A healthy and positive work culture can attract talent that plans on making their workplace a home rather than work. Thus, employers should ensure they provide their employees with physically healthy company culture as growth and productivity come from an environment where employees feel valued, safe and comfortable.
This is further supported by Deloitte's survey that 94% of executives and 88% of employees believe a distinct corporate culture is vital to a business's success.
Below are a few tips to assist employers in fostering a safe workplace environment.
constantly assessing employee satisfaction through effective communication.
According to a study by SurveyMonkey, employees look for ongoing feedback from their boss and an environment that is fair, collaborative and encouraging. In saying this, employees should look to improve their communication with their employees through regular checkups. The study from SurveyMonkey also revealed that employees who talk about their goals and successes with their manager on a six-month basis are three times more likely to feel engaged and motivated in their job compared to employees that don't.
Thus, making yourself approachable and available to your employees is essential. Empathise with them and make them feel heard, especially when issues arise when an employee can see that they're adding value to the company. Following up with them with your appreciation and support contributes enormously to productivity in the workplace, which has the potential to retain the best talent.
In our company strategy meeting, the executive discussed how critical it was for our people to have purpose and understand how their role contributes to the goals of Randstad.
enabling an excellent work-life balance and workday flexibility.
Randstad's 2020 Research (REBR) found that work-life balance remains among the top three most essential offerings the global workforce seek from their ideal employer. This is more important than ever, as following the coronavirus pandemic, a study by the World Economic Forum revealed that 75% of working Australians want to retain flexibility over their schedule. Thus, companies that demonstrate to prospective candidates their flexible work-life culture and support them in developing a good work-life balance will make candidates more committed to joining the team. This is because employees value employers who empower them to manage their time. As such, employers must acknowledge that every employee's needs differ.
Some employees may be satisfied with the time spent working, while some feel more productive when working extended hours. Thus, as mentioned previously, employees should consider approaching their employees to understand their needs. Encouraging breaks through break-out rooms, spare desks for quiet times, and longer lunch breaks are also good ways to promote flexibility in the workplace.
be clear on your organisation's values
Having goals and core values communicated amongst the team will make every employee feel a part of the company. It is crucial also to demonstrate these values through actions regularly so that employees can also evaluate and take pride in their attitudes to align with the positive core values.
Felicity Empson, HR director of Randstad Australia, shared her thoughts on creating a positive company culture through meaningful moments.
"For many consultants, helping people and companies is the part of the job that gives them purpose and meaning. At the heart of the program were our stakeholders - our clients, candidates and people that we wanted to ensure experience our values in their interactions with us. We wanted each interaction to go beyond the transaction. We wanted each moment to have real meaning."
Randstad Australia then launched their program of 'meaningful moments', an app platform that enables colleagues to give feedback to each other by rewarding and recognising meaningful moments in the workplace.
Research by Deloitte also found a strong correlation between employees who claim to feel happy and valued at work and those who say their company has a strong culture.
Therefore, having clear company values will ensure that all employees are working towards the same goal and create purpose, improving team cohesion, relationships and commitment.
