at work — and, at times, out of it. Other ways to encourage open communication are: Here is another company culture-builder that is simple to implement but easily forgotten. Employees become more motivated to work when they are recognized for their accomplishments. When a member of your team does great work on something, do not hesitate to offer praise or a compliment. Your team’s accomplishments do not need to be groundbreaking. You can acknowledge your team for any positive contribution they make to your startup. For example, if you have a software engineer who always turns in work 30 minutes ahead of the usual deadline, tell him or her that you take notice and you appreciate it. What if things go wrong? In such situations, you step up and take accountability instead of pointing the finger. Play the blame game, and your company culture will go from average to toxic real quick. It’s important to select the right people for your positions. You should hire people based on the kind of environment you want to have and maintain in your organization. Establishing the right personality traits and working style can be difficult, but it will be a worthwhile investment of your time. To hire successfully, have a list of personality traits you think will be conducive to your existing company culture. Then, during interviews, ask questions that will bring about these traits in candidates. For example, if you are looking for a software engineer who can work independently, you may want to ask questions about: You get the idea. Essentially, the selection process should not focus too much on what lies in a resume. Be too CV-centric in your selection, and you may hire someone who may be qualified but will not fit your team.Tip 1: Ditch the Idea of On-the-Hour Deadlines
Tip 2. Promote Collaboration
Tip 3. Always Encourage Communication and Feedback
Tip 4. Give Out Recognition and Take Accountability
Tip 5: Pay Attention to Your Selection Process
Showing Off Your Inclusive and Healthy Culture
Hiring the right people can be challenging. At times, it is a matter of applicants not matching the characteristics you seek. Sometimes, though, job seekers just aren’t attracted to the company.
While marketing to consumers is important, you also need to advertise your company to prospective applicants. Your healthy company culture can play a major role in this — provided that you showcase it.
How do you market yourself as a different company from other startups? Here are a couple of things you can do: Brand awareness does more than show your customers what you offer. It tells prospective software engineers who you are as a company. By looking at your services, prospective applicants will try to size up your company culture. Of course, the products on your site and social media page can only tell them so much. If you are going to take to social media with your recruitment and marketing, a statement from a team member can drive applications. Think of the member of your staff as a spokesperson for your company. Several positive statements from different members of your team can entice devs to apply. This is the power of social proofing at work. You can focus on platforms likeGlassDoor orAngelList that list all the companies and their reviews. Online events, podcasts,blogs, andMeetups can also be a great way to advertise your company culture. Attracting potential candidates with salaries can only get you so far. As mentioned earlier, employees leave their companies due to problems with the culture of the workplace. With this in mind, you will be better off marketing your company with its corporate culture. By doing this, you will improve your chances of attracting candidates whose personal values resonate with yours and your company’s. This can pay dividends during your selection process and employee retention.1. Leverage Social Proof and Social Media
2. Place Your Inclusive and Healthy Culture at the Heart of Your Employee Value Proposition
