Your bottom line motivates every business decision, but employees are driven by individual needs that do not always align with yours. The incentives you use to get employees on board determine whether your company culture inspires passion or antagonism. If you treat all employee relationships like transactions, you cannot expect workers to care about going beyond the minimum standards of the job. Show appreciation for employees, and they reward you with smoother operations and teamwork.
Perception vs. Reality
High turnover rates are one of the most blatant signs of a poor work environment, especially when your company loses valuable workers despite offering competitive salaries. A disconnect develops when company decisions frequently undermine employee interests. You may see your company as a nurturing workplace that provides reasonable benefits, reliable income and opportunities for promotion, so a lack of employee loyalty can be frustrating.
From employees' perspectives, most jobs gradually lose their appeal when companies enact counterproductive policies or create unnecessary competition between team members who need to collaborate to succeed. Your management team may pass the blame for oversights or ask for employee feedback without ever implementing changes. Regardless of the specific conflict, employees become resentful and distrustful when your company culture positions them as underlings of no importance. Under these conditions, your goals cannot align because employees view your bottom line as profit you made at their expense.
Characteristics of Uplifting Companies
Businesses with an attractive company culture recognize that the employer-employee dynamic is a partnership, not a taskmaster and a mechanical workforce. You must make shared values the core of your company culture, and that includes setting ethical standards for how employees treat one another and approach business operations, says Kathy Bloomgarden, CEO of Ruder Finn. That mutual respect carries over to customer interactions and makes the entire environment feel welcoming and supportive.
You cannot ask employees to stay productive and solve problems if you chronically ignore factors that keep them motivated. A Gallup study estimates that employees who are strongly disengaged cost U.S. businesses up to $550 billion in lost productivity each year. Increase long-term profitability by giving employees a voice in company decisions and finding out which policies prevent efficiency. They may have operational insights you never imagined, and employees are more likely to care about the overall success of the company if their input makes a difference.
Inspire your employees by nurturing their passion projects and being open to new methods. Employees and businesses need growth, but that only happens when your company culture encourages and supports occasional risk. You never have to excuse poor performance, but use unexpected obstacles as opportunities to let enthusiastic workers solve problems creatively and to identify training gaps.
When profit goals are all consuming, your company hinders employee loyalty and sends workers in search of positions that offer more personal fulfillment. Instead, focus on building a strong workforce through ongoing education and professional mentoring. Offer bonus incentives that reward merit over cutthroat tactics to show employees you value hard work and good ethics. Positivity trickles down through your company culture and makes employees stick with you out of loyalty — not obligation.
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