Maintain Positive Company Culture Within Your Team
Positive company culture- the Basics.
We have been hearing that sentence more and more often lately. Let’s see how it gained importance within diverse tech environments across North America, why it is a factor employees, customers & investors look at and how should software engineering managers implement a positive company culture within a team.
What is a company culture?
It is the working environment built by the founders and C-levels of each company. It describes the shared values, the common goals and the characteristics that the company lives by and that are passed onto the employees.
Why is company culture taken into consideration more than it use to?
1️⃣ Today, tech is the fastest growing industry in the world, valued at 1.6 trillion USD. Tech professionals get high income and therefore a high quality of life. They are not afraid to ask for more respect, empathy and flexibility from their employers.
2️⃣ Big tech companies have normalized the independency they give their employees: flexible working hours, unlimited vacation days, outstanding offices, etc. This normalization has now gone viral and all tech professionals expect their employers to provide with a minimum of flexibility on the workplace.
3️⃣ We are lucky to be in business when the world is more inclusive than it ever was in modern-time history. Nowadays, companies have the corporate social responsibility of caring about their employees’ wellbeing by being considerate of their ethnicities, mental health and situations.
What results can a positive company culture provide your company?
🌱 Increases employee retention rate.
🌱 Attracts the best talents on the market.
🌱 Optimize your referral rate towards your company.
How to implement that positivity within your team?
Work towards the same goal.
By working toward the same goal, you can foster a positive company culture within your team.
It’s important to have clarity on what the purpose of your organization is and why it exists. Then determine how your team can contribute toward that goal by helping customers achieve success with their business initiatives or products.
Give your team autonomy.
Autonomy is the ability to make decisions and act independently. Autonomy is important for employee satisfaction and retention. In order to give your team the autonomy in their work, you will need to perfectly communicate the company goals (or OKRs) and explain what each employee’s mission is within the organization. You will immediately notice that your team will gain the ability to work independently and deliver successfully.
Don’t undermine the importance of communication as a software engineering manager!
Don’t micromanage.
When a manager is too controlling, it can lead to low morale and poor performance. The best way to avoid this is by giving your employees sufficient freedom to do their work without micromanaging them.
For example, if you are a manager who frequently checks up on your employees’ calendars and projects, it becomes obvious that you are trying too hard to control everything they do — which can make them feel overwhelmed or resentful of your intrusion into their work. Instead of checking up on them so much, give them the space needed for them to perform well at work without feeling like they need permission from you every step of the way.
Guide your team toward their own career success.
With an excellent reputation for providing a positive work environment, you are already on the right track toward keeping your employees happy. But there’s always more to be done — whether it’s ensuring that each employee has the opportunity to grow and develop, or simply being a mentor who helps them learn new skills. The key is to stay in tune with how they feel about their role within the company and how they can best contribute to its success. Do this by checking in regularly with employees, asking questions like: How do they see themselves fitting into the overall mission of your organization? What would make them happier at work? If a certain position opens up within your company, would they be interested or qualified for it?
Understand their concerns, and help them deal with it.
When dealing with the concerns of a team member, it is important to understand what those concerns are. If a team member expresses frustration about their job or company culture, it’s important to ask them why they feel that way. Are they unhappy because of the workload? Is it because they don’t feel like they are being treated fairly? Or is it something else altogether? From there, you can find ways in which you can help them overcome these issues or provide solutions for how such problems can be avoided in the future.
As an example: let’s say one of your employees has expressed some concern about their workload and responsibilities at work. In this case, consider meeting with them individually during lunchtime on an offsite location somewhere away from where other people might hear us talking so they feel more comfortable opening up about what’s bothering them without worrying about any potential repercussions from management later down the road if things go south between us.”
Organize events unrelated to work.
You should also consider organizing events unrelated to work. Team building activities are a great way to create positive emotional connections between your employees and show them that you care about their well-being outside of the office, as well as during their time at work. In addition to team bonding experiences, it’s important that your staff knows that you care about them as individuals and not just as employees. Plan small gatherings online or in person, which allows coworkers to connect on a personal level outside of work and develop stronger relationships with one another in the process. These events can also help alleviate stress, improve communication skills between coworkers who may not have much interaction otherwise.
To conclude
A positive company culture can attract talent, retain employees and optimize the referral rate towards your company.
In a competitive market, it is important to find new ways to improve the working environment of your employees.
Culture plays a significant role in attracting talent as well as retaining them. If you want to attract top talent, you need to ensure that they feel welcome within their new environment. A positive company culture can help boost employee satisfaction levels by encouraging them to do their best work while also providing opportunities for growth and development.
Positive cultures are also beneficial when it comes time for hiring decisions because they draw candidates who enjoy working at companies where there is an open door policy or flexible work schedules for workers with families or other commitments outside of work hours.
You can have a look at our related youtube video about Positive Company Culture.
