When setting business goals, entrepreneurs and leaders often focus on the survival or growth of their business. Usually, the focus is on revenue or product development goals. Other business leaders like to zoom in on setting customer service goals for their business. While these goals are great and very important, oftentimes leaders forget to set specific business goals around setting the company culture.
The lack of setting these types of goals can be a major mistake. Negative company culture can not only impact the type of talent a business attracts and retains, but it can also impact how the general public views the company’s brand.
For example, the tech industry is currently under fire for establishing a work culture that leads to increased employee burnout. A workplace review service Blind found that out of the 30 companies, 25 have an employee burnout rate of 50% or more. Only five companies have a burnout rate of less than 50%.
Much of this is due to and is perpetuated by company culture. So what can entrepreneurs and business leaders do to prevent things like this? One way is to set clear and important company culture goals that will keep employees’ job satisfaction high and the company moving forward. In this article, we’ll look at some important company culture goals to set.
What Is Company Culture?
There is always talk about company culture. But what does it mean? Basically, company culture is the shared values, beliefs, ethics, and practices that define the atmosphere and personality of a business. Culture can include how employees interact with each other, with clients, and how they handle business transactions.
The culture of a company influences every aspect of its operation. The culture helps leaders make decisions and influences the environment. All of this can usually be seen by the outside world.
This culture is not static; it evolves with the company and its people. Usually, it is shaped by leadership more so than individual contributions or external influences.
Here is a breakdown of some of the things that influence company culture:
- Employees: The personalities, beliefs, values, experiences, behaviors, and diversity of the people that you hire.
- Leadership and Management: How leaders and supervisors within your company treat and interact with your employees is perhaps the most formative part of company culture. Consider how leaders:
- make decisions that affect their employees
- communicate with employees, and how transparent they are
- celebrate and recognize employees
- empower employees to make their own decisions
- support and encourage employees
- consistently treat all employees with the same level of respect
- Company Vision: The clarity of your company’s vision, mission, and values and whether they are honestly reflected in the actions of your organization.
- Policies and Practices: The practices related to the recruiting, onboarding, compensation, benefits, recognition, training, development, advancement, wellness, and work/life balance of your employees.
- Work Environment: The safety and security of your building, what people are allowed to place on their desks, how the workplace is decorated, how offices and other spaces are allocated, how common areas are used, and whether or not there are quiet, private areas for employees to work.
Company Culture Goals to Set
Promote Open Communication
Creating an environment where open communication flourishes is foundational for any company aiming to foster a strong and positive culture. When employees feel comfortable expressing their thoughts, concerns, and feedback, it empowers them. Open communication channels encourage transparency and trust among team members and management.
Implementing regular team meetings, establishing open-door policies, and providing anonymous feedback mechanisms are effective ways to encourage open dialogue. These practices ensure that every voice is heard and valued, contributing to a more engaged and motivated workforce. Additionally, open communication helps in identifying and resolving issues promptly, further enhancing operational efficiency and employee satisfaction.
Recognize and Reward Performance More Frequently
Acknowledging and rewarding the hard work and achievements of employees are vital for maintaining high levels of motivation and commitment. Recognition can come in various forms. You can reward employees by offering financial bonuses or promotions. Sometimes, employees feel valued by a public acknowledgment in front of peers. Other times, employees appreciate small gestures like thank-you notes or gift cards.
This means that there is no excuse for not rewarding your employees in some way in order to boost morale and improve culture. As a result, the consistent recognition and reward will establish that the company has a culture where hard work and success are noticed and valued. According to a Glassdoor report, 81% of employees would work harder if they felt more appreciated. Clearly, rewarding employees benefits both sides.
Increase a Sense of Community
Do your employees feel like they are a part of a community? Or, do they feel as though they just have a group of people that they are forced to work with? While leaders can lose sight of building a community within their organization, doing so can be extremely impactful for their employees. According to APA’s 2023 Work in America workforce survey, 94% of respondents reported that it’s somewhat or very important to them that their workplace be somewhere they feel they belong.
To help employees feel that they belong, leaders need to understand their employees better. Also, employees need to understand each other better. Stepping away from work and taking part in activities that will help connect the team is a good place to start.
These activities allow employees to connect on a personal level and beyond their professional roles. Leaders can also meet with employees individually to learn more about their goals, dreams, likes, and dislikes. This is to better understand what it takes for individuals to feel like they belong.
A strong community feeling in the workplace can also make employees more resilient in facing challenges and more willing to support each other. Communities tend to support and encourage members who may be having a hard time in any part of their lives. The workplace that can do that will create a more positive and productive work environment.
Practice Employee Development
Investing in the professional development of employees is a clear indicator of a company’s commitment to its workforce and its future. Offering workshops, training programs, and mentorship opportunities helps employees enhance their skills and career prospects. Also, it benefits the company by having a more knowledgeable and versatile team. Encouraging continuous learning and growth can lead to innovation and improvement in products, services, and processes.
For employers who value employee retention (which most employers should) supporting employees is one of the best ways to do it. According to a Staples survey, 68% of employees would consider leaving a job if they do not feel supported.
To know if you are practicing and succeeding at developing employees, leaders should ask a few questions. One question is if their employees are hitting their targets. If employees are consistently missing their goals, it may be due to the lack of training and support from their team and leaders.
Additionally, you can review how many employees were promoted or qualified for promotion within a year. If employees are not growing or advancing, it could be because they are not being developed enough.
Increase Employee Autonomy
By now, most leaders, organizations, and their employees understand that micromanaging doesn’t work. In fact, leaders, managers, and supervisors should set goals for minimizing the practice of micromanaging their teams and employees. One of the reasons micromanaging doesn’t work is that it creates a sense of dependency on management for direction, decisions, and processes. This not only makes employees feel restricted, but it also takes time and energy away from leaders.
Instead, giving employees some autonomy can free up both sides. Giving employees autonomy means giving them more freedom to choose to work the way that suits them best. It can also mean allowing them to work on the projects they care about. This freedom may increase productivity as employees are working on things that fit their skills during the times when they are the most productive. For companies that allow remote work, autonomy tends to be easier.
This approach requires a balance. Complete autonomy can hurt production and sales if employees are not meeting required deadlines. There needs to be a clear framework within which they operate to maintain alignment with the company’s objectives and standards. Encouraging employee autonomy can significantly enhance motivation and commitment, as employees feel more invested in their work and the success of the company.
Strengthen Team Collaboration
By now you should be aware that team collaboration is important for the success of a business. A culture that emphasizes collaboration places a high value on communication, trust, and mutual respect. As team members learn to rely on each other’s strengths and work through challenges together, it cultivates a sense of unity and commitment to common goals.
Also, a collaborative culture impacts the company beyond just its immediate teams. It enhances the company’s ability to adapt to changes and tackle complex problems by pooling resources and expertise. Employees should be able to work individually and be effective. However, collaboration can help make good employees great. When employees collaborate, they pool their strengths and have support to make up for their weaknesses.
Collaboration is not something that happens automatically. On the contrary, the only way to strengthen collaboration is to set the expectation that working together should be a part of daily or weekly work activities. Leaders should learn to ask and be on the lookout for ways to build teams and find projects for employees to partner together.
Create a More Democratic Management Style Workplace
Adopting a democratic management style involves encouraging participation, equality, and consensus in decision-making processes. This style contrasts with top-down approaches, giving employees a voice in shaping policies, projects, and even strategic directions.
By involving employees in these processes, companies can harness a wide range of perspectives and expertise. One of the challenges we face as leaders is getting greater buy-in from the team. This is easier to do when the team feels they have a say in the decisions being made. A democratic workplace helps create a sense of fairness and respect. In this culture, employees feel their contributions are valued.
Implementing this management style is not easy. The best way to do this is to create a method for gathering and evaluating ideas. From there, the leadership needs to prioritize taking suggestions for staff seriously. While it may pose challenges in terms of reaching consensus, the benefits of increased engagement, satisfaction, and retention can significantly outweigh these difficulties, leading to a more motivated and cohesive workforce.
Conclusion
Most if not all business goals are important. However, some goals have impacts that stretch beyond the balance sheet. Company culture goals are one of the types of goals that do that. Take a look at your business operations and evaluate your company culture. Then, take time to set some goals that will improve and advance that culture. Soon, you may find your employees are happier and your business thriving.
Also read:
Aligning Employee Goals with Company Goals
10 Goals for Office Managers to Set for Themselves and Their Team
6 Types of Business Goals You Should Understand
