There are a lot of things that help keep a company running smoothly: productive employees, a great product, efficient management, and much, much, more. However, one thing that’s very important to a successful company that is often overlooked is workplace culture. That’s right, the culture of your workplace can have a huge impact on how successful your company is overall.
Without a good workplace culture, your employees will be unhappy and stressed out. And, seeing as studies show that happy employees are more productive, this is something you definitely don’t want happening. But, how can you tell if your business has a good workplace culture? What are the signs? Check out this guide to learn what makes good workplace culture.
1. Long-Term Employees
How is your employee turnover rate looking these days? Are employees staying so long that they feel like family, or have people been dropping like flies? Simply speaking, happy and engaged employees are much more likely to stay with their job for a long time. So, if you see employees leaving all the time, you may need to ask yourself why. To give you an idea, the average employee turnover rate for all industries is 17.8 percent. In other words, companies lose 17.8 percent of their employees each year. Now, this number can vary greatly by industry, so it’s important to look up your own industry to get a better idea of how your company is doing.
But, you shouldn’t worry too much about how many employees are leaving. Instead, you should be worried about why people are leaving. If you find that you’re losing employees to a lot of jobs that are very similar to the ones they currently hold, then you may need to reassess your company culture.
2. Colleagues are More Than Colleagues
We spend approximately a third of our week at work. For some people, this means spending more time with coworkers than they do with family or friends. If your company culture is awesome, then this won’t bother your employees, as they won’t just see their colleagues as colleagues. Instead, they’ll see them as friends. If employees are choosing to spend time together outside of the office, then that’s a good sign that your company culture is where it needs to be.
3. Long Line of Future Employees
When you post a job, do you receive dozens or even hundreds of applications from people ready to join your team? Or, are you hearing crickets? The truth of the matter is, the culture of your company is no secret. People within your company are telling friends, family members, and even the internet about what it’s like to work for your company. If the reviews about your company culture are good, then this will reflect in the number of job applicants you receive. If they’re subpar, then you probably won’t have people lining up to work for you. In this case, you probably then need to work on developing workplace culture.
4. Laughing and Smiles
Even though it can’t be pinpointed with numbers and statistics, the general “feel” of your office can speak volumes about your company culture. So, next time you walk into work, note the atmosphere of the place. Are there lots of smiles and laughter? Or is everyone grouchy and stressed out? If you have great company culture, you should walk in the door each morning feeling energized, not deflated.
5. Transparency
General lack of communication and secrets from the top down can create a huge culture of insecurity and uncertainty. If you feel like you can’t be transparent with your employees and that they’re not being transparent with you, then that’s a huge sign of bad company culture. On the other hand, if everyone knows where they stand, knows where they’re headed, and generally feels “in the loop”, then things are definitely where they need to be.
6. Comfortable Workspace
We’ve talked a lot about the “feel” of a workspace, but what about the actual physical workspace itself? How a workplace is set up can have a huge impact on company culture. Of course, workplace set up can have its limits depending on the type of industry you work on. However, in general, workspaces should be comfortable and filled with amenities and perks that your staff can enjoy. If it’s feasible, you can even set up an employee lounge area (separate from the lunch/breakroom) that has comfy couches, television, and maybe even a ping pong table. The more “at home” your employees feel at their job, the better your company culture will be.
7. Lack of Office Politics
Office politics can be a huge emotional drain on both employees and management. Plus, office politics can slow down productivity levels. So, ask yourself this: Are people at work constantly gossiping, complaining, arguing, and coming to management with complaints? Do employees look out for one another, or do they back-stab each other? If you answer “no”, then congrats! You have excellent company culture.
8. Ongoing Professional Development Opportunities
Employees never want to feel stuck in their job. But, the truth is that a lot of employees do feel stuck. To combat this feeling and to reduce the chance of losing good employees, you need to have professional development opportunities in place. Opportunities for growth, advancement, and learning have a high link to overall job satisfaction. Yet, only 26 percent of employees feel like their company offers adequate opportunities for professional growth. So, if you don’t have opportunities for growth in place, make sure you start to implement them right now, as this can make a huge difference in your company’s culture and ability to attract employees in the future.
Workplace Culture: How’s Yours Doing?
After reading this article, you should have a pretty good idea of how your workplace culture is doing. If you feel like you’re doing great, then congrats and keep it up! If you feel like your company culture is struggling, then it’s time to change some things around. For more tips and tricks on how to create a successful company, check back in with our blog!