Is Your Workplace Culture Hurting the Bottom Line?

The satisfaction of your employees significantly impacts how they perform, which ties directly to customer service, productivity and profits. Ensure your staff feels motivated and inspired by creating a workplace culture that is conducive and positive.

The Link Between Culture and Behavior

Employees are directly affected by the workplace culture at your firm. Your staff must understand expectations and have a clear understanding of the company's missions, values and goals. When the culture is open, honest and transparent, behavior improves. For example, if your employees value the company's mission and goals, they are able to then set their own personal and professional goals to meet expectations, thus impacting productivity and profits of the firm. Behavior often drives the culture of the workplace, and when your employees perceive the environment as hostile or tense, it's evident in their performance.

The Link Between Culture and Customer Satisfaction

Foster a workplace culture that focuses on improving customer service and identifying customer needs. Let your staff know how their behavior communicates the mission of the firm and serves as a representation of the company's values. Strive for a customer-centric organization where each team member sees how his or her behavior impacts the company's success. Streamline processes so each department collaborates and sees the value of how their efforts contribute to the overall picture when working with clients.

The Importance of Accountability

A cohesive workplace culture relies heavily on accountability. Assess how your firm delivers client and employee satisfaction. Do you encourage creativity in the workplace? Do you empower employees to take risks and bring innovative ideas to the table? Hold yourself accountable for deteriorating attitudes that affect productivity and find solutions to better engage and empower your staff. Make accountability for both supervisors and staff members a cultural norm so that all members are invested in the success of the business.

The Key to Employee Engagement

It's easy to see just how engaged your employees are on a daily basis. Monitor attitudes and efforts to uncover underlying issues with overall morale and your company's workplace culture. Then, seek to better engage employees so they feel committed to the company's mission and work to make a long-term impact. Consider hosting recognition ceremonies to award employees going above and beyond. Coordinate company social activities or meet and greets so the staff can improve their collaboration efforts. Primarily, lead by example and stay engaged with your staff to eliminate turnover, absenteeism and poor performance on the job.

How you communicate with your staff drastically impacts customer satisfaction, employee morale and the overall workplace culture. Work to foster genuine relationships with and among co-workers while communicating the company's overall mission, goals and policies to enhance productivity, profits and cohesiveness.

Photo Courtesy of John Hopkins Hospital CUSP13 at Flickr.com