There is no specific practice, perk or event that creates your company’s overall culture. Rather, it is a combination of daily interactions that define who you are as an organization.
Even having a mission and a set of core values doesn’t properly capture your culture if your team is not living these out on a regular basis. For instance, you may believe that you have a business that prioritizes safety, but if you only focus on the speed of jobs completed, this can tell team members a different story.
If you’re looking to strengthen your culture so it can scale with the business, take the time to review some of the intangibles that add up to the overall employee experience.
How Leaders Communicate
The first place to start when evaluating your company culture is to ask if you yourself are modeling the behaviors you want to see in others.
“As leaders, everything communicates,” says Paul Fraynd, co-owner of Sun Valley Landscaping, based in Omaha, Nebraska. “It’s up to us to make an intentional culture around our vision, values and goals. Our businesses tend to become reflections of how we show up at work, how we treat our team and our customers. Most importantly, the decisions we make.”
How you go about communicating with your team plays a huge role in the culture that exists. For instance, when you fail to be transparent or only share with some teams about a certain change, this inconsistency can create rumors and mistrust.
Similarly, if during periods of high stress, you spend your time berating team members or blaming others instead of seeking solutions, this can foster an atmosphere of pettiness and finger-pointing.
Other toxic leadership behaviors to be mindful of include favoritism, lack of recognition, setting unreasonable expectations, taking credit for others’ ideas and being unapproachable.
It’s also important to remain consistent with your communication. Taking two weeks to get back to a manager when you have a company policy of responding to emails within two days highlights what behavior is truly accepted in your business.
Once you’ve evaluated how well you match up to your culture, review your leadership team’s actions as well. These are the individuals your team will interact with on a regular basis, and if they’re not able to live out your values, your culture becomes inconsistent.
Addressing Mistakes
Another key area of your company culture is how you address mistakes. If you respond to honest errors by yelling at employees, docking their pay, or using other forms of punishment, you will quickly create a culture of fear in your workplace. It can also ultimately lead to poor employee retention over time as well.
This doesn’t mean that you can’t ever correct your employees. Instead of approaching mistakes from a place of anger, use these as teaching moments. Dig into why the misstep happened in the first place. Was it a matter of poor training or a lack of attention to detail due to being rushed? Consider what steps should be taken to avoid this from happening in the future.
Use positive reinforcement and words of encouragement, such as ‘Let me show you the correct way to do this’ when you spot an employee doing something the wrong way.
In the same vein, you shouldn’t simply tolerate poor performers or employees whose actions don’t align with your company’s values. This can send mixed messages to team members as they see they’re expected to work hard, but one employee is allowed to coast by.
“Keep the good attitudes; fire the bad ones,” says Silas Dill, general manager of Ideal Landscape Group. “Keep the good work ethics, fire the bad ones. Don’t wait to do either one of these steps. Do it now. Your team morale will improve more than you ever thought possible.”
Celebrating the Wins
How you celebrate your team and express your appreciation is critical to building a positive company culture that team members want to be part of long term.
For example, hosting a monthly barbecue where you and your leadership team are the ones serving the food can add a level of genuineness to the thanks you’re trying to convey. Develop a regular cadence of celebrating your team’s wins, both big and small. This can be in the form of weekly huddles, company-wide emails, and one-on-one meetings. It’s also a good idea to structure your recognition programs so every department has a chance to get honored.
Specific, timely recognition is particularly powerful as your team members appreciate knowing their individual efforts are valued.
“Instead of a vague ‘good job,’ we try to recognize exactly what a team member did and why it mattered with frequent shout-outs in our communication app,” says Katelyn Milanes, director of culture and employee engagement for Fisk Lawnscapes. “Recognition goes a long way in building trust and engagement. When celebration becomes more than a gesture, it fuels retention, engagement, and pride in your work.”
Creating an Atmosphere of Respect
Last but not least, employees want to be treated with trust and respect. Instead of micromanaging, give your team members the ability to be autonomous and have an impact on their crew or their division.
One way to convey the level of respect you have for your team is to listen to them and provide the tools they need to succeed. This could come in the form of newer tools or trucks, or a piece of software that helps them get more accomplished in the day.
Another sign of respect is when you invest in your employees’ career growth. Conducting regular performance reviews, providing training tied to career advancement and offering professional development opportunities all help employees see a future with the company.
It’s also important to create a sense of psychological safety for your team. This is where employees feel comfortable speaking their mind and sharing any ideas or concerns they have without having to worry about retaliation.
“Without it, people hold back from voicing their ideas, but with it, creativity and problem-solving and innovation can potentially skyrocket,” says Gabe Adams, a behavioral scientist with UVA Darden School of Business. “When people don’t speak up, important ideas get lost in the shuffle and leaders don’t hear critical feedback.”
If you want your culture to be stronger, it has to become visible in the way people are treated, supported and led every day.
