6 Tips to Improve Your Company Culture (and then some)

Employee turnover is one of the most vexing problems HR professionals face. But it's not all doom and gloom. Improving your company culture can help you keep valuable employees engaged, satisfied, and stoked to stay with your organization for the long haul.

The High Cost of Employee Turnover

Employee turnover is expensive. Recruiting new talent is a costly venture and getting employees up to speed takes time.

Not only that, high employee turnover also incurs other costs. Things like...
• lowered overall productivity
• increased workload for remaining staff
• lowered employee morale overall
• increased stress level for management
• loss of specialized knowledge and expertise

Tips for Improving Your Company Culture

According to John Mattone, top-ranked CEO executive coach and an authority on leadership, talent, and culture, your company culture is the unique collection of values that defines for your organization what is and is not tolerated, accepted, and lauded.

Because company culture is dynamic by nature, it is possible to make improvements if enough time and effort are invested in the process. Here are some things to help you make the type of changes that will translate into a more positive company culture:

1. Corporate leadership must clearly define where you want to go.

Without this initial step, no change will occur. Just as a driver must make a decision about direction before hitting the road, determining the ultimate destination is essential to creating a strong company culture of employee satisfaction and engagement. This decision must originate from top management before its effects trickle down to all employees.

2. Utilize internal resources.

Tap into the potential that already exists among your top managers and most valued employees. Solicit suggestions about how to improve the overall atmosphere of the workplace. Rather than accepting a long list of things that are wrong with your company, encourage employees to contribute constructive ideas.

3. Seek outside assistance.

If major changes are needed, it may be wise to consider working with a corporate change consultant. The advantages to this approach are many. Often, a consultant can help you determine whether your overall goals can be met within the current company culture. By providing an objective perspective of the issues that exist, a consultant can offer value to the discussion by providing suggestions about company direction and cultural shift initiatives.

4. Bolster your communication skills.

Poor communication makes for a negative company culture. Consider the amount of concentrated communication that occurs in the pursuit of your ideal job candidate. Compare that level of interaction with the level of communication you maintain with existing employees. How does it rate?

If you find that the effort you put forth with existing employees falls far short of what you will do to acquire a new candidate, you may need to re-think your organizational priorities and make appropriate adjustments.

5. Acknowledge and reward employee excellence.

According to an article in "Entrepreneur", once employees embrace the values of your corporate culture, you must acknowledge the impact of their efforts on the success of your business. Rewarding your employees appropriately fosters a culture of excellence. Consider an employee rewards system that operates year-round, not just on an employee anniversary.

6. Utilize technology to win the day.

Employee engagement software can help you bolster your communication by:
• boosting team collaboration
• increasing employee productivity
• fostering an increased sense of corporate community
• providing motivation through improved social interaction
• smoothing the onboarding process with an emphasis on company culture
• assisting in appropriately acknowledging and rewarding employee engagement

Following these suggestions will result in positive change in your company culture, help lower employee turnover rates, and improve productivity.

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