Have you seen the 2018 Nigerian movie, ‘Lionheart’? Do you remember the scene where Nkem Owoh led his employees in an early morning devotion? That explains workplace culture.
Coming from an understanding that Nigeria is a very religious country in Africa, it won’t seem wrong if a company decides to uphold this type of spiritual atmosphere as part of their culture.
Nevertheless, it is a tricky one if other religions or even atheists are expected to be a part of the devotion.
However proper this culture may seem, others will still disagree on the ground that the primary purpose of accepting a job offer is to work instead of casting and binding demons withholding major contracts for the company. And they are not wrong.
The point of this scenario is to understand the effect of your company’s culture on the values of your workers.
Your company culture is a set of goals, attitudes, practices, and values that make up your organization. It is what distinguishes your company from another. It is why people may prefer a certain company’s modus operandi to another and eventually quit working for a company or department and move to another that resonates with them.
To avoid making mistakes in your organization and losing great talents, I will be guiding you on how to build a company culture that aligns with the values of your employees.
HOW TO BUILD A CULTURE THAT ALIGNS WITH PEOPLE’S VALUES
-
Give a clear description of your work culture
After the recruitment process of a candidate is complete, you must state clearly what your company’s work culture looks like. Let the candidate know what they are up against in person and in the offer letter.
Tell them what your day-to-day activities are like. Tell them to whom they would be accountable, how the weekly meetings are held, the dress code, the chain of power, the work hours, work retreat schedules, the amount of vacation leave, and the likes.
You are doing this to help the candidate become certain of what to expect to avoid a culture clash. These individuals have different personalities and limits to what they can bear or adapt to. If your culture is not convenient with them, it may start telling on their duties and the company altogether.
It is why you keep hearing cases today like horrible bosses at work and suffocating work environments.
-
Decide the type of employees you need
Before you decide on a prospective employee, ask them important questions related to their values like their interests, work ethic, ideas, and motivations. Through these answers, you will be able to ascertain the possibility of their values in line with your culture.
This is why asking questions like, “Tell me about yourself” or performance and behavioral questions are important.
-
Promote your company’s goals
Have an action plan made up of individual tasks, whereby each individual or team has a clearly defined role?
Rather than rushing, it’s more progressive taking baby steps and accomplish something each day.
Ensure that your employees are conversant with the goal and know their specific roles to be played on a steady basis.
Through means like social media content, the goals can be spelt out regularly so that both the employees and prospective clients are versed with them.
-
Allow for humor
Why so serious boss? In the bid to try to maintain a result-oriented environment, you mustn’t lose sight of the room for humor. Like the adage, “All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy,” building a friendly atmosphere will create an easy flow of work for your staff, which will in turn achieve your goals faster than expected.
Everyone wants to be in a place that is less tense and where they can be at least, a bit of themselves.
You can schedule days for retreats where you can travel somewhere nice and rent a short-let apartment to host your employees there. It could also be a quarterly or end-of-year bonding.
This will enable everyone to express themselves, connect more and feel like a family. It also helps open the mental faculty to be more productive and creative at work.
-
Be big on respect
In my lifetime on this earth, I have never come across anyone who doesn’t mind being disrespected. Some may seem not to mind, but they are only being tolerant.
No matter the status, age, or qualification of an employee, know how to deal with them honorably. Understand the balance of being firm and easy on them without allowing room for disrespect on both parties.
For instance, if you are too lenient on your employees, they may take you for granted and start procrastinating or delivering a half-baked job. After all, they will still get paid by the end of each month.
-
Unblock communication
Chris White, an organizational culture expert, said on TEDx that he once asked a colleague of his who had decades of work experience to recommend a solution to a problem they had at work. After a long pause, she replied, “I have never been asked what I think at work before now.”
More than employing people to get your company up and running, it is important to look out for their needs personally. In this case, be dedicated to seeing them grow by giving them opportunities to develop themselves for themselves. Be big on giving back to society.
You can achieve this by scheduling weekly meetings and or accountability mediums where there can be room to voice opinions, observations, and suggestions.
A bonus point here and perhaps, the core of this whole message is to always make your employees feel relevant regardless of the different strategies you devise. In no time, your company would be everyone’s favorite and dream job.
If you are a reader who needs insight on how to identify a company’s culture, click here.