Question:
What are some tips for cultivating a positive workplace culture where staff will want to stay?
–
Answer:
Research shows that offering employees generous salaries and flexible vacation policies might make you a popular boss, but that’s not enough to sustain a happy and productive staff. Instead, appreciation, recognition and respect on a regular basis provide great ROI and cost little to nothing.
It all starts with flexibility. Today, more than ever, many feel a conflict between work and family life or leisure time. It’s important to make an effort to accommodate requests. As a manager, develop closer working relationships and be accessible to listen. Regular communication provides faster access to information for yourself and your employees.
Don’t forget to reward success. Offer gift certificates, cash, company merchandise, food and certificates as tokens of appreciation. But don’t stop at successes. Push forward and support professional development among your employees. Offer mentoring, training and time to network and volunteer. This helps create a sense of purpose in employees’ roles. Along the way, provide regular feedback. It does not always need to be positive, but it should be constructive. It just comes down to treating people as you would like to be treated—with honesty and fairness. All of it should be done with a sincere and caring spirit.
7 ways to create an attractive workplace culture
- Be flexible
- Regularly communicate
- Reward successes
- Support professional development
- Create a sense of purpose
- Provide feedback
- Ensure trust, honesty and fairness