By Sarah Landrum
When people love where they work, they’ll be more likely to stay productive and even recommend the company to friends as a great place to be employed. The general attitude a person has about his or her workplace is usually closely related to the company culture. Keep reading to learn how to improve your company culture for results that could make your business more profitable while keeping workers happy.
1. Let Employees Take Mini-Breaks
Many people tend to be of the mindset it’s best to work as hard as possible for as long as possible. However, the great automobile maker Henry Ford was an early proponent of the five-day workweek.
Now, the importance of letting employees take breaks has evolved even more, suggesting employees should work for 52 minutes and take breaks for 17. Google and Procter & Gamble provide special chairs that encourage employees to take power naps, while The Huffington Post has an entire room just for napping.
2. Consider the Use of Company Vehicles as Promotional Tools
A promotional company called BannerView.com began an initiative where employees got to use vehicles that promoted the business with its own banners. That’s a cost-effective solution to consider, especially if you’re willing to provide company vehicles and would also love to spread the word about your business around town.
3. Implement Flexible Work Schedules
Qualcomm Inc. and Agilent Technologies are just two of many companies that are giving employees more choices about where and when they work. Contrary to popular belief, employees who are in flexible environments tend to get more work done even when they have more freedom.
4. Offer Unlimited Vacation Days
You may be shocked to learn that many companies, like Chegg and Prezi, are beginning to offer employees unlimited vacation days. That perk demonstrates the company has an impressive amount of trust in its employees, and gives those workers the ability to figure out how to strike a healthy balance between work and other parts of life. If you decide this benefit could work for your company, it may be helpful to conduct periodic reviews to ensure the productivity level is reflective of the amount of vacation a person enjoys.
5. Encourage Continued Learning
With the ever-evolving nature of technology, most industries are forced to adapt in order to be successful. Continued education has played a large role in progressing companies to meet evolving needs. In fact, some companies, like General Electric and AT&T, invest more than $1 billion a year on employee training.
The benefits of continued learning are vast, even with a modest investment. Experts agree that career development is the number one factor in employee retention, and that the ability to adapt and learn is vital to long-term success. From corporate universities to company libraries, there are many ways for businesses to encourage continued learning.
The most popular, however, is offering tuition reimbursement for employees to continue their education online or through night classes. In this fashion, many companies also partner with continued education companies for the opportunity to build their own business.
6. Try Open Office Layouts
Companies ranging from advertising agency Hudson Rouge to the London offices of Hitachi Consulting have embraced open office layouts to encourage collaboration between employees.
Although you’ll need to see if your facilities are feasible to accommodate an open layout, implementing one could really pay off. That’s especially true if you have an ongoing issue with workers from different departments commenting that they feel too cut off from workers who have other roles.
7. Get Employee Feedback
Although the list above should give you some great ideas about how to make your company a more pleasant place to work, don’t underestimate the great value of simply asking employees how they view the company, and what kinds of changes they’d like to see.
Think about getting that feedback in a very informal and fun way, such as by hosting a brown bag lunch where workers are encouraged to give their thoughts in an open way.
When you are dedicated to creating a vibrant and well-defined company culture, you’ll help employees love where they work and feel ready to give tasks their all during their time on the clock.
