Boosting Morale within Company Culture

: Advisors Magazine; Jun 01, 11:22 am

It's the same tune from from every boss, business owner, manager or HR representative — "We want to have a world-class company culture like Apple or Google." Every company cares about its culture in theory. A great company culture boosts morale, improves productivity, helps employee retention and attracts better candidates, but few companies are willing to make real, intuitive changes to make it happen.

If you're a business owner or manager who really cares about creating a great company culture, then you're already ahead of the curve. But if such a drastic change feels overwhelming, there are simple steps to start boosting your employee morale and building a world class company culture.

1. Company Culture Is Real Investment

If you're Googling the phrase "free employee morale boosters," then you've already failed at building a true company culture. Sure, some morale boosters are free, but building a company culture is not. It takes money, time and the willingness to do something that makes you uncomfortable as a business owner or manager.

2. Ask Your Employees What They Want

This is another thing you won't get with a Google search. Like any other culture, it all depends on the values and priorities of your employees. A tech startup employing young millennials might want a beer tap in the break room, while a large corporation might want better dental care for their children. Find out what's important to your employees and actually give them what they're asking for. After all, why not give your most precious resource what they really care about?

3. Drop the Jerks

Roger Dean Duncan, renowned executive coach, describes the "jerks" of the office as one of the most toxic elements to a sustainable company culture. These are the people who intimidate, condescend and create drama among other employees. The solution for this crowd is simple: lose them. Even if they're high performers on paper, their negative attitude is impacting the company as a whole.

4. Create Culture Inside the Office

Creating change inside the office starts with small steps, depending on the demand from your employees. These are some examples of what effective change could look like:

Encourage real lunch breaks and don't micromanage time

Offer discounts and sponsored promotions like subsidized gym memberships

Create a real bonus structure

Encourage play — make sure people use that ping pong table in the break room without the guilt of "being away from work"
Limit office hours — enforce a "no email outside the office" policy to ensure employees have work/life balance

These are just a few examples but the change could be greater depending on the priorities of your employee base. The important thing is that you're open to what they're saying.

5. Culture Outside the Office

Life can be great inside the office, but there is tons of room for growth, team building and morale boosting outside the front door. If you're in search of out-of-the-office activities, here are some that you can use to start improving your business: