Forbes Magazine describes culture as, “Company culture has been described as an organization’s “social operating system.” It serves as the blueprint for all interactions between employees, customers, external partners and the community. It’s represented in your HR policies and operations, work environment, work processes and organizational behavior. It should also reflect your business’ values, purpose and mission.”
Now that we know what culture is, how do you change it? You will need to start off by figuring out the strong points and weak points in the agencies’ culture. What is the temperature of the organization. Before you start to make changes, know your status. Assess where your agency stands currently before trying to affect changes. You can survey employees to learn more about their attitudes and feelings toward the agency, policies and mission. Knowing your current baseline will help you to know if you are making progress toward your goals or if you should redirect your efforts.
Foster Healthy Communication:
Create an environment where your employees can share feedback, ask questions, own their mistakes, and raise concerns. Healthy communication can give the staff the confidence that they are being heard when they bring forth concerns and ideas.
Check in with your team.
Remember to check in with your team often. Not micromanaging, assessing, or reviewing them, but genuinely checking in with how they’re doing as human beings. You don’t need a formal meeting to do this. Even asking someone how they are in passing goes a long way to show your employees you care beyond productivity and output.
Shift your mindset:
Historically working understaffed can mean that your staff is burning the candle at both ends. That can lead to unhappy employees and team burnout, which isn’t good for your agency culture. But it doesn’t have to be that way. To improve your existing agency, shift to a mentality where a positive work environment comes first. Use employee recognition to praise performance. Regular recognition of staff achievements can help motivate staff to meet the agency’s goals and mission. Encourage recognition from outside of leadership. Encourage your entire agency to recognize and celebrate a job well done.
Invest in Staff:
In any agency the biggest asset is the staff. Provide opportunities for staff advancement or development. Providing these opportunities can foster a more proficient, trained and efficient staff. Establishing a path for advancement can help you staff set and meet career goals. By presenting an opportunity for individuals to learn and build new skills. It encourages creative teams to do their best work and sets the bar for expectations. Put forth your best effort and challenge your colleagues to constantly step up their game.
Staff Care:
Let the staff see that you care about more than their performance. Employees are more productive and invest in the agency that they work for, if they feel appreciated, understood and that their interests’ matter. Providing quality Employee Assistance Programs provides benefits to the staff and sends the message that you care about their quality of life and family. Mental Health programs and services show that you understand the impacts on the employee physically and emotionally. It will also provide a safe place where they can speak openly.
After implementing these steps, be sure to follow up with your employees often. Check in during team meetings and one on one discussions to see how people feel about the new ways of working. Offer support along the way. Change is often difficult and unsettling, but following these steps can help you ensure success. Remember that fostering a healthy culture within the agency benefits that agency. When people feel appreciated, recognized and that they are being productive they are more likely to stay with the agency. When the agency retains the knowledge, experience and confident staff, you foster an agency where your biggest asset the employee can thrive and be your best recruiters.
