If you want your startup business to succeed, it is vital to cater to millennials, now the largest generation in the American workforce, according to Pew Research Center. Professionals born between 1980 and 1996 crave engagement at their jobs, and if they aren’t satisfied, they’ll leave, 2016 Gallup research shows. Fortune Magazine reports that leaders of the top 100 best companies to work for in the United States cite culture as their most important tool to achieving success. By showing employees you value their work-life balance, giving them opportunities to learn and grow in their careers and recognizing their good work and rewarding it with fun activities at the office, a company culture thrives and motivates employees to produce better work and stay at your business.
Happier employees are 12 percent more productive, too, according to 2014 research by the University of Warwick. Decreased stress leads to less time off due to illness or accidents, as the Harvard Business Review reports that 60 to 80 percent of workplace accidents are caused by stress. Moreover, high-pressure companies spend more than two times the amount on healthcare costs than other businesses.
Taking all these factors into consideration, here is how to make your business culture stand out to those searching for jobs and how to sustain it for those who work for you.
Show off on Your Careers Page and Social Networks
Give potential candidates a glimpse of what they can expect from your company culture through the descriptions and imagery throughout your website, especially your careers page, and social networks. Write in a voice that conveys the personality of your company. Display your mission statement on your website. Create a video that gives a tour of the office. A great example of this is Toms shoes. Its homepage features the slogan “one for one” prominently, showing off its goal of donating a pair of shoes for every pair that is bought.
Include testimonials from staff about why they are passionate about working for your company. Photos of smiling faces provide evidence your business is an attractive place to work for. You can share content about your culture on everything from your Facebook profile to your LinkedIn page. If you’re looking for a good example of what to include, Amway posts updates about the company on its LinkedIn page. Posts cover everything from pictures of new employees to information about new products to trips its team leaders take.
Provide Training and Development at Work
Jobs are no longer only ways to make money for today’s employees. To stay engaged, employees require learning opportunities that help them add to their skill repertoire. This benefits your business as training enhances your employees’ competence and creativity. The Gallup poll found that 87 percent of millennials say on-the-job development is crucial to increasing their loyalty and stimulation at work.
Ways to implement development range widely and include:
- Department-wide enrollment in online courses related to the profession
- Cross-department training to improve how employees understand and work with each other
- Company-wide training on skills that benefit the whole workplace, such as interpersonal communication or conflict management
Your business could employ a training professional to conduct lessons or send out a casting call for employees to lead training sessions for each other, which might make the learning more meaningful.
Respect Employees as Humans, Not Just Workers
A company culture that chains employees to desks and doesn’t recognize personal needs is draining and restrictive. Employees who feel like they are able to fulfill their familial duties or personal passions while still working full-time for you will be more engaged when they’re at work. Ways to improve a work-life balance at your business include:
- Provide childcare benefits and maternity and paternity leave
- Offer incentives for prioritizing health, such as a paid gym membership
- Partner with local businesses to get discounts for your employees on services such as auto repair or massages
One of the best things you can do to improve the work-life balance of your staff is to offer flexibility in hours worked, whether that means allowing them to set up their own schedule throughout the week or work remotely part of the time or when needed. A 2014 study by telecommuting job site FlexJobs found that 74 percent of people say work-life balance is affected by the flexibility of their work hours. The ability to work remotely at least part of the time decreases stress related to commutes and family or personal obligations. Working from a home office may also increase productivity for some employees.
Company culture can constantly be improved upon, so it’s a good idea to periodically survey your current employees about what is working and what is needed. When you involve your employees in creating the culture themselves, they’ll be more likely to support it and be invested in it.
