What Makes a Good Workplace Culture?

Your company can have a good workplace culture. You might have heard it, you could have said it. But what is culture, and what makes it good?

Is it branding your workplace a “family” so you could give workers a sense of belonging? Is it a culture of busyness, where people keep exerting effort in their corporate life? Could it mean enjoying “fun” workplace features, like ping-pong tables or free food?

Culture refers to how you do things. Those listed above aren’t wrong per se. But there is more to culture than just keeping employees happy. Melissa Daimler says that culture is the sum of three elements: behaviors, systems, and practices. These factors are all directed by an overarching set of principles. When these three align and match the company’s values, you get a good culture.

Sadly deviations may arise. These can cause problems that push valuable employees to leave. No one wants that to happen because companies want people to say they’re an excellent workplace. Of course, employees would be glad to stay in a great work environment. Keep reading to know what makes a good workplace culture.

Practice And Reinforce Expected Behaviors

Creating value statements is a common practice in building company culture. But the true measure of success is how leaders behave following these values.

Boundaries Are Healthy

A “family” workplace culture might seem harmless at first. It may even sound welcoming or warm. But in the long run, it can hinder success. Boundaries get blurred, and loyalty becomes harmful.

Employees might feel taken advantage of. In addition, the employer-employee relationship can turn into a power dynamic that feels personal.

Workplace strategist Erica Keswin remarks:

“As convenient as it is to never have to leave the office, truly human companies understand that while free dinner is great for some people (especially of the young, single, childless variety), it also keeps us at work longer, which we’re learning does not make us more productive.”

So, how do you foster a healthy and supportive culture? Avoid the “family” mentality. Instead, focus on actions and structures that support and benefit employees. Look at your company as a sports team or tribe. That way, you can maintain empathy, community, belonging, shared values, and goals. All the while, aim to respect the formal nature of the relationship.

To achieve a balanced culture, you can:

Define high performance and purpose
Set clear boundaries
Mutually accept the temporary and professional nature of the relationship
Avoid taking offense when employees decide to leave

With these practices, you can create a workplace that doesn’t require using “family.”

We have more suggestions, especially for remote workplaces. Read our piece, “What Are The Best Practices When Working From Anywhere?”

It’s Not What You Do, It’s How Your Leaders Do It

McKinsey & Company has a well-defined set of values clear to all employees. These values guide their approach toward:

Serving clients
Treating colleagues
Maintaining professional standards

Similarly, Google’s values are summed up by the phrase “Don’t be evil.” These are explained more in their “Ten things we know to be true.”

Some companies have values centered around common themes. Some examples include employees, clients, and acumen. However, the originality of these values is not as crucial as their authenticity.

We cannot stress enough how crucial work relationships are. Three key ties impact employee loyalty, commitment, and willingness to work toward executive goals. These ties are between these people:

Employees and their leaders
Employees and their jobs
Employees and each other

When leaders prioritize these links, employees have a more positive work experience. Leaders can do this through special programs, policies, and practices. In the end, these measures are effective if they can strengthen these critical ties.

Leaders show they are accountable when they are clear about expected actions. For instance, let us say a manager values face-time over outcomes or is always late. It can impact company culture and values. This behavior can become the norm, with employees doing the same. In turn, this leads to an attrition problem. Thus, being clear about expected behaviors can prevent these negative things.

Rather than pointing out the correct behaviors, employees can practice them. This makes it easier to hold them up to standard.

Systems Dictate How Work Is Done

Culture is a company’s shared beliefs, values, and practices. Yet, it’s vital to see that culture is also a company’s systems, processes, and structures.

Look at every process, tech, job title, and structure that builds or breaks the culture. A company must have systems in place that support and nurture a positive culture. These things make a company a great workplace.

1. Hiring

Let’s look at the hiring approach of “culture fit.” It has gotten criticism for potentially promoting cognitive biases. One example is similarity bias, which favors applicants similar to existing employees. This approach may directly not hamper diversity. But it can lead to differences in behaviors linked to values between certain groups.

To address this, companies can:

Measure culture fit through psycho-metrics rather than interviews
Assess if candidates with higher culture fit ratings are similar to certain demographic variables

Instead of relying on a static culture, companies can name vital and role-specific values. They can also use the “culture add” approach to hiring employees who can fill gaps in the culture.

Look for behaviors that are cultural complements. These behaviors align with and enrich the company’s culture. This approach allows for a greater diversity of candidates to enter the workforce. It also requires cultivating an inclusive culture where differences in values are embraced.

2. Strategy And Goal Setting

Strategy and goal setting guide employees on the outcomes they must produce. When done well, these things rally people around similar goals. They also provide a sense of purpose and direction. Goals should be aligned with the company’s culture, values, and long-term vision.

Chuck Baren, Chief Operating Officer of HirexHire, shares:

“Leaders who do not provide these clear expectations are unnecessarily putting their corporate goals at risk. They may as well cross their fingers and hope their clients will remain while their employees figure out how to do great work over time. Some employees may figure out how to deliver great results on their own, but hope is not a good corporate strategy. Unclear or inconsistent work expectations are counterproductive and often lead to larger problems.”

We have written an article that elaborates on this topic further. Check out “Why Are Workplace Performance Goals Valuable?”

3. Assessing

Sustainable cultures is critical for a company’s competitive advantage. They go beyond promoting a healthy workplace. Being sustainable builds a strong sense of mission of having a positive impact on society.

For instance, take the lack of questioning, opinion-sharing, and diversity. This may show a trust issue or a culture that does not value differences. This may foster a political and fear-based sphere that can badly impact overall culture.

So, how can leaders understand how values show up in behaviors? They should ask employees for their input and discuss what the value statements mean. This will help them reach a middle ground on the standards of behavior.

Assessing is critical to ensuring that the culture remains intact. Leaders must always assess behaviors, with transparent and fair feedback. It’s vital to pick apart the current culture to be able to improve it.

We talk about workplace feedback in our piece, “What Is Workplace Feedback? (How to Effectively Give Workplace Feedback)”.

4. Developing

Suppose employees do not see these things as relevant:

Chances to develop their careers
Assessments of feedback
Surveys to review engagements

That is often due to the questions not being aligned with the company’s values and priorities.

A “safe learning environment” can also become a tool to punish employees with low scores.

Comms consultant David Grossman says:

“High-potential employees are not satisfied with the status quo. If given the proper guidance in their development, they will become the future leaders of your organization.”

He continues:

“Help your employees establish goals that are aligned with their strengths, interest, and experience, as well as with the overall business strategy.”

5. Rewarding

Business systems specialist Greg Gunther advises:

“Rewarding and motivating employees leads to a more engaged team, builds trust, confidence, and loyalty, and increases workplace productivity. Employees who feel recognised and rewarded are more likely to remain committed to your business in the long term, rather than looking for opportunities with competitors.”

What happens if leaders treat employees fairly and give them clear work goals? The employees become more motivated and engaged. To help with this, it’s crucial to have a clear policy for progress and promotion. That way, staff can see how well they perform.

This can create healthy competition. But leaders must convey this policy in a truthful and clear way. Doing so can prevent the rise of negative feelings among team members.

Imagine if leaders support the goals of employees and support and applaud their achievements. These things will make employees feel valued, leading to a positive work sphere. Check out our piece “Shortcuts to Motivate Your Employees in Record Time.” It may offer helpful ideas on how to make your workforce productive.

Good Routines And Habits Are Ingrained In The Workplace

Routines in the workplace are akin to rituals. These are fixed ways of doing specific tasks that need to be carried out regularly. People tend to use routines in their personal and career lives to build structure and order.

But managers have found it perplexing to instill practices that motivate and engage staff.

Affirmation

Daily behaviors and communication send messages to employees. It conveys that they are either competent and valued or the other way. Affirmation is the crucial first step for managers to show respect to employees. However, many managers fall short of fostering an atmosphere full of affirmation.

An affirming culture makes space for mistakes to be corrected. It also recognizes success in a way that workers see criticisms as efforts to help them succeed. How can managers design a positive work experience? They must give workers the chance to help the company and clients succeed. This can help them feel valued and fulfilled.

Belonging

A sense of belonging at work means feeling like a valued member of a larger community. This feeling of connection is vital to meet the social needs of employees.

To create a thriving enterprise, healthy workplace culture is a must. This means always looking for open doors and focusing on the future than the past. An inclusive culture is key. It is where all, from the CEO to the office cleaner, are considered equally vital. It is where everyone works toward common goals to boost the company.

In a good work culture, strong team spirit and mutual support among team members are common. Managers must see employees as their greatest asset and motivate them. Strong peer support leads to strong team spirit.

Secretary of Commerce and Trade Caren Merrick says:

“Mountains of research show that we are happier, more productive, effective, and fulfilled when we make friends at work. Relationships are the foundation for just about any kind of happiness. So, why wouldn’t it be so at work?”

She adds:

“Every relationship at your workplace is important. And when the inevitable hard times come—disagreements, missed deadlines, product flaws, customer defections—you will find that problems can be solved and outcomes improved when you have a foundation of good relationships. The friendships you cultivate at work benefit not only you but your whole team.”

Competence

To achieve competency, managers must see and make use of their employee’s skills and abilities. A company can only reach this competency when it understands and supports its staff’s desire for:

Personal development
Provision of resources
Encouragement for growth

How do employees become more competent, better equipped to excel, and able to contribute to the team? A company can foster a culture of steady learning with these things:

Effective training
Thorough job designs
Empowering and clear policies

Do you want to learn how to bring out the passion in others? Read “Lead Your Tribe, Love Your Work – Piyush Patel.”

Overarching Principles That Promote A Good Workplace Culture

External factors can affect job satisfaction, but the power lies within the human capital. As Tom Morris says:

“Good people in a good environment do good work.”

A Culture Of Engagement

In practice, being good is about creating a culture of engagement. Highly engaged companies see and know this.

Gallup is an American analytics and advisory firm. It expounds on the philosophies common to these companies:

Acknowledging that engaged organizations start from the top
Leaders prioritizing engagement for a competitive edge
Having open and consistent communication
Placing great value on making use of the right metrics when it comes to hiring
Developing exceptional managers

Successful companies see that promoting a good workplace culture is not just a one-time thing. Instead, it is a fundamental consideration in their people strategy. As a result, they have higher odds of success and business performance than those with other priorities.

The top-performing business units in employee engagement have almost double the odds of success than those in the bottom quartile. Those in the 99th percentile have four times the success rate of those in the first percentile.

Dimensions Of A Great Place To Work

Robert Levering co-founded the Great Place to Work Institute. He also authored the original list of the 100 Best Companies to Work For. Levering went on a mission to talk to many employees at companies known for being notable.

The interviews revealed that a great workplace was defined by the quality of employee interactions. This included interactions with management, colleagues, jobs, and communities. Levering’s definition of a great workplace entailed the following:

Having confidence in their employers
Taking pride in their work
Feeling a sense of joy with co-workers

From those interviews, he built The Great Place to Work Model with co-founder Amy Lyman. They also came up with the Trust Index survey. This model and survey are now used in the world to recognize the Best Companies to Work For. These metrics also help companies create better work spheres.

Table 1. The Great Place to Work Model by Robert Levering and Amy Lyman.

Credibility	Communication: Open and accessible communicationCompetence: Ability to manage human and material resourcesIntegrity: Consistent demonstration of integrity in realizing the vision
Respect	Support: Providing support for career development and demonstrating appreciationCollaborating: Partnering with workers in relevant decision-makingCaring: Valuing employees as people with personal lives
Fairness	Equity: Providing balanced rewards and treatment for allImpartiality: Ensuring fairness in hiring and promotions, free from favoritismJustice: Upholding non-discrimination and having a process for appeals
Pride	Personal job: Individual contributions to the jobTeam: Contributions to work produced by one’s team or work groupCompany: Contributions to the products of the company and standing in the community
Camaraderie	Intimacy: Can present as oneselfHospitality: Socially friendly and warm atmosphereCommunity: Sense of being in a “team” or “family”

Keeping a good workplace culture requires a new evolution. It should uphold trust, purpose, mission, and employee well-being. On the other end, what are the signs of bad workplace culture? You can find them here: “What is Workplace Culture, and Why is it Important?”

It’s time to break free from past cultures and embrace positive change. As leaders and decision-makers, do not miss this chance to create a better workplace culture.

FAQs Covered in this Article

Q: What is workplace culture?

A: Workplace culture refers to the shared values, beliefs, behaviors, and norms that shape the work environment, employee interactions, and overall experience within an organization.

Q: Why is workplace culture important?

A: Workplace culture is important because it influences employee engagement, job satisfaction, productivity, and retention. A positive culture can attract top talent, enhance organizational performance, and create a competitive advantage.

Q: What are the key elements of a good workplace culture?

A: A good workplace culture includes clear communication, shared values and goals, trust and transparency, employee recognition and appreciation, opportunities for growth and development, and a focus on employee well-being and work-life balance.

Q: How can an organization create a positive workplace culture?

A: Organizations can create a positive workplace culture by establishing a clear mission and values, promoting open communication, fostering collaboration and teamwork, investing in employee development, and implementing effective recognition and reward systems.

Q: What role does leadership play in shaping workplace culture?

A: Leadership plays a crucial role in shaping workplace culture, as leaders set the tone for the organization by modeling desired behaviors, reinforcing values, and fostering an environment of trust and support.

Q: How can organizations measure and assess their workplace culture?

A: Organizations can measure and assess workplace culture through employee surveys and feedback, retention and turnover rates, productivity metrics, and benchmarking against industry best practices.

Q: Can workplace culture be changed or improved?

A: Yes, workplace culture can be changed or improved through intentional efforts by leadership and employees, such as redefining company values, implementing new policies and practices, and fostering a culture of continuous improvement and growth.