Successful businesses and brands are built from the ground up. There’s more to success than a lot of revenue and popularity. In fact, the most important part of a business is the people behind it— the employees. Happy employees result in better outcomes and results.
So, what’s the key to happy employees? A solid company culture.
Oftentimes, corporations forget that employees play a huge role in their success and neglect them. This can result in low productivity and problematic work environments.
Signs of a good company culture include low turnover rate, clear mission and values, high employee engagement and satisfaction, transparency approachable, active, and unique employers.
A good company culture breeds better performance since happy employees create a better workplace. This has been proven with many existing successful companies such as Google, Amazon, IKEA, and many more.
Established companies are able to invest in their employees and have the funds to do so. So, how can small companies improve their company culture if their budget is limited? Keeping your employees happy doesn’t mean you have to splurge on state of the art facilities and events. You can start small and get maximum results.
After researching established brands and how they keep their employees happy and increase productivity, we learned some tips that anyone can use minus the unlimited budget. Here are 5 tips to improve your company culture.
Although this doesn’t mean you need a restaurant in your office. The micro-kitchens at Google can be imitated.
You can encourage employees to socialize and converse during lunch. Simply have a dining table setup where your employees can sit at. This way, you can encourage your employees to communicate and build a solid community, which builds solidarity in the long run.
They use the “two pizza rule” which minimizes time and the number of people who are present in the meeting. Amazon believes that there should never be a meeting where two pizzas aren’t enough to feed the entire group.
If you have more than the two pizza amounts, it means that there are too many people. The reality is that the more people are present, the more ideas and decisions need to go through people. This means less efficiency and effectiveness.
So, we suggest keeping the number of people as small as you can to shorten the time and the amount of effort needed to make important decisions. You’ll save your employees a lot of time and be more productive since they’ll be able to spend time on more important tasks.
Asking questions usually leads to problem solving. As employers, it’s a good idea to encourage curiosity and question-asking. A good technique to implement is to ask five whys to root out a cause of any challenge.
By asking the question five times, you can drill down the core of the problem. Most of the time asking the same question five times will reveal different answers. Once the questions have been asked, a solution tends to become clearer.
This advice is applicable in everyday life. It’s important to keep funds to a minimum and spend only what you need. Oftentimes, companies have problems in the financial department and overspend. By having a frugal mindset, you might be saving your company money. This way, you can manage the finance much better.
The company believes that these limits can restrict them from potential business growth and even an out-of-this-world idea is never too weird.
So, encourage your employees to share their ideas more freely. Make your workspace a place free of judgment so they can share their ideas and thoughts with freedom. By doing so, you might gain some new and innovative ideas that can lead to a better company's performance and result.
Most importantly, you should treat your employees and staff with empathy and respect. Remember, they're the most important resource in achieving your company's goals. By doing this, it will create a happy environment, higher productivity, and solid company culture.
Author Bio:
Andre Oentoro is the founder of Breadnbeyond, an award winning explainer video company. He helps businesses increase conversion rates, close more sales and get positive ROI from explainer videos (in that order).
So, what’s the key to happy employees? A solid company culture.
Oftentimes, corporations forget that employees play a huge role in their success and neglect them. This can result in low productivity and problematic work environments.
Signs of a good company culture include low turnover rate, clear mission and values, high employee engagement and satisfaction, transparency approachable, active, and unique employers.
A good company culture breeds better performance since happy employees create a better workplace. This has been proven with many existing successful companies such as Google, Amazon, IKEA, and many more.
Established companies are able to invest in their employees and have the funds to do so. So, how can small companies improve their company culture if their budget is limited? Keeping your employees happy doesn’t mean you have to splurge on state of the art facilities and events. You can start small and get maximum results.
After researching established brands and how they keep their employees happy and increase productivity, we learned some tips that anyone can use minus the unlimited budget. Here are 5 tips to improve your company culture.
1. Encourage Conversation
Have you ever noticed when you’re at dinner with someone, there’s bound to be conversation. This is a nice time to talk about your day and anything that comes to mind. In sort, the dinner table is a great place to get to know someone and voice your thoughts.Although this doesn’t mean you need a restaurant in your office. The micro-kitchens at Google can be imitated.
You can encourage employees to socialize and converse during lunch. Simply have a dining table setup where your employees can sit at. This way, you can encourage your employees to communicate and build a solid community, which builds solidarity in the long run.
2. Minimize Meetings
Meetings can be two things— moments of brilliance or a waste of time. Sometimes meetings are deemed a necessity in the corporate world and they can go on for hours. However, meetings don’t have to take 3 hours. In fact, a successful company like Amazon likes to minimize meetings.They use the “two pizza rule” which minimizes time and the number of people who are present in the meeting. Amazon believes that there should never be a meeting where two pizzas aren’t enough to feed the entire group.
If you have more than the two pizza amounts, it means that there are too many people. The reality is that the more people are present, the more ideas and decisions need to go through people. This means less efficiency and effectiveness.
So, we suggest keeping the number of people as small as you can to shorten the time and the amount of effort needed to make important decisions. You’ll save your employees a lot of time and be more productive since they’ll be able to spend time on more important tasks.
3. Ask 5 Whys
Employees might be scared to ask questions because some employers tend to be condescending. This is a culture that should never exist. Curious employees are great additions to the company.Asking questions usually leads to problem solving. As employers, it’s a good idea to encourage curiosity and question-asking. A good technique to implement is to ask five whys to root out a cause of any challenge.
By asking the question five times, you can drill down the core of the problem. Most of the time asking the same question five times will reveal different answers. Once the questions have been asked, a solution tends to become clearer.
4. Be Frugal
A frugal lifestyle is an excellent lifestyle to follow. A good example is Ingvar Kamprad, the founder of IKEA. He is a practitioner of a frugal lifestyle and his influence can be seen throughout the company. His influence is so apparent that managers of all levels are encouraged to cut costs in all areas of the company.This advice is applicable in everyday life. It’s important to keep funds to a minimum and spend only what you need. Oftentimes, companies have problems in the financial department and overspend. By having a frugal mindset, you might be saving your company money. This way, you can manage the finance much better.
5. Embrace Weirdness
Got a crazy idea? Don’t keep it to yourself. Sometimes the craziest ideas can become awesome innovations. Amazon motivates its employees to see themselves and their work as different from conventional ways of doing business.The company believes that these limits can restrict them from potential business growth and even an out-of-this-world idea is never too weird.
So, encourage your employees to share their ideas more freely. Make your workspace a place free of judgment so they can share their ideas and thoughts with freedom. By doing so, you might gain some new and innovative ideas that can lead to a better company's performance and result.
Final Thoughts
In the end, the main idea is to treat your employees well. Adobe’s mission statement revolves around maintaining their employees’ happiness and wellbeing. This is balanced with hard work and responsibility.Most importantly, you should treat your employees and staff with empathy and respect. Remember, they're the most important resource in achieving your company's goals. By doing this, it will create a happy environment, higher productivity, and solid company culture.
Author Bio:
Andre Oentoro is the founder of Breadnbeyond, an award winning explainer video company. He helps businesses increase conversion rates, close more sales and get positive ROI from explainer videos (in that order).