How to Create a Company Culture That Drives Performance

Companies are continuously looking for new ways to create a company that everybody wants to work for. Especially in our current world and society - being happy and loving your job is, understandably, more important than anything else.

So, if you're gaining negative feedback from your ex-employees, it may be time to take a look at your company culture and invest in some good brand. This doesn't necessarily mean that you should be copying some of the "trendy" companies and their culture - every business differs.

Dome may have a casual one; others may have a more formal company culture.

Below, we look at the best ways to create a company culture that drives performance.

What do we mean by culture?

Company culture is likely something that you've heard before. It's mentioned in job descriptions, social media posts, and blog posts - but what is it, exactly? It can include a variety of different things - including work environment, the value, ethics, company mission, goals, and expectations. It also impacts the rules and regulations of a company. For some companies, it also focuses heavily on Friday night drinks, brunches, and other types of fun events.

A high-performance culture is incredibly important, as it means that employees look forward to going to work, and enjoy the time they spend at work. It encourages current workers to be more passionate about work, encourages new ideas, and also appeal to new, innovate employees.

With that in mind, how can you create a company culture that drives performance?

Positivity is the key

When a workplace is continually negative, staff will begin to dread their workdays, and ultimately look elsewhere for a job. Not only that, but they will inevitably start to feel less passionate about their jobs, and not put in their full potential.

Your employees are the key to a successful business - making sure that they're positive and look forward to the future of your company is critical. Pushing negative thoughts out of their mind and mouth is crucial.

Clarify your values

Do you know your company values? If so, do you clarify and communicate them every single day? Your values should drive your own and your employee's behaviours every single day. This will contribute to the success of your company.

Empower your employees

As a leader/manager, your employees are always looking to you for guidance. Your decisions and advice should still positively impact them. This also means that you need to empower them and make critical decisions that will encourage them.

You should always be pushing your employees to reach their full potential, even if that means they may end up leaving you.

Here's precisely how you can empower them:

• Allow freedom and chances to explore something new
• Show them your trust
• Provide them with essential training
• Encourage their ideas

Collect feedback

Many companies have begun to collect feedback from employees; this enables managers and CEOs to make necessary changes, to improve their company culture. This also helps employees to feel seen and heard. It also helps you to know exactly how employees feel - rather than seeing it wrote on a review online after they leave.

Making this anonymous will allow your employees to be transparent, too. Of course, always follow up on feedback and make necessary changes - otherwise it's completely useless, and won't achieve anything for your employees.

Promote open conversations

Open conversations - where employees feel comfortable expressing their opinion and ideas, encourages a truly vibrant atmosphere. A company culture where people aren't afraid to communicate is always a major plus. You should work on being a better communicator, regardless of who you're communicating with at the time. You're all friends - hierarchy isn't always a good thing.

Focus on the things that matter Are you penalizing your employees for random, menial jobs? This could negatively impact your employees drive for achieving new things - and push them away.

"Focus on the essential things, like the sense of purpose, room for growth, and a higher level of transparency in the company. Also, avoid criticizing your employees for trivial things, as this will only drive them into another company." — Miranda Jameson, HR manager at Pick the Writer.

• What are the benefits of a high performing work culture? Apart from the fact that your company will perform much better.
• What are some of the other benefits of incorporating the above values into your company?

A lower employee turnover

Not only does a high turnover reflect negatively on a company, but it's also such a pain for you to deal with from an admin and operational side. Regularly replacing and finding new members of staff can be difficult. You want employees that will be around you for an extended period and will help you grow.

Remember, your employees will be less likely to leave a company that they love working for each day.

Accountability

In a company, everybody should be held accountable for their decisions - regardless of their role in the company. Companies that have a high performing culture, very often also prove that their employees have ownership of their tasks and goals.

This eliminates the chance of passing the blame onto others, and also makes every employee feel appreciated. Remember, everybody's contribution to a company is appreciated - hold them accountable to it will encourage them to keep making strides.

Empowerment at all levels

As we mentioned, your employees are a vital part of your company. If you empower them, they'll ultimately empower your company. "Your staff should feel empowered and happy - enabling them to make changes and come to you with innovative ideas.

This can only be a positive thing for your company, and for your staff." — Melanie Sovann, senior writer at Best Essay Education and content marketing specialist at Trust My Paper.

Team support

With a company that empowers, encourages change, and has open communication - you also have a team of people that continuously back others up. Every team member stands together, works together, and helps each other - which can be much more useful than a team that's continuously in competition with each other.

A reliable company, filled with individual bonds, eliminates animosity, and again encourages your employees to stay.

Continuously improving

With a company that has a team of high performing, empowered, and influential people - you'll be sure of one thing; you'll continually be improving. As a company, you should always be looking for new ideas, innovation, and improvement.

This means listening to everybody, collecting feedback, and making necessary changes. Embrace a mindset of change, for everybody - from the CEO to the c-level team members. Push everybody out their comfort zone, allow them to learn, improve personally, and grow. This will reflect on your company, and make you stand out from the crowd.

Conclusion

Ask yourself; are you investing in your company's culture? If you build a high-performance culture, you also gain all the characteristics of a high performing work culture - including better team bonds, more change, and empowerment. This can only transform into positive changes.

Culture matters; without it, you can experience negativity, high turnover, and a stagnant process. Improving the "personality" of your company is crucial. The last thing you want is your employees, with the sharpest minds and most refreshing ideas, to not risk coming to you with new ideas.

About the author

Dorian Martin is a seasoned writer that explores a wide variety of topics, ranging from marketing and SEO to HR and organizational design. He also regularly contributes to his blog — Not BusinessAsUsusal. His pieces are always catchy and informative, which is why we recommend you keep an eye on him.

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