Why Company Culture Could Be The Most Powerful Way To Boost Productivity
Your company culture plays a much larger role in productivity. Discover its impact and some ways to boost employee productivity by cultivating a better work environment in this comprehensive guide.
The focus on positive company culture has increased in recent years. But what is still sometimes overlooked is the impact it has on productivity.
Buzzwords like “burnout” have incited change and highlighted the need for greater employee health and wellness, both in and out of the workplace.
But while promoting employee wellness may seem like a great way to position your company as a place professionals want to work at, the truth is that it goes far deeper.
Let’s take a closer look at company culture, and how much of an impact it can have on employee productivity.
What Is Company Culture?
Company culture is defined by the set of values and beliefs that your organization is built upon, which ultimately affects everyone within the organization.
For example, many organizations currently prioritize performance and productivity over employee health and wellness. This type of workplace culture is what many organizations are looking to shift away from as it often comes at the expense of the employees.
Put simply, your company culture permeates every aspect of your organization. What values you choose ultimately determine whether your culture is beneficial for, or detrimental to, your employees.
Why Is Company Culture so Important?
It’s not just the systems and employee productivity tools you have set in place that drive better performance. Company culture is just as significant when it comes to team output.
That means learning how to calculate productivity of employees isn’t the be-all and end-all of driving employees forward. There’s a lot more to consider.
For example, let’s imagine that you run an organization where employees work 60-hour workweeks or more. Some leaders may equate more time spent working with greater productivity. But that isn’t necessarily the case.
In a situation such as the one above, employees will find themselves burnt out and struggling to find joy and purpose in their work. Their work lives will often blend into their personal lives, forcing them to bring their work home and leaving little time for downtime.
Those who work in an organization with this type of culture may also feel like they’re not being treated as individuals contributing to its growth. This can cause employees to look for less demanding and more rewarding work elsewhere.
Establishing a positive company culture is one of the best ways to boost productivity because it keeps employees engaged and happy, leading to an increase in productivity, reduced employee turnover, and greater profits due to these benefits. Your employee productivity tools will only reveal this reality!
How Can You Build a Better Company Culture?
Building a better company culture can be broken down to four core principles:
1. Get Clear on the Core Identity of Your Company
Your company culture can’t be improved if you don’t return to the main vision and values that constructed it in the first place. Ask yourself, what should we put at the forefront of our organization? Values like employee health, wellness, and satisfaction may be the most important.
2. Embrace Changes That Support Your Values
Most organizations require changes in how they operate to accommodate new values. Make sure that you’re implementing the right systems and processes to make your values a reality.
3. Listen to Your Employees
Your employees play a pivotal role in your organization. Check in with them and learn more about what they’re happy with and what they wish would change. Their feedback is crucial to ensuring that your company culture is being received as you intend.
4. Constantly Assess, Learn and Evolve
Company culture is a living thing that takes ongoing work and honest assessment. Much like the systems and processes you use to promote productivity are not perfect the first time around, you can’t set and forget your workplace culture.
Instead, regularly assess the strengths and weaknesses, learn from them to make the proper changes, and evolve to become a better organization as you move forward.
With this in mind, what should you be focusing on specifically to boost employee productivity?
How to Boost Employee Productivity by Enhancing Company Culture
Almost every company understands the importance of a positive culture, but leveraging it to increase employee productivity is also essential. Some ways you can boost productivity by enhancing company culture include:
Create a More Meaningful Mission Statement
Your organization's values, mission, and purpose should resonate with your employees. When they do, employees have pride in working with your organization and are more motivated to produce quality work that makes a difference. When they’re excited to work, they’re far more productive!
Reward and Recognize Performance
Too often, employees will put in stellar work, only to have it fly under the radar and go unrecognized by employers. Consider using an employee productivity solution to publicly and privately reward them.
Productivity measurement and improvement can help you identify trends when they produce exceptional work in a timely manner. When they know that you value them, they will continue to go above and beyond for you
Provide Effective Training and Onboarding
Poor training and onboarding isn’t just a waste of your money but a great way to prevent employees from moving forward productively. When you approach a new hire, make sure they have the proper training and are onboarded quickly.
This ensures they’re more confident when it comes time to work, thereby boosting productivity in the workplace and avoiding any snags along the way.
Open up Two-Way Communication and Transparency
Communication is critical to any team setting. Without communication and transparency, employees don’t know how to grow and improve. Always offer them feedback, answer any questions or concerns, and be transparent with answers. Employees will be far more productive when communication is clear and they feel like they can reach out to you with any issues.
Empower Your Employees
Every individual in your organization is their own person, bringing unique skills and abilities to the table. Make sure to recognize this and give them greater autonomy by allowing them to have a greater say over when and how they work.
Employees who work when they feel most productive get more done than employees who are forced to stare at a screen for hours on end. Additionally, you can use employee productivity tools like a productivity measurement and evaluation system to highlight and reward them throughout the week!
Change isn’t easy, but needs to be embraced to create a positive company culture that drives greater productivity! With the right employee productivity solution and new values, you’re sure to see the benefits manifest quickly.
Company Culture Plays a Crucial Role in Productivity
When you think about it, it’s quite understandable. Employees who feel cared for and satisfied in their position are naturally going to be more excited to work for you and, therefore, more productive. No single productivity management system can change the way employees feel about an organization.
Using the above tips, you can create a company culture that boosts productivity in your workplace and utilizes an employee productivity solution to ensure that these changes yield the results you want!