Improving workplace culture can be a draining task, but the easiest way to do so might be staring you in the face. The whole reason why you are trying to transform workplace culture is for your employees, so doesn’t it make sense to approach them for ideas?
With 41% of employees from a survey saying poor workplace culture impacts productivity, it’s best to face the problem head on and implement services that will help your team to flourish. Coinadrink Limited, the vending machine company, explores some great solutions as we enter the winter months.
Teamwork makes the dream work, as they say. Your team are the heartbeat of your business and it’s important to bring them together so they can work to their full potential easier and more efficiently.
This isn’t just about meaningful break times over a cup of tea or coffee (more on that later). No, it’s about providing the equipment and communication channels to discuss workplace matters whenever they need. Think communication apps and software such as Microsoft Teams or Zoom. You could also ensure departments that often work together are situated closer in the office.
Not being able to communicate over an important topic or subject is damaging to motivation and productivity, so ensure your workplace culture encourages transparency.
Having strong working relationships, to the point where your team members practically consider themselves as friends as well as colleagues, is key improving workplace culture. But it doesn’t just happen automatically.
Team-building activities and events where you can promote bonding are ideal but cultivating relationships doesn’t need to be anything too dramatic. A report from Bonusly says you need to create moments of “collision” in your environment. These are places where your team will often bump into each other and start a conversation, either work-related or informal.
Being a vending company, Coinadrink understands the value of breakout areas and refreshment facilities to encourage timeout and chatter. From small office coffee machines to the future of the staff canteen, explore our services.
Nobody likes being micromanaged at work and these last 18 months will shout the loudest about whether you truly trust your team to work remotely.
Your employees are adults and it’s important to treat them as such. You hired them for a reason, so if you don’t believe that they can handle their daily responsibilities then maybe you should revaluate your hire strategy. Inspiring autonomy promotes efficiency and encourages your employees to embrace accountability and take the initiative with tasks.
All of us have personal lives, so why not explore the option to let employees take any time off they need providing they make it up when they can do so?
A GOOD WORKPLACE CULTURE PRACTICES FLEXIBILITY.
On the back of this, flexible working is something the modern workplace is slowly getting used to. Many companies understand the value of this, such as improving morale and reducing turnover.
A good workplace culture considers external factors that force the start of such things. Moreover, a good workplace culture identifies when such things work and knows better than to go back to the way it used to be prior to Covid-19. However, practicing flexibility is more than just working from home or working remotely. It’s allowing staff to step out of work for a few hours to pick up their child from school.
The effect of this flexibility can sometimes be a reduced number of office-based staff, which mean your on-site facilities no longer work for you. Coinadrink can help here too, such as replacing your canteen with a vending machine.
A GOOD WORKPLACE CULTURE PROVIDES REGULAR FEEDBACK.
Feedback is a simple way to let an employee know whether they have done a good job on something or whether there is room for improvement.
It doesn’t help that a lot of feedback can be vague and not particularly helpful, even if you have good intentions. Regular feedback can help your employee realise that you care about their development as well as their work, so make time to discuss progress perhaps once a week or once a month.
These meetings can be done informally in a breakout area over a coffee, for example.
It is not up to you to decide what works for your team and what doesn’t. It is very much down to them.
Understand that every employee is different and by implementing a range of services, you will make your working environment more appealing to a wider range of people. As we detailed above, identifying what would deliver a better working day is something you’ll have to discuss with your colleagues.
It does help to think about external factors. Covid-19 introduced testing times that will shape our world for years to come, so it’s important to discuss how the impact of the pandemic continues to affect your employees’ needs. Then there’s the winter months, which again will alter what your team would like or expect from their workplace.
Showing that you’re prepared to listen to your team is a great indication that you care for their morale and overall wellbeing.
