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How to build a better workplace

How to Build a Better Workplace

Tired of losing great team members? Wondering why it’s difficult to find and retain good employees? When it comes to building a better workplace, it all starts with the people. Employees are the backbone of any company, and their happiness and satisfaction should be a top priority for any employer, especially in today’s economic climate. In this blog, we’ll explore and conquer the beast that is building a better workplace. 

Why Do People Leave Their Job?

Recently, the anti-work movement and quiet quitting have gained popularity, causing people to question their job satisfaction and motivations for working. 

The anti-work movement is a growing trend that promotes the idea of rejecting the traditional 9-5 workday and the culture of overwork. 

Rather than voluntarily quitting, quiet quitting refers to employees becoming disengaged and disinterested in their jobs, resulting in less productivity and morale.

The first step in building a better workplace is to understand why exactly people leave their jobs in the first place. Below are a few of the top reasons:

  • Poor Leadership: Poor leadership can lead to a toxic work environment and high employee turnover.
    • A survey found that 92% of employees would stay with their jobs if their bosses showed more empathy. 
  • Company Culture/Values Misalignment: If employees don’t feel like their values align with those of the company, they may leave for a more compatible workplace. 
  • No Career Growth: Employees who feel trapped in a dead-end job may look for new challenges elsewhere.
    • According to 58% of workers, their companies do not offer enough long-term growth opportunities.
  • Lack of Recognition: Unmet expectations, poor management, and lack of recognition can all contribute to employees feeling undervalued and under-supported.
  • Inadequate Compensation: Without fair compensation, employees may feel undervalued and underpaid.
    • At least 63% of Americans have left their jobs because of low wages.
  • Work-Life Balance: Burnout and employee turnover are commonly caused by work hours that are too long, high stress, and no work-life balance.
    • Employees quit because of burnout 20-50% of the time, according to a Kronos study.
  • Better Opportunity: Employees may leave for better pay or benefits if they receive a better job offer from another company.
  • Reconsideration: Employees may realize that their current job does not align with their career goals.
  • Retirement: Most people leave their jobs when they reach retirement age, but early retirement may be a sign of dissatisfaction or burnout.

Related: Why it’s Important for Your Employees to Love Their Job

4 Tips to Build a Better Workplace

Now that we know why people leave their jobs let’s explore some tips to build a better workplace to help prevent this. 

How to Build a Better Workplace

1. Create a Strong Mission Statement 

Establishing a strong mission statement sets the tone for your workplace culture and values. It creates a sense of purpose and direction that your employees can rally around.

An effective mission statement should be concise, clear, and impactful. Employees and customers should be able to understand your organization’s purpose, goals, and values through your mission statement. A great mission statement should consist of the following:

  • Your Cause
  • Your Actions
  • Your Impact
  • Who-What-Where
  • What You Do
  • Changing for the Better

It takes careful consideration and collaboration to develop a strong mission statement. Input should come from employees, customers, and leaders. You can ensure that your mission statement reflects the values and beliefs of your entire organization by involving your team.

  • Keep it Simple: Simplicity often leads to greater clarity and understanding.
  • Involve Your Employees: By involving your employees, you create a sense of ownership and commitment to the company.
  • Live Your Mission Statement: Your actions should reflect the values and goals of your organization.

Related: Why You Must Have a Brand Archetype

2. Build the Right Team for a Better Workplace

Your company’s long-term success depends on building a successful team. However, hiring the right people can be challenging, and hiring the wrong person can quickly turn your dream team into a nightmare.

Putting together the right team isn’t easy, so how do you go about it? It’s simple – look for people who share your company’s values and have a positive attitude.

It might seem obvious that the company should hire people with positive attitudes and values, but the reality is that many companies overlook these key factors. Instead, they emphasize only technical skills and experience, which can accidentally result in a toxic workplace culture. According to the Kaufman Behavior Model, candidates should be measured based on these core areas:

  • Achievement Orientation
  • Managerial Skills
  • Character
  • Team Players

If you are interviewing potential hires, ask questions that will determine if their values align with your own. For example, if teamwork is one of your core values, ask the candidate to describe a situation when they collaborated with others. Here are some key questions to ask all new hires:

  • Why do you want to work here?
  • What are the top 3 accomplishments of your life?
  • Tell me about a time you failed.  

Besides assessing the alignment of values, look for positive candidates. When things get tough, you want people who are willing to roll up their sleeves and get things done. In the workplace, a positive attitude can create a supportive and uplifting environment. And to do that, you’ll need to weed through different types of employees to find the right fit. Take a look at how a worker, lurker, or jerker can have a huge impact on building a better workplace below. 

Better Workplace Worker

Worker

“Worker” employees prioritize efficiency and effectiveness, communicate well with customers, adhere to core values, and are constantly striving to improve themselves and their work.

  • Gets stuff done
  • Good team players!
  • Talk to customers about their needs
  • Keep socializing and personal tasks to a minimum during work hours​
  • Are constructive, follow core values, and are mature leaders by example
  • Stewards, not gophers!
  • Seek continuous improvement

Lurker

A “lurker” is someone who does the bare minimum work and does not contribute to the mission or company culture. They don’t cause problems, but they don’t move forward either.

  • Waits to be told what to do
  • Don’t cause problems but don’t push anything forward
  • Not really bought into to mission or company culture
  • Do bare minimum

Jerker

An employee who is a “jerker” is disruptive, self-centered, doesn’t align with the company’s values, and does not contribute to the organization’s goals. They contribute minimally, engage in gossip, seek unwarranted credit, and do not align with the company’s values.

  • Usually disruptive in a self-centered type of way
  • Negative impact on team and culture
  • Contributes enough to stay employed
  • Gossips and often encourages gossiping
  • Seeks credit where credit might not be due
  • Does not align with company values and does not contribute to the culture or mission
  • Constantly complains & does nothing to improve the situation

3. Establish Good Habits

It is possible to create a better workplace by establishing good habits such as regular standups, a culture of gratitude, and reminders of goals. The more you cultivate teamwork, collaboration, and motivation habits, the results will follow.

Simple yet effective, daily standups keep everyone on the same page. During a daily standup, team members share updates on their work, discuss roadblocks or challenges, and set priorities for the day. By establishing these habits, you can foster accountability and collaboration, as well as align everyone with the team’s objectives.

A culture of gratitude can also contribute to a better workplace, in addition. You can encourage teamwork and collaboration by expressing gratitude regularly. Taking a few minutes to acknowledge the contributions of each individual in a meeting is one way to do this. Making gratitude a part of your company culture will foster a sense of appreciation and respect among your employees, which is crucial to building a better workplace

Last but not least, you should remind your team of their goals regularly. Setting up weekly check-ins to discuss progress towards specific goals or posting a whiteboard with the company’s vision and mission statement can help.

  • Daily Standups
  • A culture of Gratitude 
  • Remind the Team of the Goals 

4. Be a Leader Worth Following

For workplace culture to be successful and productive, good leadership is essential. Leaders set the tone for their teams and motivate their employees to perform at their best. However, being a great leader is more than simply giving orders. It’s about setting an example, building a culture of respect and trust, and inspiring your team to achieve their full potential.

Leading by example is one of the most vital qualities of a great leader. By setting a positive example, you can influence your team to follow in your footsteps. The key here is to demonstrate reliability, accountability, and a strong work ethic. Furthermore, it means being honest and transparent with your team, even when the news isn’t good. A leader who leads by example will be more likely to be respected and trusted by the team.

Better Workplace Leadership

Source: The 5 Levels of Leadership

Creating a culture of respect and trust is another essential component of a great leader. You will be able to motivate and engage your team when they feel they can trust you and that you respect their opinions and ideas. Create an open-door policy, provide feedback, and recognize your team when it is due. Having a team that feels valued and respected will help your business succeed.

Last but not least, a great leader inspires the team to achieve their full potential. To achieve this, you must set clear goals, provide support and resources, and celebrate your team’s accomplishments. Additionally, it means being open to new ideas and approaches and encouraging creativity and innovation. By inspiring your team, you will create a culture of excellence that will drive your business forward.

  • Lead by Example
  • Create a Good Work Culture
  • Inspire Your Team

Related: How Can You Bring Joy to Your Sales Team?

Work Culture Shift

Keeping our 4 helpful tips in mind, what’s stopping you from creating a better workplace? A roadblock for many is their ingrained mentality on what a “good” work culture should be.

Three years ago, the workplace was very different. Today’s environment may not lend itself to doing things the way they were done back then. Work cultures of the past often placed a strong emphasis on traditional values, hierarchies, and structures. In contrast, today’s work culture emphasizes modern, flexible, and remote work. In a survey of CEOs, more than half indicated that corporate culture influences a company’s productivity, creativity, profitability, and value. 

To build a better workplace, and use the helpful tips we provided. You must first consider how the traditional and modern work culture impacts your business. 

Traditional Vs Modern Work Culture

Over the years, work culture has undergone a significant transformation with traditional work culture drastically different from today. Here are some of the key differences between traditional and modern work cultures:

Traditional Workplace

It was not so long ago that the traditional work culture ruled. In a conventional workplace, a 9-5 office job is considered the perfect career path, and showing up to work on time every day is expected. Employees who take a sick day, or a personal day are often viewed as unreliable and suspicious. 

Corporate culture further reinforces the idea of perfect attendance, where being a company man or woman is still seen as a measure of success. People who stay with a company for years, often sacrificing personal goals and ambitions, are rewarded. 

Apart from perfect attendance, the traditional work culture also holds that managers are always the smartest people in the room. A manager must know everything about his or her business, from the inner workings to how to manage the team. Employees are expected to defer to their expertise without question, as they are often viewed as the experts in their field.

  • There is a high expectation of punctuality.
  • A deep commitment to the company is the key to its success.
  • It is assumed that managers are the smartest in the room.
  • Workdays are traditionally 9-5, and overtime is common.
  • Hierarchical structures guide top management’s decisions.
  • Few opportunities exist for employee input or feedback during communication.
  • The emphasis is placed on rules and procedures, and creativity is limited.

Modern Workplace

A dramatic shift has taken place in how people approach their careers in today’s fast-paced and dynamic work environment. Adaptability and flexibility are the keys to success in modern work culture. Remote teams are becoming more prevalent as the work-from-home trend becomes more common. In addition, more companies have adopted hybrid work models that combine in-person and remote work, giving employees the best of both worlds.

The modern work culture has created a more relaxed and inclusive environment, where creativity and innovation are valued. Employees are encouraged to share ideas and opinions, and open communication channels facilitate collaboration and feedback. As a result, employees are more motivated and engaged, and they feel valued and heard.

  • Flexible and adaptable working styles are supported.
    • Flexible working hours and remote working conditions reduce employee turnover by 25%.
  • Remote and hybrid work models are prevalent
  • Trust and autonomy have become increasingly important in the workplace due to remote work.
  • Companies prioritize employee well-being and work-life balance.
  • Employees are encouraged to provide feedback and input through open and transparent communication.
  • Innovation and creativity are highly valued, with employees encouraged to think outside the box and come up with new ideas.
  • The importance of inclusive leadership is growing in the workplace to promote positive and productive results.

The Pain of Great People Leaving the Workplace

Any organization can suffer a significant blow when a great employee leaves. When a company loses talent and experience, it can have devastating consequences for its mission and goals. Departures of key team members can have a ripple effect on the entire team’s productivity and morale.

Losing a valued member of the team is stressful. If the team is understaffed, replacing them can take a toll on the remaining members. Adding financial stress to the mix is the cost of hiring and training a new employee.

The productivity of a company is likely to suffer if a great employee leaves. Having them absent can result in work being piled up or tasks being reassigned to employees who do not possess the same skills. In turn, this can cause project delays and deadlines to be missed.

Last but not least, losing a great employee can undermine the organization’s mission and goals. If a replacement is unfamiliar with the company’s vision or culture, it may be challenging to maintain the same level of quality. New employees may need time to get up to speed, and during that time, the organization may suffer setbacks.

  • It’s Stressful 
  • Costs a lot of Time and Money 
  • Productivity Suffers
  • Sets Back Your Mission and Goals 

What Does a Modern Worker Want in the Workplace?

The modern worker doesn’t just show up to work and collect a paycheck. Having a sense of purpose and fulfillment in their jobs is crucial to them. They require mastery, autonomy, and purpose. 

Mastery 

Mastery means having the opportunity to develop skills and expertise in their field. It is important for employees to feel that they are learning and growing professionally. By engaging in ongoing training and professional development programs and taking on new challenges.

Autonomy

It is also essential for modern workers to have autonomy. Employees should control work environments, schedules, and projects. This means having the flexibility to work from home, set their own schedules, and have input into the projects they work on.

Purpose 

Lastly, the purpose of a worker’s job is crucial to his or her satisfaction in the workplace. Their goal is to feel that they are contributing meaningfully to society. The most effective way to accomplish this is by building an organization with values and a strong mission statement that employees can relate to.

Partner with a Top Workplace

At 360Connect, we’re the blueprint for building a top workplace. 360Partners has been ranked as the 2nd top workplace (with 149 or fewer employees) in the greater Austin metro area.

As a company that connects buyers with suppliers, 360Connect understands the importance of building meaningful relationships – not just with our employees but with our suppliers as well. If you’re looking to gain high-quality, true-intent leads for your product or service, sign up today.

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