You can’t have a great company without great culture. It doesn’t matter how admirable the company’s mission is if the culture is dragging everyone down. Great pay and great benefits don’t mean anything if your job is sucking the life out of you.
Talented employees won’t care what you’re offering, because they are less than eager to flock to soul-crushing work. It’s easy to recognize fantastic culture, even from afar. When people can see the integrity of your workplace, you’ll be receiving more resumes than you know what to do with. Here are six signs your company has created a great workplace culture:
1. You Rarely Have to Hire
Happy employees would be foolish to leave, and it’s not likely they’re going to. If entry-level employees are sticking around and paying their dues in hopes for a promotion, mid-level employees are setting their sights even higher or are happy where they are, and the same leaders have been leading for a while now, that’s a sign that things are going well. If turnover is minimal, your culture is excellent.
2. When You Do Have to Hire, the Line Goes Around the Block
Oh, there’s an opening at your company? We’ll do anything to fill that seat! When people are eager to be a part of what you’re doing, that’s a sign that your positive culture is so impactful that it’s extended outside of the workplace. If independent firms and freelance specialists are enthusiastic about an opportunity to develop a working relationship with you, it’s hard to deny that you’re doing something right.
3. Your Employees Are Nearly Family
Your employees spend a considerable amount of their lives at work. They love spending time with their families at home, but how do they feel about their coworkers? Successful workplace events, such as potlucks or holiday celebrations, and events that extend outside of the workplace, such as company picnics or sports games, show that your employees care about each other as people. They value their relationships with the people around them, and possess a powerful bond. Companies with great culture will foster these connections.
4. No One Feels Like a Gear in a Machine
Nothing is worse than coming it to work and feeling like you’re a robot that exist to perform tasks for someone else. This kind of work is draining, and leads employees straight to fatigue and dissatisfaction. In environments with healthy culture, employees understand that they matter. They know that the things they do are making a difference, and their individual successes are equally as important as those of the team as a whole.
5. Everyone is Informed
If anything big is on the horizon, such as a training update, policy change, and a vastly important project, everyone should know this information as soon as it becomes available. If everyone is searching for scraps of info, there’s a serious breakdown of communication. Communication should be constant, and dialogues should never be closed. No one can work together if they don’t share the same knowledge.
6. Conversation is Straightforward
This is one of the best things about great culture. In these workplaces, no one has to gossip. There’s no whispering behind backs. If an employee is unhappy about something, they don’t need to fear retaliation for appropriately raising their concerns. These workplaces can change, grow, and evolve because of the level of trust that comes with honest thought.
Where there’s no culture, there’s no company. Maintaining a high culture standard can drastically improve the dynamics within the workplace, as well as the successes your team will experience together. Always take suggestions and be a good listener.
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About the author: With a background in Business Administration and Management, Tess Pajaron currently works at Open Colleges (http://www.opencolleges.edu.au/), Australia’s leading online educator.
She likes to cover stories in careers and marketing. Connect with Tess on Twitter: @Tessedel.
Photo credit: http://pixabay.com/
