3 Strategies to Build A Strong, Yet Positive Company Culture

One of the many lessons I've learned as a leader of a growing business is that there is no magic wand. There is no incantation to create a perfect workplace or perfect employees. Everything you do to build your company and employees up takes work and dedication. There are few shortcuts on the path, but there are ways to make that path a bit less dangerous. Metaphors aside, cultivating a strong, robust workplace culture will help you and your employees find success.

Your business does not thrive without engaged and motivated employees. So, when it comes to building your company culture, it is wise to remember that you aren't just building a playground for yourself, you are creating a lasting and functional machine built from your vision. Focusing on the needs of your staff is the first step in creating an environment of innovation and performance. Communicating and learning from them, what do they need to succeed, is how culture exists in a workplace and not just the drab feeling of a place to go in-between sleep cycles. 

So what steps should you take to ensure that your employees feel like their culture at work is one that inspires them? This is more than just putting a video game console in the break room or forcing everyone into an ill-advised open office plan. This isn't about gifts and rewards, it's about letting your employees know that they can thrive and grow in their positions, not just have fun at work. With a largely millennial workforce, they are looking for much more than just benign perks. They are looking for leaders and an overall culture of acceptance. 

Let your employees fail

One of the best ways to let your employees know that they are accepted and that the culture at work supports them is to let them fail. This isn't to say encouraging or rewarding failure is the tact to take but viewing failure as learning and growth opportunities rather than reprimand sessions goes a long way to show employees that the fact that they are human (and humans make mistakes) is recognized. Your employees are not machines (yet), so accepting their mistakes and encouraging further training, for example, goes a long way to solidify the workplace culture as supportive.

Encourage innovation 

Another way to encourage employees to spend less time looking for greener pastures is promoting the spread of innovation. Aside from holding brainstorming meetings, or annual awards for innovative ideas or good performance, let your employees know that innovation is always accepted. While their ideas may not always come to fruition, some will. This will be enough to show them that there is growth here, that there is room for creative thinking. That there is space for them to share ideas and that leadership will be accepting of these ideas, without judgment or criticism. Ideas and innovation are the fuel for the machine. 

Support your employees' ideas

Which means you'll need to be sure you are investing in innovation. Giving employees time to work on and develop ideas that can create more efficient processes or streamline tasks is essential. Beholding them to their task for every second of the day and punishing them when they deviate creates a dark, brooding culture of resentment. Getting involved in the conversation when your employees are spit balling ideas creates a culture of support and encouragement. 

Creating a strong, supportive workplace culture is one of the building blocks of a successful business. Ensuring your employees feel empowered through the support of their innovative ideas, through their failures will lead to small successes that contribute to the larger picture. This will motivate your team to perform at a high level, looking more towards sharing and implementing their ideas, rather than spending time trying to take them elsewhere.

PS - I'm on Twitter now! Are you? If you have any questions, send me a DM on Twitter, and I'll make sure to reply there! I'm @KaraGoldin

Kara Goldin is the founder and CEO of San Francisco–based hint®, a healthy lifestyle brand that produces the leading unsweetened flavored water and a scented sunscreen spray that’s oxybenzone and paraben-free. Listen to her podcast, Unstoppable, where she interviews founders, entrepreneurs, and disruptors across various industries and keep up with her on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.

#entrepreneurs #startup