All business owners want their staff to be as productive as possible. That is where the profit is to be found. Especially if they are working in a competitive sector. Then, small differences in productivity can make or break a company. Being able to shave a little off the cost of delivering a product or service and passing that on to the consumer, makes it possible to compete on cost.
So, unsurprisingly, many business owners make improving productivity one of their key internal goals. They are prepared to invest in the latest technology and pay to provide their staff with extra training. As well as put in place a system that looks at every process in the business to see whether it can be improved. Yet, despite this, there are still a few things that these business owners do not consider using.
For example, improving their company culture is quite low on their list of priorities. That is a shame because having the right company culture can make a huge difference to productivity. Below we explain why that is. Then provide you with a few easy-to-implement ways to improve the culture within your business.
Ways to Improve The Workplace Culture
1. A poor workplace culture puts people under too much stress
In 2011, when Canadian professors and economists dug into the data collected in the Canadian National Population Health Survey for 2000 to 2008, they discovered a strong link between job stress levels and health. The analysis revealed that those people who had medium or high-stress jobs were 26 and 27%, respectively, more likely to visit their general practitioner, than those in low-stress roles. That study can be found here .
2. Poorly motivated staff do just enough not to get fired
If you have ever visited a business whose employees are disengaged you will have already seen, firsthand, how poorly they perform. They tend to have a tick box mentality. Doing just enough not to get reprimanded or fired. You can tell that they are not doing the best possible job that they can. That they are not being as productive as they could be.
3. Engaged employees have fewer accidents
According to a recent article published by Environmental Health and Safety Today disengaged employees have 49% more accidents. They literally do not care enough to take notice of and put into practice the safety guidance their employers offer them. Accidents are clearly bad for productivity.
4. Making company culture a priority
That is three compelling examples of how employees that have the wrong attitude reduce productivity. Of course, there are many more.
Focusing on company culture is the most effective way to reverse that situation. Improving it really does change people´s behavior. Changing them from not caring less and doing the bare minimum to being fully engaged and eager to do a good job.
Here are some fairly simple ways any type of business can improve its company culture and do so relatively quickly:
5. Have a clear company mission and regularly remind employees of it
Making sure that every employee knows why they are there, what their ultimate work mission is to make a huge difference. It provides them with a purpose, a reason to do a good job. People like to belong to feel that they are a part of something bigger and important.
6. Explain what their role is in achieving that mission
From the point of induction, every employee needs to understand how what they are doing contributes to achieving the company´s mission.
7. Set clear performance goals
Employees have to be able to see how well they are doing their job so they can work out if they are playing their part in achieving the company´s mission. Setting departmental, and in some cases, individual goals is an effective way to do this.
8. Provide regular feedback
Regularly updating employees about how well their department is performing, especially in relation to their goals, keeps them focused and motivated. There are many ways to do this. Using strategically placed digital display screens is one of the most effective. It is now easy to source digital signage software for company culture . It enables company owners to create their own images, slide shows, and short videos and decide when and how that is all shared with employees. Digital screens can be put up practically anywhere and the message can be tailored to fit any group of employees. It is easy to change what is being displayed so they are particularly good for sharing updates and enabling teams to monitor their progress in achieving goals.
If you are not yet making company culture a priority. It is well worth considering doing so. This guide to employee engagement tools will help you to build on what we have shared in this article.
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