Positive work culture

Things you shouldn’t do while developing a positive work culture. Methods to create a positive work culture in the workplace.

As a leader, you must focus on building the company culture that you and your team can be proud of. However, several mistakes will send your culture backwards without care to avoid them.

People tend to forget the fact that building your company culture is all about creating a culture that both you and your team are proud of. That helps create more positive cohesion, which enables your business to grow.

Positive company culture is not about having ping pong tables, free Friday beers or other workplace perks. Great culture results in a group of engaged human minds who are keen to come to work. They should understand what the company mission and values are.

So, without further, let us explore a few common mistakes people make when designing a company culture. We also share some advice on how to avoid these happening.

Common mistakes people make when designing a company culture

• Never build your company culture without proper planning

One of the mistakes found the most is that people just dive into ‘let’s create a great culture’ mode without proper planning. You should have a close look at the culture you currently have. Then, recognise the areas of improvement. You need to decide in which direction your business should run for the next 1-3 years. Then, revisit your mission and vision statements.

If you don’t plan for these sorts of activities, you are setting yourself up not to get the results you are awaiting.

• Lack of communication

Another mistake to avoid is not communicating your culture plans with your team. Ensure your team, including middle or senior management, know what your culture strategy is. Inform them what part they are expected to play in reshaping the cultural change.

Your people aren’t telepathic. They need you to communicate what your plans are, and where you feel the current culture is letting down yourself and the team. Being aware of such issues is the first step toward resolving them; you need to share this with others to work for it.

• Focusing on the negative

As a leader, you have to play a huge part in setting the tone of the firm. Be careful of your mood and what type of energy you are spreading to your team members. If you believe there are any negative element in the current culture, walking around moaning about it won’t help resolve this.

If you want to be a friendly person who carries positive energy to the office, start with proactive ideas on fixing the problems, instead of complaining or spreading negativity.

Work to banish negativity in your firm before it starts spreading.

• Making poor hiring decisions

Speaking of your team, building a positive company culture will never happen with poor hiring choices. There is an old adage that says ‘Hire slow, fire fast’. If you have employees who are spreading negativity or constantly undermining their managers, it may be time to let them go.

During your recruiting process, you may feel you have found a brilliant candidate with the right skill set to move your firm forward. However, you should also analyse these candidates for cultural fit.

If you had to choose a candidate for his technical skills, remember that you can train anyone for skills. The same will not go for training someone to change their personality or characteristics.

• Lack of goal setting

Goals are a vital part of building a company culture that you can be proud of. Goals motivate all of us to get focused and work toward shared results.

However, you should learn how to prioritise your goals properly. It is an essential skill that will help you and your firm succeed in the race. Remember that great leaders balance short-term thinking with long- term planning and thinking.

• Overlooking social needs

Another common mistake to avoid is not being concerned about the teams’ social needs. Great leaders encourage friendships at the office as it helps to create a family-style culture.

Employees do not want just to leave – they want a meaningful work experience that includes them being actively involved. So try to pick a few useful employee engagement ideas that would work for your team members, and run with them.

• Having no defined company values

A common happening with people is that they have no written values or mission statement, which is a way to express what behaviour and values are not acceptable in the office. Ensure that you and your colleagues also display these qualities that are shown in the values.

• Don’t be so serious

Every person loves a little fun in their lives. So, never forget to enjoy some laughter and smiles in the office. You are greeted with a smiling face often. Or you heed well wishes of “Good morning!” getting exchanged by your colleagues at the corner of the office.

Does this happen in your workspace? Ensure to be approachable by your team members, and encourage a little laughter here and there.

• Building your company culture is not once-off

Finally, the last and the least mistake are all too common. Some employers have the wrong idea of culture as being a checklist item that you can change, tick off and forget.

That is far from reality. Positive company culture needs frequent tending and direction. You should regularly evaluate how things are going, and what areas you should focus on more for the next quarter, six months or year.