Company culture makes more of a difference in the success of a business than most people think. Businesses are realizing that they need to put in more effort to prevent valuable employees from leaving, and to encourage unmotivated staff to step up to the task.
Simply setting up your employees in a bright office and organizing yearly performance reviews could keep them content, but it might not make them particularly passionate about helping your business succeed.
Building a company culture should be a steady, deliberate process. If you want to refer to your staff as one big, happy family, you need to make them feel like it. As a start, here are four weekly rituals you can implement in your business to build up company culture.
1. Make the Beginning of the Week Special
Mondays aren’t most people’s favorite days. Even if they love their jobs, the beginning of the week is a reminder that the work routine is starting all over again. It’s also a reminder that they can’t sleep in for five more days. Make your employees relate the beginning of the work week with something special.
A simple way can be by offering them breakfast when they arrive on Monday morning. If you want to make this ritual even more memorable, you can have your staff sit down together to eat before starting the day. It’s a great way to encourage camaraderie and share some positive rapport before the week starts.
2. Daily or Bi-Weekly Check-Ins
Your company’s general messaging channel can be used for so much more than meeting reminders. Daily or bi-weekly check-ins help keep you informed about company matters, especially if you manage a large team.
A suggestion for a check-in format could be for staff to include their work plans for the day and how they’re feeling. Encourage your staff to be honest about this. As much as you wish this was the case, not all of your employees are “feeling excited” every morning.
Having them share their feelings can also help you address serious issues that could be affecting them and their productivity.
3. Have Employees Talk About Weekly Wins And Fails
Failure breeds innovation. It sounds crazy, but research shows that this is true. Employees should feel comfortable enough to discuss their successes and failures with managers. This is particularly important with businesses that require constant innovation from staff.
When you started your business, it’s likely you had your fair share of failures yourself, which taught you many lessons about how to run a company. See your employee’s failures as a valuable learning opportunity for them. Additionally, this practice can encourage them to ask for help without fearing they’ll be penalized.
4. Celebrate the End of the Week
It’s 4:45 on a Friday afternoon, and your employees are getting ready to leave your office and head home. They’re exhausted after putting in hours to make your business profitable. Showing some gratitude won’t hurt.
Celebrating the end of the work week shows your employees how much you appreciate them and that you know how important their weekends are to them. The details are completely up to you, but making some effort can go a long way in endearing you to your staff.
Happy Employees are Loyal Employees
Weekly rituals can improve your company culture tremendously. Happy employees are loyal employees who also feel personally invested in your company’s success. Consider implementing at least a few of the rituals suggested above to turn your company into a truly big, happy family.
About the Author
Elfreda Tetteh is a content creator at Veem, a global payments platform that enables small businesses to make international payments at little to no cost.
