Do you focus on integrity, boldness and honesty? Or perhaps you are all about accountability, continuous learning and a flawless customer experience?
Whatever it is, we’re sure you have a handle on it. But would you say that your employees do as well? If you asked a new recruit or a junior exec, would they be able to say what your company is all about?
Listen, we get it. When you are just starting out, or your business is seriously cash-strapped, it can be hard to imagine a reality in which you could carve out some of your super tight budget to focus on something as seemingly intangible as ‘culture’.
Yet, at the same time, we’re sure you’d be very interested in raising productivity.
We’re here to tell you that culture is directly linked to the output you get from your employees. The key to getting a greater return from people is to engage and motivate them more effectively, and at the bottom of all of that, lies the company values and culture that underpin everything that happens within your business.
It also does not have to cost an arm and a leg to do so if your focus lies in the right places.
Check out our YouTube channel for awesome videos on everything from the science of employee recognition to creating an internal communications strategy for enhanced engagement.
Here are a few important steps you can take to promote strong company values and lay the foundation for an engagement-boosting culture even when you are on a budget:
Map your existing organisational culture
To know where you’re going, you need to know where you’re starting from.
High-performance companies are beginning to realise the important role that culture plays in the overall success of a business. In fact, according to Mercer’s 2019 Global Talent Trends study, high-growth companies are 4x more likely to have a ‘people strategy’ in place. This all starts with mapping your existing organisational culture.
Why? Because:
- It brings to light how and why things are done within your organisation.
- It can identify weaknesses and strengths within your culture.
- It allows you to plan and adjust your culture according to your survey insights.
Decide what you stand for and lead by example
Values-based leadership is good for business. This is why every business owner and leader should be very clear about what their company stands for, and then proceed to lead by example. As Simon Sinek so famously says, “All organisations start with ‘why’, but only the great ones keep their ‘why’ clear year after year.”
Here is some practical advice on scaling your business with a vision, values and company culture.
Once you have a handle on all of that, it’s important to realise that you will have to stand as an embodiment of these ideals. When your business is small, or you are just starting out, your employees are in a position to see and experience how you conduct yourself every day. As such, every leader within a company should be sure to always lead by example.
Hire for cultural fit
If you want to promote positive company values and save your business a bundle in recruitment and onboarding costs at the same time, focus on hiring for cultural fit. Retaining top talent is far easier when one of your hiring criteria is that a candidate should share the values of the existing team and company as a whole.
While we’re on the topic of onboarding, it also helps to tailor this process for the early adoption of important company values. In smaller businesses, the ideal would be for the owner or CEO to sit down with each new recruit to discuss company values in person. However, once your business starts to grow this can become a bit unrealistic.
As such, it’s a good idea to design an employee-centric onboarding experience that demonstrates your values in practice. Instead of expecting new hires to walk in the front door on their first day, make their way to their desk and get on with it, take the time to induct them with more finesse.
Send a pre-first day mail to explain procedures and e-introduce them to their team. Arrange for someone to meet them at reception and take them around. Schedule informal meet and greets with their direct team and managers. Show them what your business is about from the word go, and bring them into the fold to live those values alongside you.
Recognise and reward culture-appropriate behaviours
At bountiXP, we are all about embracing the power of dual-purpose recognition, i.e. purposeful recognition that fosters the practice of day-to-day, social recognition and more formal, performance-based recognition. By combining the power of goal-based and values-based recognition, you are able to align strategy and culture for improved performance.
Each message of recognition created on the bountiXP platform requires the employee to link it with a relevant strategic business goal or organisational value. These messages of appreciation for a job well done appear on the platform’s newsfeed, drawing people’s attention to the actions and behaviours that support the organisation’s strategy. In short – strategy in action.
Plus, our platform is scalable. For the price of one muffin and a cup of coffee per employee per month, you could be getting all this values-boosting action. Check out the FREE trial here.
There you have it – a few ways in which you can promote strong company values and boost your culture even if you are on a budget. Check back soon for more insider insights in the coming weeks.
In the meantime, remember to subscribe to our YouTube channel for great video content that gets straight to the point on topics like workplace engagement, the power of recognition, and getting to grips with promoting your company values for optimal business results.