Getting people to work together toward a common goal is often easier said than done. This is especially true in many hyper-competitive companies that employ similarly-competitive workers. Unsurprisingly, these firms’ leaders don’t consider as something to worry about. Instead, they think rivalries and contests can help their companies reach goals faster. Unfortunately, an ultra-competitive environment can ultimately make for a toxic work environment. As employees keep jockeying for higher positions in the pecking order, they inevitably lose the spirit of collaboration. Between competition and collaboration, which would you want as the definition of your work culture?
Forbes describes work culture as a collection of “the shared values, belief systems, attitudes, and the set of assumptions” within an organization. Therefore, a company with a great work culture promotes values and practices that vastly improve productivity and communication. This includes implementing programs that uplift employee morale, embrace diversity, encourage collaboration, and enhance productivity. Conversely, a firm with a toxic work culture is rife with resignations, internal squabbling, and low morale.
An IT work environment is a workplace where lots of things are happening all at once. Company leaders are often left scrambling to maintain their lead over their competitors. In addition, there is constant pressure to stay up-to-date with rapidly changing industry trends, tools, and technology. Consequently, workers try to keep up with the increasing demands. Without the presence of a stabilizing work culture, they will often crack under pressure.
When workers join a company, management expects them to adhere to office rules and perform their duties to satisfaction. One of the best ways to accomplish these tasks is to grow the connection with the company and with co-workers. This involves being supportive of the organization’s goals as well as their colleagues’ well-being. The more you understand and relate to what the firm wants to accomplish, the better you can perform your role. At the same time, a strong connection with your peers helps you understand your role within the team. When in the process of achieving goals, a well-established work culture.
There are other benefits of a positive work culture for both company and the employees. They include the following:
A happy, positive working environment means fewer employees want to leave. A Business Insider 2022 report relayed that, for many workers, compensation wasn’t actually the main reason for them quitting. Instead, they pegged their once toxic work cultures to be the nail in the coffin. In fact, an employee is 10.4 times more likely to quit because of a toxic workplace than low pay! Underlying causes of a toxic work environment include a lack of diversity/inclusion, unethical corporate behavior, and a feeling of disrespect among workers.
Meanwhile, improving the work culture can also lead to improved worker relationships with members of the same team. Encouraging open communication and feedback provides workers with some avenues for growth. Improving communication encourages team members to converse more frequently. The more members engage with their teammates, the more opportunities they have to collaborate with and assist each other. Additionally, improved communication means leaders share information with their team more often. As a result, workers start trusting their leaders to provide the right direction. This makes it easier for them to perform the tasks needed to get the company moving closer to its goals.
A major part of developing a positive work culture is being committed to inclusivity. In a typical IT work environment, having a multicultural team is always a strong possibility. With a positive and inclusive work culture, individual team members appreciate the feeling of equality regardless of background or orientation. It also makes it much easier for employees to concentrate on their work knowing they will get fair and equal treatment.
Transforming your team’s work culture into a positive one requires revisiting your present system. Are there any bottlenecks or gaps that prevent team members from seeing eye to eye on certain matters? Do teams communicate regularly and have a mechanism to address problems and oversights? Finally, are all members comfortable dealing with one another? Information Technology teams tasked with solving problems will need to improve dynamics if they want to consistently hit their goals. Those that want to improve their team culture should consider the following improvements:
In order for an entire organization to stay on the same page, they must know which page to look at. Creating a company from scratch involves a million tasks to accomplish, all of which demand the utmost urgency. In addressing these urgent tasks, some leaders either forget or defer putting their vision and values in writing. Even worse, some companies neglect to share these ideas with their employees. As a result, many workers know their roles but will have difficulty relating them to the company’s goals.
The blares when a company begins its operation. The company vision is basically what it wants to achieve in a set timeframe. For example, the fictional ABC Technology’s vision might be to become the market leader in widgets by 2025. Or, XYZ Services may aim to become the entire Tech Industry’s leading back-office support and outsourcing services provider. Meanwhile, the values statement shares the company’s core beliefs, ethics, or principles. It helps puts the company’s efforts into perspective and will ideally establish it as an ethical business. In the case of ABC Technology, they’ll want to become the market leader. However, they plan to do so by using sustainable widget raw materials and ethical manufacturing processes. Meanwhile, XYZ Services pledges to hire and deploy qualified staff and support them with the right training and tools.
Companies that want employees to buy into their vision and values should make sure every employee has a copy. At every opportunity, leaders should also deliver messages that refer to the vision and values. Efforts to share the organization’s core ideas should continue until every member gets to read, understand, and buy into the company’s vision and values.
Aside from sharing the vision and values, companies should also promote open communication throughout the organization. By doing so, employees will become emboldened to emulate leadership and practice transparency as well. Ultimately, employees will learn to trust their leaders and vice versa. What’s more, workers who realize that the company listens can now feel both heard and appreciated.
shouldn’t limit itself to conversations between management and workers. HR can provide regular communication by producing newsletters in the form of short videos, podcasts, or PDFs. The communication team can use these channels to share information that everybody should know. This includes company announcements, stock information, product and campaign launches, hiring matters, and milestones. Additionally, regular town hall-style meetings where management executives share information and provide explanations on recent decisions to rank-and-file personnel can help clear the air on some issues.
Ultimately, the goal of maintaining a positive work culture is to help the company achieve its goals. When workers are engaged, they become more productive. To sustain that productivity, it pays to invest in employees. This means casting aside a substantial budget for training and development opportunities.
After all, today’s companies measure success by growth, not profit. As such, as the company grows, so should the employees. That’s why businesses. The better you equip them with the tools and know-how to sustain the company’s growth, the better your business will thrive. More importantly, it assures workers that the company needs their help now more than ever.
Granted, being heard just isn’t enough when it comes to employee communication. Most will also appreciate the occasional validation like a pat on the back or a recognition of a job well done. Receiving compliments such as these are key to sustaining an employee’s engagement with the organization. Additionally, that employees will happily receive and appreciate. Still, the intrinsic value gained from recognition is the main reason why companies should institutionalize employee recognition.
Workers who performed above-and-beyond services to the company should always receive recognition. The same goes for company achievers, especially those who delivered outstanding customer service or earned the highest accolades from outsourcing clients. Even longstanding employees who invested years in the company also deserve recognition. However big or small the accomplishment, the company should always take the opportunity to validate contributions from employees.
Like parents to their children, company leaders who desire a positive work culture should serve as the best examples themselves. Do you want open communication across the organization? Be the leader that takes the lead in sharing accomplishments, explaining decisions, and giving recognition.
In addition, great leaders also set a great example by enthusiastically doing what they’re asking of their employees. When everybody else is racing toward a tight deadline to deliver the promised software patch, leaders should be at a stone’s throw to provide them the support to get there. A real leader will join the troops on the front lines and cheer them on personally as they march toward the finish line. This is a surefire way for company leaders to , rather than just another boss.
Creating and sustaining a positive work culture in your organization can pay off big time in both the short and long term. Encouraging open communication, establishing trust, and recognizing accomplishments can help engage your employees and make them perform better. Eventually, it becomes easier for them to listen to your directions and trust in your leadership.
For organizations looking for a faster, more efficient solution for their manpower requirements, consider partnering with . As a leading IT outsourcing provider, Growin has skilled developer and support teams that already have a positive work culture. We’ll plug our seasoned staff into your business so that you can immediately reap the benefits.
Now that you’re set on growing your business, it’s time we get in touch. We’d love to talk about how we can boost your productivity while lowering your operational costs!