Our clients often hand us a brief that spans much further than interior design. They want to revolutionise their culture. Clients want a piece of the cool, contemporary offices kitted out with games rooms, bars and ping pong tables. Which begs the ‘chicken or egg’ question…What comes first? The ping pong table or the great culture?
Office perks are great, but they’re not enough to transform your workforce into an engaged and inspired community. It’s a more complex recipe of brand, HR & leadership strategies and workplace experience that make a culture great. We thought we’d share 15 insights that might help define your culture and can be supported by a tailored workspace environment.
Brand
- Not just the way you appear to your clients, brand is also reflected in the way you behave as an employer and how that makes your employees feel.
- Younger generations are more motivated by purpose, making them more likely to commit to employers whose visions and values they associate with.
- Gone are the days of clichés and catchphrases. Morals and genuine values show authenticity and will help to reinforce day-to-day and long-term decisions.
- Be genuine in representing who you are and what you stand for. Contradiction will break down essential trust between employer, employee and client.
- A strong culture requires a collective effort. Create a community of people who share ambitions and engrain your values into everyday language.
Human Resources
- The stronger your brand is, the more of a breeze recruitment will be. Candidates can either dilute or reinforce existing culture so make sure you look for someone who can add to (not just fit into) your community.
- Inductions should immerse new recruits in the culture as thoroughly as it does their role.
- Encourage authentic and positive relationships between your team by organising events in and outside of work, in turn, creating stronger bonds and a greater commitment to the team.
- Prove that you care. Face to face appreciation and company perks are a good starting point, but standout policies, environment, rewards and wellbeing plans will set you apart.
- Measure engagement! Anonymous survey’s, feedback sessions and one to one interaction – all invaluable in measuring how engaged your employees are. Feedback trends will highlight areas that need attention and give you the power to make positive change.
LEADERSHIP
- Involve employees in meaningful conversations and decisions that will affect them. It will create a unique culture of ownership, pride and commitment.
- Professional development, cross-department training opportunities and recognition of achievements – a well-considered mix that always puts your people first. What you’ll get back is a strong network of support between employees and an invaluable ethos of teamwork.
- Middle managers are key. Being the main communicator between senior management and non-managers, they are the messengers. The mouthpiece. The learners, leaders and examples. They are your culture ambassadors.
- Good leaders communicate clearly. Open exchanges and being unafraid of being challenged means innovation and business improvements can happen based on feelings and employees’ ideas.
- Autonomy is empowering. Hire the right people with the right attitude, skillset and alignment in values and it’ll be enough to allow them to do the job that they’ve been hired to do. However they want to do it.
