Happy employees are productive employees. It’s a saying every business owner has undoubtedly heard many times. And most understand that increased productivity only improves their bottom line. It’s a mutually beneficial cycle.
But finding the winning formula for employee happiness and the productivity that follows is key. It’s not always obvious. It’s not always easy. But experts agree, it’s always worth it.
In recent years, tech companies have largely stolen the spotlight when it comes to establishing an enviable company culture. From A-list celebrity speakers and live concerts, to on-site massages and concierges, many companies with familiar household names have set the bar pretty high for benefits-based employee satisfaction.
The upside is, it’s possible to analyze their approach, borrow some ideas, and use their concepts to customize a culture that best complements your business. Here are a few tactics used by some of the world’s biggest companies to foster a positive, productive company culture.
Work perks. This may be the most obvious of all the tactics. Beyond vacation and personal time, companies are getting creative with the perks they offer employees. Some provide tuition reimbursement or incentive time off, while others are going one step further by helping employees pay off student loans. Others even allow dogs in the office. The well-documented free meals offered by several Silicon Valley employers are also appealing, as is employee access to on-site fitness centers and personal trainers. The opportunities are endless. The key is to find perks that work for your company. Not only will employees reap the benefits, but they’ll likely brag about them, and respond with enhanced company loyalty.
Employee engagement. It is one thing to ask for suggestions but it is another to actually listen to them, consider them, and bring them to life. Employee engagement creates a mutual investment in company culture, and it can take on many forms, from the suggestion box to collective participation in a philanthropic activity. If you can’t keep up with it all, enlist an internal team to handle social planning and engagement activities, and communicate actions taken as a result of the provided feedback.
Flexibility and transparency. Both flexibility and transparency can make a difference in the workplace, and both concepts can be interpreted in a number of ways. Flexibility can mean offering employees the option to work remotely or work a sliding eight-hour schedule. It can also mean spatial flexibility, building an office that is open and steers clear of cubicles or other barriers, to encourage teamwork and collaboration. When it comes to transparency, experts believe employees become more emotionally invested in a company when they know what is going on within a company. Another tactic is to institute an open-door policy and honor it. Fostering and encouraging open lines of communication will allow you to keep a handle on the internal energy and more easily identify opportunities for improvement where necessary.
There is no doubt its culture feeds into a company’s success. But it’s important to understand that a positive culture needs to be nurtured to succeed.
For more insights from Vantage West, visit their blog at: http://blog.vantagewest.org
Rene Almazan is a senior vice president for Vantage West Credit Union, a $1.6-billion financial institution in Arizona, which serves a growing membership of more than 140,000 via branches across Arizona and online channels, as well. Vantage West offers consumer and business banking services, and is federally insured by NCUA. vantagewest.org
