Have you reflected on your workplace culture recently? Given the shift to remote work, you may need to rethink it. Here’s a few thoughts on why it’s important for recruitment, hiring, and retainment, and what you can do to strengthen it.
Why it’s important
A Glassdoor survey found that 3 in 5 employees and job seekers say company culture is one of the main reasons to stay at a job. As well, another study found that 90% of Canadian managers say alignment with the company culture is equal to or more important than skills and experience.
Promoting Company Culture
How do we get alignment and promote company culture remotely? Here are a few ideas:
Celebrate employee success- Whether it’s closing a deal, or hitting a project milestone, celebrating team member success is empowering.
Don’t abandon the onboarding process- Be sure to have scheduled meetups, check-ins, and training that will keep your new hires engaged.
Ensure a strong line of communication- Whether its slack, zoom, or other remote working tools, leverage what you have to keep a virtual “open door” policy.
Offer expenses allowance- The coffee isn’t free at Starbucks. Slide them a virtual gift card so they can work from a different spot occasionally.
Create a virtual water cooler- Drops ins don’t happen accidentally working remotely. Sometimes you need to create a “virtual space” for it to happen between workers.
Values
Identify your values- Whether you’re a veteran business with established vision and values, or a Startup that has never communicated them, you can spend time with your team exploring and clarifying the meaning and importance of your company values within the present context.
Demonstrate your values- Agility, Diversity, Respect or any other value is just a word until you put some life in it. Be sure to discuss with your team how your values are informing the business decisions you company is making. This helps them become concrete and real for employees.
Take-Away
These are just a few starting points when it comes to identifying, celebrating, and living your company’s unique culture. In the end, the further you define and clarify your identity, the better new candidates and current employees can rally around it.