I want to state up front that I love perks. And I’m a fan of unique company features like big scorecards, group community service outings, or weekend and evening e-mail bans. But if you want a great company culture, you don’t need any of those things. Yep, you can have a great culture without a single yoga class or in-office kegerator.
So what do you need? Here are seven tips:
1. Honest management. Managers who are always blaming employees, stealing credit, and hiding relevant information to keep their power create an awful company culture. If your managers are doing any of this, no number of perks will make up for it. You need managers who are honest in all things. They keep people informed when they can, and when they can’t, for business reasons, they say to their staff: “Yes, I know what’s going to happen with X, but I can’t tell you until the final decisions have been made and all the legal documents are signed. But I’ll let you know as soon as possible.”
To keep reading, click here: How to Create an Awesome Company Culture (No Perks Necessary)
I was surprised at the last tip entitled “Reward those who don’t save the day”. I can honestly say that I have never looked at an employee’s work ethic in that way. So often we are impressed by those employees willing to work so much more than others, we assume that their dedication and work ethic are better than those that simply work 9-5. But you have definitely given me another perspective to think about and take into consideration when managing my own employees.
I definitely agree this point was the most surprising – I think the ability to manage one’s work-life balance should be respected. Many employees fall into the trap of trying to prove their commitment by putting in extra hours. However, an individual who excels within the contracted 9 to 5 should be equally, or even more valued – they might eventually prove more creative, energised and enthusiastic as they get enough rest and out of work intellectual stimulation, while others burn out quickly.
Yes! Let me echo Sarah Newman’s comment but from the employee’s perspective. Many times, I’ve watched peers working overtime and known that, given the same task, I would have breezed out at 5:00pm after having produced a better result than theirs. I rarely work overtime because my techniques usually obviate the need for it. And isn’t calm efficiency the best kind of dedication?
This, exactly. I have the same problem in that our company culture is that the people who are working overtime hours (especially those who are doing it without getting paid, which we all know is illegal for us hourly, non-exempt workers) are the “hard workers.” The worst part is that they aren’t hard workers; they are just inefficient workers.
Because we aren’t allowed to work overtime at my company, I make sure that my work is done fast and as perfect as possible the first time, so I don’t have to stay late. This is seen as not caring enough about the company to “volunteer” my time to do my job, so there is no recognition that it’s because I look at each project every year to see if there’s a better, new, or more efficient way to do it before diving in head first. It’s frustrating when no one else cares to update their methods, instead just doing what they’ve always done.
We all have had so many duties added to our jobs, so we’re doing more in the same amount of time. Why not check to see if we can actually do the old tasks/projects faster or more efficiently?
I constantly spent my half an hour to read this webpage’s articles every day along with a cup of
coffee.
These are really good tips, and I particularly like the first one about honest management. Employees can handle just about anything if they know the person delivering the news is honest, and conversely they can spot (or smell) BS a mile away! 🙂
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