Guide
A Good Company Culture Starts at the Top
Leaders in positive psychology interventions in the workplace say it’s likely that employees are uninspired by the current company culture.Here's how to change.
According to Michelle McQuaid, a world leader in positive psychology interventions in the workplace, it’s very likely that your employees are uninspired by the current company culture. Her recent survey of 1000 American executives identified a “whopping” 35 percent of Americans are happy at their job. And, 65 percent say a better boss would make them happy. Only 35 percent say a pay raise will do the same thing.
Creating a corporate culture that fosters peak performance is critical for business success in today’s economy. Because a good company culture starts at the top, here are three small tactics a business leader can start implementing today that will yield big cultural dividends in no time:
- Take time to make communication thoughtful and cordial: When timelines are truncated and people are asked to do more and more, take a few extra seconds when writing an email or other communiqué to consider the person on the other end. Starting with a salutation is a great way to remind yourself that you’re writing to a real person. The extra seconds it takes won’t negatively impact your productivity, but it will help you foster a more productive and cordial working relationship.
- Be polite: Sometimes difficult decisions regarding employees and employee discipline need to be made. When interacting with employees in those situations, we can’t throw civility out the window. Consider the feelings of someone who needs correction, regardless of how irresponsible you think they are or how big a mistake you think they made. The least anyone should be able to expect in the workplace is a polite and cordial atmosphere.
- Remove the criticism from “constructive” criticism: Creative problem solving and striving to find out-of-the box solutions for business challenges sometimes means people make mistakes. In fact, making mistakes should probably be expected. Fostering a creative environment where people are solving problems and pushing for excellence requires collaboration, not criticism—especially when mistakes are made.
“Driving culture requires talking about it from the top,” says Paul B. Murphy Jr., President and CEO, Cadence Bancorp, LLC.
Brilliant leaders like Google’s Larry Page, Tony Hseish at Zappos, Howard Shultz at Starbucks and Southwest Airline’s Herb Kelleher became famous for their devotion to company culture and creating an engaging and rewarding place to work.
“Building a great culture doesn’t happen overnight,” Murphy continues. “It’s a long-term investment in your people that has to be nurtured constantly. It’s a lot more than posters on the wall. It is what you do every day—how you interact with your employees and how you interact with your customers. It means we need to be focused on equipping our leaders with the tools and information they need to motivate their employees.”
Fostering a great company culture means team cohesiveness, creating clarity in the organization, commitment and buy-in at all levels of the organization. This is equally as important as the bottom line. Making that extra effort yields a workplace where employees are happy, engaged, productive—and profitable.
Learn about services from Cadence Bank that bring benefits to your most valuable asset: your employees.
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