Getting the right people to work for you can be crucial to your business' success. From Entrepreneur.com's contributor and BusinessNET founder Ben Simkin, here are four ways to create a work culture that attracts top talent.
1. Relationships are key.
Culture is really just another word for your employees’ relationships, with each other and the customers they serve, and how healthy they are determines the success of your business. Strong, co-operative relationships are motivating, energizing and foster great mental health which is important for productivity. Emphasize personal service for your customers and your workforce to make them feel valued, and pay attention to how these relationships function across a wider network -- your industry peers will sit up and take notice.
2. Know what and who you stand with.
The most crucial part of a great culture is involvement: if they don’t feel their ideas are being heard, your best minds will drop you like dog mess. The easiest way to unite a team is through strong branding. Embrace your brand to its fullest extent in everything you do: what defines your business, what doesn’t define it, and why each member of your team belongs. You will find they gravitate naturally to strong ideas that appeal to their sense of identity, and feel an increased sense of loyalty.
3. Change yourself, change your culture.
Your staff looks to you for guidance and leadership, so you should be the catalyst for any change that takes place. Treat your staff and customers exactly how you would have them treat each other and you will witness a trickle-down effect that will transform the entire atmosphere of your workplace. Action begets action: don’t let yourself fall behind your own plans. At YapStone,Tom makes a conscious effort to lead his team from within, and it shows in the progress they’ve made.
4. Commit to the process.
Your workplace culture needs improving: admitting it is the first step. The ‘normal’ way of doing things may not be the ‘right’ way -- after all, if it was truly ‘right’, you wouldn’t be thinking about revitalizing your workplace culture in the first place. Assess your company’s existing culture by hiring a specialist consultant, or circulating anonymous, incentivised surveys to your staff. Don’t just have a vague notion of doing ‘something’ in the future -- commit to an action step, right now.
