![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/Brause.jpg\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\nHere at PathShare HR Services, we define culture as the values, beliefs and behaviors required to fit in and thrive in an organization. While some think of culture as the celebration team within your office or business, company culture is about accountability in an organization, discipline and the internal communication required to help a business thrive.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Having a clear understanding of your company\u2019s culture ensures you\u2019re communicating your values effectively at all levels, recruiting and retaining the right employees and working toward your company\u2019s short- and long-term goals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
First, you need to focus on your vision: where are you going as an organization? Next, consider your strategy: what are the plans you need to execute on? Then combine these with your culture: how are your people going to help you get there?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Culture either accelerates the implementation of your strategy and vision, or slows down or stops its execution.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Defining Your Culture<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n The past year and a half provided a great time for organizations to test their culture\u2014to take a step back and ask, \u201cWhat culture is needed to help our business and team members thrive?\u201d For some, this means validating and confirming your current values. For others, it means updating them to reach your goals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n We advise businesses who are defining their culture to look at their star employees. These are your very best team members, those who are culturally aligned with your organization. If you could hire 100 of them tomorrow, you would.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Those employees are the key to understanding what your organic company culture is and how you can share it with employees who may not feel a strong affinity toward your company.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Discern the behaviors those top employees practice in their daily work. Start by writing them on sticky notes and group similar behaviors together. Define the values those behaviors emulate. Write them on a whiteboard so they\u2019re a visual entity you can absorb as you define your culture.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Those values make a significant impact on your business\u2019 operations. If you were to have every employee live those values, think of the impact you could have on every part of the organization.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Leading with Intentionality<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n When PathShare visited with clients over the past 18 months, we found the most successful organizations featured senior leaders who were proactive in addressing the pandemic and what that meant for the business. Constant, consistent and transparent communication provided to team members helped establish guidelines and expectations without limiting company growth opportunities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Additionally, those leaders were open and honest with team members and supported them occupationally and personally throughout the pandemic. Asking, \u201cHow can I better support you?\u201d shows care and opens the lines of communication for honest feedback and happier employees.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Culture isn\u2019t about the \u201cwoo\u201d factor; it\u2019s about cultivating opportunities to celebrate and recognize contributions to your business success. Sometimes that means creating a fun environment that allows your employees to celebrate and connect with each other. Other times it means connecting with your team members to work through challenges. Building an impactful culture involves all manners of business operations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Turnover Tsunami<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Employee turnover is expected to rise; the race for A-level candidates is competitive, and we\u2019re recovering from a global pandemic. Current employees and new hires look for companies with well-defined cultural initiatives, principles and values. You can\u2019t recruit and retain employees without understanding how your company values and culture may impact their decision to join, and stay on, your team.<\/p>\n\n\n\n According to Roy Maurer for SHRM, U.S. employees are about to enter a voluntary turnover tsunami at the end of the pandemic. Engagement, burnout, work-life balance, benefits, pay, promotions and career changes are all cited as reasons employees elect to leave their current positions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n To combat the expected demand for employees we\u2019re about to experience, revisit and reengage in conversations with those star employees. As a leader, conduct regular stay interviews with them; invest time talking with them before they can even think about leaving.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Retaining Top Players<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n As leaders, it\u2019s easy for us to spend our time with our problem employees. I really want that focus to shift: think about connecting with your very best people and cultivating those relationships. Are you asking how they\u2019re doing? Are you asking for advice on work assignments? Be mindful not to burn them out; what can you take off their plate?<\/p>\n\n\n\n When you receive feedback from your employees, act on it. In a survey conducted by Achievers Workforce Institute, only 16% of respondents reported their company leaders always respond to their solicited feedback. Simply asking for feedback won\u2019t improve your employee\u2019s relationship with leaders and your company\u2014you must acknowledge those responses and examine how they could impact your company\u2019s culture and employee\u2019s work experience.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Cultivating a positive relationship with your best employees makes them feel valued and important in accomplishing your company\u2019s goals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Additionally, employees look for more opportunities for regular public recognition. The Achievers survey found 74% of respondents wished they received more recognition for their work, while 80% of respondents stated a strong recognition culture makes a company more attractive. The best part is that recognition doesn\u2019t have to come with a high price tag. Name recognition during a team meeting is often enough to make employees feel seen and appreciated.<\/p>\n\n\n\n To gain feedback from current employees free from influence, conduct regular engagement surveys with a third-party. These conversations can reveal potential risk factors that would result in the loss of an employee. A third-party interviewer ensures the employee feels comfortable expressing their thoughts and feelings without fear of offending their direct manager or leader.<\/p>\n\n\n\n At the end of the day, if you\u2019re not actively recruiting your very best people, you\u2019re the only one who isn\u2019t. Engage your star employees with your company to keep them motivated, happy and excited to be working with you.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Recruiting A-Level Candidates<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n It\u2019s easy to advertise your great company culture within a job listing. What\u2019s not so easy is staying true to your promises at each stage of your hiring process. Creating a clear picture of your company culture and values for candidates within the hiring process puts you another step ahead of the competition.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Finding A-level candidates requires going beyond the branded social media job board posts; you need to reach out to top talent at a personal level. Take the time to foster personal relationships with people who reflect your company values. Set up coffee meetings or quick phone calls periodically to lay the groundwork for a job when they\u2019re open to new opportunities. And be sure to ask your star employees for candidate recommendations, as they could offer valuable insight.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Center your hiring process on the candidate. It\u2019s not about, \u201cAre you worthy enough to apply for my company?\u201d but rather, \u201cAre we worthy of you looking at us?\u201d Your conversations should reflect the good your company can do for them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Ask yourself if you\u2019re creating an interview process that encourages people to want to come on board. Often, job interviews are a candidate\u2019s first direct exposure to the inner workings of a company. Ensure your hiring process reflects positively on your company; hold meaningful interviews that focus not only on a candidate\u2019s ability to perform a job, but also their fit within your company. We\u2019re living in a candidate\u2019s job market; potential hires have the flexibility to turn down lengthy hiring processes and work environments they find undesirable. Create an intentional and expeditious hiring process by asking yourself three questions:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Prioritizing Culture<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Placing your culture at the foreground of every business practice is the key to prolonged success. While you contemplate strategies for building a better business in a post-pandemic world, remember to reevaluate the effectiveness of your company\u2019s values and culture in your daily business interactions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n If you need help with this, be sure to contact PathShare. Our unique approach examines your organization through seven culture levers to target each aspect of your business. To learn more about how we can help your business grow and succeed, visit us at https:\/\/www.greatamerica.com\/pathshare.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The farther we travel from pre-pandemic practices, the more we determines our ability to bring our businesses into a post-pandemic world. Prioritizing culture, values and the success of your current and future employees creates a path to victory for your company. <\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" We can\u2019t ask ourselves how we return to normal without first addressing what normal looks like for each of our businesses. With all that\u2019s thrown at your business, confronting your company culture may seem like a backburner topic. Yet, what if I told you clearly defining and maintaining your company culture and values was the key to successful business interactions? Here at PathShare HR Services, we define culture as the values, beliefs and behaviors required to fit in and thrive in an organization. While some think of culture as the celebration team within your office or business, company culture is about accountability in an organization, discipline and the internal communication required to help a business thrive. Having a clear understanding of your company\u2019s culture ensures you\u2019re communicating your values effectively at all levels, recruiting and retaining the right employees and working toward your company\u2019s short- and long-term goals. First, you need to focus on your vision: where are you going as an organization? Next, consider your strategy: what are the plans you need to execute on? Then combine these with your culture: how are your people going to help you get there? Culture either accelerates the implementation of your strategy and vision, or slows down or stops its execution. Defining Your Culture The past year and a half provided a great time for organizations to test their culture\u2014to take a step back and ask, \u201cWhat culture is needed to help our business and team members thrive?\u201d For some, this means validating and confirming your current values. For others, it means updating them to reach your goals. We advise businesses who are defining their culture to look at their star employees. These are your very best team members, those who are culturally aligned with your organization. If you could hire 100 of them tomorrow, you would. Those employees are the key to understanding what your organic company culture is and how you can share it with employees who may not feel a strong affinity toward your company. Discern the behaviors those top employees practice in their daily work. Start by writing them on sticky notes and group similar behaviors together. Define the values those behaviors emulate. Write them on a whiteboard so they\u2019re a visual entity you can absorb as you define your culture. Those values make a significant impact on your business\u2019 operations. If you were to have every employee live those values, think of the impact you could have on every part of the organization. Leading with Intentionality When PathShare visited with clients over the past 18 months, we found the most successful organizations featured senior leaders who were proactive in addressing the pandemic and what that meant for the business. Constant, consistent and transparent communication provided to team members helped establish guidelines and expectations without limiting company growth opportunities. Additionally, those leaders were open and honest with team members and supported them occupationally and personally throughout the pandemic. Asking, \u201cHow can I better support you?\u201d shows care and opens the lines of communication for honest feedback and happier employees. Culture isn\u2019t about the \u201cwoo\u201d factor; it\u2019s about cultivating opportunities to celebrate and recognize contributions to your business success. Sometimes that means creating a fun environment that allows your employees to celebrate and connect with each other. Other times it means connecting with your team members to work through challenges. Building an impactful culture involves all manners of business operations. Turnover Tsunami Employee turnover is expected to rise; the race for A-level candidates is competitive, and we\u2019re recovering from a global pandemic. Current employees and new hires look for companies with well-defined cultural initiatives, principles and values. You can\u2019t recruit and retain employees without understanding how your company values and culture may impact their decision to join, and stay on, your team. According to Roy Maurer for SHRM, U.S. employees are about to enter a voluntary turnover tsunami at the end of the pandemic. Engagement, burnout, work-life balance, benefits, pay, promotions and career changes are all cited as reasons employees elect to leave their current positions. To combat the expected demand for employees we\u2019re about to experience, revisit and reengage in conversations with those star employees. As a leader, conduct regular stay interviews with them; invest time talking with them before they can even think about leaving. Retaining Top Players As leaders, it\u2019s easy for us to spend our time with our problem employees. I really want that focus to shift: think about connecting with your very best people and cultivating those relationships. Are you asking how they\u2019re doing? Are you asking for advice on work assignments? Be mindful not to burn them out; what can you take off their plate? When you receive feedback from your employees, act on it. In a survey conducted by Achievers Workforce Institute, only 16% of respondents reported their company leaders always respond to their solicited feedback. Simply asking for feedback won\u2019t improve your employee\u2019s relationship with leaders and your company\u2014you must acknowledge those responses and examine how they could impact your company\u2019s culture and employee\u2019s work experience. Cultivating a positive relationship with your best employees makes them feel valued and important in accomplishing your company\u2019s goals. Additionally, employees look for more opportunities for regular public recognition. The Achievers survey found 74% of respondents wished they received more recognition for their work, while 80% of respondents stated a strong recognition culture makes a company more attractive. The best part is that recognition doesn\u2019t have to come with a high price tag. Name recognition during a team meeting is often enough to make employees feel seen and appreciated. To gain feedback from current employees free from influence, conduct regular engagement surveys with a third-party. These conversations can reveal potential risk factors that would result in the loss of an employee. A third-party interviewer ensures the employee feels comfortable expressing their thoughts and feelings without fear of offending their direct manager or leader. At the end of the day, if you\u2019re not actively recruiting your […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":202,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[4028],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/45880"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/202"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=45880"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/45880\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":46109,"href":"https:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/45880\/revisions\/46109"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=45880"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=45880"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=45880"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}