Your brand, who you want your company to be, starts with your company culture. And, your company culture is created top up – bottom down. Those who lead the company set the tone. There is no way around the “lead by example” philosophy. Employees mirror their environment.
This can be a good thing. A happy culture leads to happy employees. However the same is true of anger, resentment, and work ethic.
The great news is, if you want your company to embody certain characteristics – it can. As the leader, you just have to be willing to embody them yourself and live them on a daily basis.
Sure, that’s easier said then done. But, the alternative isn’t very appealing. A good customer experience is vital to your business’ success. When evaluating two companies which provide the exact same product or service, how a customer feels determines where they spend their money.
It doesn’t matter how you slice it, without customers, you’re not going to be in business very long. Even in the non-profit sector, donations turn on the lights and the furnace. Keeping those paying individuals happy is vital to keeping your doors open.
Typically, your employees have the most face time with your customers. They are the ones who embody your brand and determine the quality of your business’ customer service. Creating an environment where they are happy and enthusiastic about your company helps them approach each customer with a can-do attitude.
3 Tips For Creating a Great Company Culture
Acknowledge Your Employees Personally
People are loyal to people, not businesses. When you look at companies that have developed strong employee loyalty, that loyalty is consistently built on relationships, on the trust and belief that the business’ leaders are looking out for their staff. This knowledge begins with relationships.
One of the best ways to connect with your employees is to address them by name. The simple action of saying an individual’s name signifies they are important to you.
Praise Publicly. Critique Privately.
Publicly recognizing an employee’s success builds their confidence. It also simultaneously reinforcing the behavior you’d like to see from your entire staff. While some leaders would argue that publicly acknowledging an employee’s failure would have the same effect, we beg to differ. When the goal is to create a positive environment, things that tear someone down unnecessarily are detrimental.
Provide Support
Just like you, your employees are going to make mistakes. They’re human. Providing support means having a structure in place that gives your employees the ability to learn from their mistakes and improve. (Obviously, some mistakes that can’t be tolerated. These should be clearly outlined for each employee during the onboarding process.)
Next week we’ll continue exploring company culture as we discuss how empowering your employees helps your business succeed. Why? Because we believe you set the direction for what you want your business to be.
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