10 Qualities of a Successful Business Culture

A great company is a high-functioning machine that produces significant results. It is made up of employees who are good at their job and are motivated to enhance their performance. This is borne out of a successful business culture that stimulates its workers to do their best.

Improving your business culture to enhance employee motivation and output can be as simple as considering two major things about your workplace: office environment and relationships. These are the main things that make up employees’ work experience, and these are what you need to change.

A. Office environment

The space that employees work in is very important to their output. A stressful workplace can drastically affect an employee’s physical and mental health which, in turn, can hamper their performance. Below are a few workplace qualities that  promote successful business culture:

A safe workplace

Another characteristic of a good company is having a safe workplace. This includes the physical safety of the space such as having fire exits and extinguishers and protective gears, should employees need these for their tasks.

Having a safe workplace also means protecting employee rights. This means freedom from sexual harassment and discrimination. Employees should be oriented about their rights and be informed on how to report incidents that violate these.

Mindful work hours

Businesses are driven by high output rate, but sometimes it comes at the expense of employees having to always work overtime. High overtime can have adverse effects on employees’ health and productivity.

Workers are glad to have more pay, but this can lead to undue physical and mental stress. Managing your work shifts and staffing well can greatly assist your workers in reaching business goals without stretching themselves too thin.

Less distractions

A wide, open view for an office suggests an environment conducive to collaboration–or so architects and business owners think. Studies show, however, that open offices actually kill employee productivity, contrary to what they’re actually intended for.

A study about workplace satisfaction identifies noise and privacy loss as main sources of dissatisfaction at work. An open office space doesn’t filter out distraction, which hinders employees’ output. Employees who have trouble concentrating will produce unsatisfactory work.

There is, however, no one perfect office design, as there are many considerations when designing offices, such as nature of work and budget. An open office can work for others, while private office plans prove better for some. Business owners should be thoughtful in arranging the workplace in a way that lessens distractions and boosts the productivity of employees.

Solicitous assignment of workload

Another best characteristic of a great company is managing workload distribution that fits employees’ capabilities. A heavy workload can force an employee to work overtime, in an effort to finish it all in a day.

An essential business management skill is knowing how much work your employee can take. You can learn about this from regular consultations and training which gauge your employees’ abilities. You will learn about your employees’ strengths and weaknesses; and this can teach you how to manage the load you distribute among your team and how you can assist them to improve.

Concern on health

Workers face a lot of pressure and stress at the workplace, which can easily seep into their home lives. This strain can manifest itself into physical and mental health problems for your employees.

A healthy employee is motivated and effective, as opposed to an ill worker that is hard-pressed to accomplish tasks. Your office should take matters of the body seriously; when an employee takes time off from work, take note of the reason and ask if it’s something recurring or chronic.

Mental health is also very important to consider because it takes a heavy toll on anyone. You can have in-house consultations about mental health problems which can become a basis for referral to mental health professionals outside the office. Maybe you’ll find that the amount of work they take on and the interactions they have severely affect how they see themselves and their worth. This can guide you to being more sensitive when giving tasks and making sure everyone gets along at the workplace.

B. Office relationships

Office relationships are very important to having a successful business culture. Employees who work well with one another solve problems quicker and make better plans. Below are some qualities that make up good working relations between employees:

Solid teamwork

Good teamwork affects your workplace positively; it fosters creativity and builds trust among your employees. It can also help in problem-solving because bonding with your teammates can pave the way for complementing one another’s strengths when looking at a dilemma.

Encourage teamwork through team-building activities outside of work, and motivate your employees to get to know one another outside of their desk jobs. 

Solid teamwork can also minimize conflicts among employees and can actually encourage them to tackle issues objectively. It can also help ease work-related pressure because they look at the tasks as a group.

Constructive feedback

A culture of constructive feedback is also an important characteristic of a great company. Employees who are open to constructive criticism about their tasks, work ethic, and behavior can help foster good relationships in the office and improve overall output.

When workers are given assessment points to work on, they are guided on what to improve on in their jobs and attitudes. You can do this by having regular KPI assessments that look into different aspects of your employees’ job, like performance, leadership, and teamwork.

Provide your assessment calmly and professionally. Avoid creating a tense atmosphere. Encourage all team members to practise objective critiquing of their colleagues, and you’ll achieve better relationships at the office, plus less conflict.

As a manager or a business owner, it’s your job to motivate your employees to communicate their issues with one another in a way that fosters growth and not resentment.

Employee appreciation

Providing them with ample salaries is not enough to say you appreciate your workers. Throw in compliments about their work, and congratulate them when they get the job done efficiently. Constructive criticism and positive feedback work hand-in-hand in helping your employees succeed.

There are many other ways to appreciate your employees and recognize their efforts for your company. Never forget that your business is driven by the hard work of these people; so make an effort to have them feel appreciated and loved.

Consistent training

Having training sessions is a great way to develop your employees’ skills which are the foundation of your company’s success. Knowledgeable employees are confident and quick in accomplishing their tasks. Workers who have no idea what they’re doing or can’t adjust to changing demands in their work produce less-than satisfactory results.

Provide adequate training to both new long-time employees; so that new skills are always learned in the workplace. Giving them the chance to better themselves keeps employees motivated to contribute to the company, thus stimulating them to do their best i  any task assigned to them.

Available opportunities to grow

Lastly, a successful company provides its workers with bountiful opportunities for growth. Because you contribute in harnessing and enhancing their skills, you should also be ready to give them bigger responsibilities and rewards.

To do this, in addition to training, you can pair employees with mentors based on a development program for employees. This program is like a map of what they can achieve, as they improve their skills and spend time working for your company. A successful business supports its workers’ growth, founded on business goals and values.

A successful business promotes a culture of open communication and concern for the well-being of its employees. The company functions because of the hard work of the men and women in its offices; so its culture should be built upon how to help them grow and succeed. Business owners should always remember that their employees’ successes are inevitable contributions to the company’s overall triumph.