If your company is like most companies at the moment, you are still figuring out exactly how to keep your company’s culture in place while most, if not all, of your employees, continue to work from home. In fact, 57% of companies report that the pandemic has or will impact their culture and as many as 62% of human resource professionals agreed that maintaining culture in the remote world has been difficult.
If you describe work culture as “how it feels to be at work” as most people do, then it can be hard to apply those feelings to a workforce that never leaves their home. But the so-called death of the office doesn’t mean the death of corporate culture.
You and your company can still have a supportive workplace and company culture if your company is remote or hybrid and especially if it is fully onsite. To prove it, we talked to c-suite executives to hear how they have built a supportive workplace and company culture.
Put Your People First
You can’t support your people if you don’t put them first. “People are your greatest asset,” says Michael Hennessy, Founder and CEO of Diathrive. “Having a diverse workforce will bring new and interesting values, skills, and experiences into the fray. Making sure everyone feels comfortable and included will help employees tap into their true potential,” he concluded.
Cliff Oxford, CEO at Oxford Center for Entrepreneurs echoed this sentiment, “…let high performance people make decisions. If you trust them with your mission and with hundreds of important daily choices, you can also trust them to handle their vacation schedule, their paid time off, and the tools they need to get the job done.” His thoughts touch on a growing trend in the modern workplace; empowering your people.
The days of breathing down your employee’s necks and micromanaging their every move are behind us. Studies show that democratic leadership works best, so empower your employees to exercise some authority.
“Building a supportive workplace and company culture starts at the top with business leaders. It requires establishing open lines of communication with all team members to ensure everyone is aligned and then offering assistance in any way possible,” says Hayley Albright, Senior Brand and Customer Experience Manager at Xena Workwear. “Managers need to encourage their employees to think outside the box and experiment with new ideas while working to their full potential.”
She goes further, saying managers should, “propose for employees to lead team meetings on ideas that they’re passionate about, and offer support/feedback as needed. This allows them to grow professionally and provides personal fulfillment. A supportive office environment is essential to company success, but a positive work culture always needs to stem from the leaders.” It’s a trickle-down effect. Place your people first and support them through the process and your company culture will take shape.
Communicate
Communication is key in all things, but especially when building a supportive company culture. You need to be able to communicate with your employees and be willing to have hard conversations. “Empathy, especially during the pandemic, has been huge,” says Ray Hernandez, Director, Public Relations & Gov’t Affairs at Otis Elevator Co. “Being able to vocalize when you’re not okay or having colleagues [and] leaders step in to help or adjust priorities are also great qualities of a strong culture.”
This can be hard to tackle when most of your workforce might be working remotely, but people need to stay informed. Use the wealth of business communication apps at your disposal to keep employees in the loop and reach out when needed. “Even if you don’t think communication is needed because something doesn’t directly affect them, you should still reach out [to your employees]. Better to overs-communicate than under,” says Dylan Arthur Garber, Co-Founder of Audien Hearing.
James Shalhoub, Co-founder at Finn adds, “Look, even your best teams are going to have interpersonal conflicts every once and a while. Having a functional work culture that supports conversation will help to resolve issues as they arise.”
Your employees need clearly communicated goals and expectations now more than ever. As a leader, it falls on your shoulders to communicate these and hold your people accountable. Find ways to track everything project-related with business tools. Eliminating confusion and having clear lines of communication help build a culture of support.
Offer Resources
While many things on this list are intangible, offering actual resources to your employees is something you can point to as an example of your supportive culture. These types of resources can come in all shapes and sizes.
“Show your employees you are really invested in their well-being by investing in their well-being,” says Ryan Rockefeller, Cleared’s Co-founder and CEO. “Employee resource groups are perfect. They can be dedicated to all sorts of experiences. Actively support them with a dedicated budget and encourage participation.”
Beyond ERGs, offer actual benefits for mental health in your benefits package. “Meditation app subscriptions are great and affordable with bulk pricing, but why not go a step further and include actual mental health days and cover visits to a psychiatrist? Train leaders to recognize the signs of burnout and mental health strain too,” says Adam Shlomi, Founder of SoFlo Tutors.
Try having an optional wellness session available on each employee’s calendar as a clear reminder to your employees that you are invested in their mental health. Fill these sessions with a local yoga instructor or a wellness coach that can walk employees through different exercises or programs.
Encourage
Encourage your employees to take time off and respect them when they do. “We are still coming out of the days where you felt guilty asking for time off. It’s a hard habit to break,” offered Michael Jankie, Founder of The Natural Patch Co. “Show employees that taking time off is welcome and encouraged by doing it yourself and telling them why you need a break. If they see that you do it, they might feel more comfortable doing it themselves.”
Make sure employees know that they will be supported while they are gone. Luca Capula, CEO of Son of a Barista added, “One of the biggest reasons people don’t take time off is because they are afraid of what their workload will look like when they come back. Tell them how you will support them while they are gone so they can breathe a little easier while they are away.”
The numbers agree: 768 million vacation days are wasted every year in the United States. Do your best to make sure none are wasted at your company by encouraging employees to rest when they need it. Do your part to respect their boundaries if you can. That means not sending them a ton of emails or messages while they are supposed to be unplugged.
Have a Fun Environment
Your company environment doesn’t just mean the physical space your company inhabits, it extends to the virtual world as well. “A good work environment means a place where everyone feels safe and comfortable both being themselves and physically comfortable where they are. Some people might still want to be at home despite restrictions lifting while others are more comfortable in the office, whatever the case may be, make them feel like they are allowed to be themselves wherever they decide to work by emphasizing a fun and laid back work environment wherever they may be,” suggested Jesse Richardson, CEO of The Brothers Apothecary.
A fun, positive culture centered around your employees will go a long way toward building support. People naturally feel more comfortable with people they know they can laugh with. Laughter and fun will build the sense of family and team that a supportive culture needs.
Team-building activities are a great way to make the workplace fun. Something as simple as a happy hour on Fridays at the company’s expense will do wonders for your employee’s state of mind and company culture. “It can be challenging to do these things if the team is remote, but something like sending lunch to one of your teams while they are working on a big project or having a virtual guest speaker that everyone can check out late on a workday. If people are comfortable meeting up outside work; get creative. Pay for a make your own pasta lunch or a get-together at a park. And try to show face at these events so they know you are part of their team and are there to support them,” says Kevin Miller, Founder of KevinMiller.com.
Small activities like these will build up over time and cement your culture in the minds of your employees.
