Ingredients for the Perfect Company Culture

There’s nothing like finding the perfect ingredients to create a great dish, especially for Thanksgiving. But what about the ingredients needed for the perfect company culture?

Company culture exists and evolves around your company leaders and your employees. It essentially includes a group of norms, behaviors, and values that are unique to your business. If no one sits in your break room during lunch, it’s not because of any particular rule against doing so, it’s simply your company culture.

As a company leader or HR manager, you have a lot to do with setting the pace of your company’s culture. Here are some of the necessary ingredients needed to create the perfect company culture at your business:

Keep your workers feeling fresh with motivation.
When choosing fruits or vegetables for your dishes, you don’t choose the wilted, unwatered plants, right? Well, don’t forget to tend to your own crops: your employees. Motivation and encouragement are important in cultivating your company culture. Acknowledge your team for a job well done and motivate them to do better if you hit a rough patch. Making this part of your everyday routine will have a great impact on your business.

Don’t leave your employees feeling overcooked.
If your employees are feeling stressed or under the weather, lend a helping hand and diffuse some stress. There are plenty of great stress-busters for the office. So pick a day to organize a company outing to the park, movies, or to dinner. Give your staff a little TLC every now and again to maintain company culture and employee morale.

Stuff your company with talent.
The best way to create a great company culture and atmosphere is to hire the best talent and avoid mis-hires. I know, it sounds easier said than done. But hiring a bad fit is not only costly, it’s bad for your culture. Fortunately, video interviews are a great way to sidestep bad hires because you have more time to analyze if a candidate is a good fit.

Get everyone in the same (gravy) boat.
Teambuilding is essential in creating a perfect company culture. If you’re having issues building a collaborative environment, start by being transparent across levels and departments in your business. Schedule periodic meetings to have departments share their projects and outcomes. But that might not be the true issue. Do your employees know each other? If not, schedule some time to let them do just that! There is no team without trust, so make sure that’s not missing from the equation.

Defining what the “perfect” company culture is for your business is going to vary from others. So take a step back and assess your company culture. Define the key elements in your company culture and determine what’s missing. Once you have all of the ingredients, don’t forget to do some periodic maintenance!

How do you define company culture and the key elements in creating the “perfect” atmosphere?

IMAGE: Courtesy of Flickr by Highways Agency.