Insight / News
Creating a progressive company culture is all about showing employees that they are respected and valued within the company. In many workplaces this isn’t the case, so perhaps it is time to make some changes in order to prove to your staff how important they are and to encourage long careers within your company. Here are a few things you can do to make important changes that will benefit everyone in the business!
Offer Office Perks
An element of creating a progressive culture in a workplace is making employees aware of how valued they are. In the past, companies would operate on a system that terrified staff as they could be disposed of at any time, yet employees will no longer put up with this environment, nor would they perform well if they did decide to stick around.
One fantastic way to show your employees how valued they are is to offer them perks as small reminders of your gratitude and to show that you care about their wellbeing. Perhaps you could integrate additional breaks in the afternoon twice a week to offer a 15 minute meditation session in a quiet area. Your staff might enjoy a wellness bar with a variety of smoothies and health supplements to give them a boost. Maybe there’s demand in the office for a free beer on a Friday afternoon!
Speak to your staff and find out what they would enjoy. This will make them far more likely to want the company that looks after them to do well, so it’s a win-win.
Take Away Strict Numbers Based Targets
Setting numerical targets for your employees can block creativity, create a toxic, competitive environment and also result in poor quality work. Rather than encouraging constant comparison to other employees, take away the numbers based targets and instead focus on team success and a good standard of work.
It is still important to have something for your team to work towards to maintain focus, yet this doesn’t have to be numerical. Using other key performance indicators such as becoming more efficient, improving customer satisfaction or building a strong sense of brand can help you to meet goals without the toxicity.
Enable Flexibility In Hours and Working Schedule
Not everyone thrives by working 9-5 Monday to Friday. Having such strict hours may stifle creativity and it also fails to consider the needs of people’s home lives, for example school runs or family commitments.
Giving employees the space to discuss their needs and responsibilities outside work and supporting them by accommodating them will provide a healthy and caring environment. You could be open to part-time working or flexi-hours, or perhaps compressed hours when employees can work agreed hours over fewer days. Remote working could also be a useful initiative to introduce. Showing employees that you care about their needs and wellbeing will help to create a progressive working environment and happier staff.