How to Create a Positive Office Culture

Whether you work remotely, hybrid or in person, a positive office culture looks very similar. It mainly comes down to creating a comfortable environment for your team to thrive in, with set values, beliefs and ambition. Positive office culture can noticeably impact the candidates you attract during the hiring process whilst boosting productivity, morale and decreasing turnover.

The Importance of Work Culture

Work culture is defined below,

Work culture encompasses the values, beliefs and attitudes that guide an organisation. It sets expectations for how employees should behave and interact with one another as they perform their day-to-day responsibilities and contribute to the company’s overall mission.

Work culture plays a vital role in how employees behave. Work culture will managed expectations and describe business values. Your work culture can shift and take a new form as and when the company grows, or experiences change. Regardless, each employee should have a firm idea of what the company work culture is about.

According to research, 46% of job seekers say that company culture is an important factor in their job search.

How To Create Your Positive Work Culture

Employers and employees alike will have varied ideas of the key elements of a strong, happy work environment. Realistically, there is not a one-size-fits-all approach to this. It’s about creating a space where employees are seen and heard, where both management and employees are proud to work together.

Here’s a list of some common elements that focus on great company culture:

1. Credibility
2. Respect
3. Fairness
4. Perks and amenities.
5. Effective Leadership
6. Values
7. Belonging
8. Opportunities for learning and professional development.

Business owners and teams should consider what is key to creating an environment they can thrive in. It’s important to have open discussions about workplace culture to better improve the everyday workplace for your team.

Ask your team: what do you value most about an office culture? 

This should be a priority and include the leaders and managers, long-term employees, and your HR (human resources) team. This allows all associated parties within the business to offer thoughts, improvements and better ways of working.

With 94% of executives and 88% of employees believing that a distinct workplace culture is important to business success, your team will likely have many ideas and different values to say yours or another team member.

Once you have established your team’s wants and needs, it’s time to build the perfect workplace culture. You should thoroughly evaluate your business’s current values as these are how your business is perceived and how employees and candidates understand what is a priority for your organisation – what are the goals?

Align these goals with the values and priorities that you discovered through talking to your team. See how their feedback aligns with your current values, and use their insight to build a company handbook or culture handbook. This allows each employees ideas to shine through and unite in order to create a strong, positive office culture.

How to Keep a Consistent Office Culture

It’s all well and good having a shiny new set of values and processes. But, how do you keep this consistent?

1. Set clear objectives and expectations to streamline employee performance.
2. Ensure that your employees are clear and understand the businesses short, and long-term goals.
3. Revisit your values and employee handbook regularly, and hold team meetings to reflect on how your office meets them.
4. Give each and every employee the position to talk freely and share their thoughts with no judgement.
5. Encourage employees to talk about what positive work culture means to them and their values.
6. Promote a diverse and inclusive environment.

Creating a great workplace culture is all about allowing your employees to thrive in a professional environment and providing them with the necessary tools and culture to meet your business goals whilst feeling valued and appreciated.