5 Keys to building a Great Company Culture

When hiring millennials, it’s essential to have a great company culture. Despite being stereotyped as job-hoppers, millennials value loyalty. Millennials are often very loyal employees and in turn, expect commitment from their employers. Following are five keys in building a great culture for your company that will ensure your employees feel valued and supported.

Leadership

Each employee is motivated by different ways of leadership. Some prefer persuasive, paternalistic supervisors, while others favour democracy most. It is important to adjust your leadership style to suit your work culture and environment.

Make sure you communicate with your employees and that they feel comfortable in expressing their opinions to management. Communication is vital for employees to know whether they are on the right track for managing their own tasks, working well with their colleagues, and upskilling. This includes having regular meetings, individual catch ups, and corporate bonding activities with your team members. Having a positive work culture helps keep millennials motivated and engaged.

Appreciation

Despite the type of leadership style one prefers, all employees wish to feel valued. Employees want to work for a company where they are challenged and not berated. An employee’s relationship with their supervisors directly affects their engagement and passion for work.

Appreciate your employees for their hard work and dedication. This can take many forms such as compensation and benefits. Benefits and even simple things such as movie passes, spa days or gift baskets are great ways to motivate them.

Flexibility

Millennials have now graduated from university, with many looking to start a family. Their parents are also beginning to seek their support. Millennial priorities have changed to account for their children and parent’s needs. This can mean a traditional nine to five job will no longer suit their schedules.

Incorporating a flexible working scheme into your company will allow employees to cater to these needs. This could be giving employees the option to work from home or allowing them to choose their own work hours. Doing so helps to create a supportive culture in your company. When millennials know their homes and families are being looked after, they will naturally be more motivated and engaged with their work.

Development

Providing regular feedback about your employee’s performance is important. Let your employees know you are there to assist with their professional development. Set aside some time to establish clear career goals and work together with them to achieve these. Always remember to be available whenever your employees have concerns.

Be transparent with your employees about company decisions or their future career progression. Letting your employees know how their daily work connects to the company’s wider goals will allow them to be more engaged. Whenever good or bad news comes to your company, keep your employees in the loop. This will show your team that you trust them with important information, and will also provide them with safe opportunities to share their professional opinions.

Collaboration

Encourage employees to work together. Working in an environment surrounded by others with a similar purpose is attractive to millennials. Implement mentoring schemes where employees can exchange knowledge and experience. Organising social activities can inspire team building and allow employees to get to know one another outside of work.

Creating an environment where people are comfortable with each other will establish trust. This translates to collaboration, engagement and efficiency, which all improve your company’s culture.

– By Harper Reid, https://msharperreid.wordpress.com/

As a freelance creative writer, Harper has discovered amazing freedom in her working life – being able to take her laptop to the park is a great perk! Self-management is an immense responsibility, but Harper’s passion for writing means she now loves and enjoys her job 100%. You can visit her personal blog, Harper Reid – be sure to come say hi!