Creating an office culture where people want to work
How is that for a big topic?! Office culture - described as the social operating system that influences how people work and how an organization interacts with its employees, customers, and community - is critical to an organization’s ability to attract, retain, and develop top talent. In a recent Glassdoor study, employees listed culture among the top reasons they stay with their current employer or look for another job.
But what do we mean when we say “workplace culture?” Researchers from the MIT Sloan School of Management and CultureX identified 10 elements of culture employees care most about. The top four - feeling respected; having supportive leadership; whether leaders’ actions align with core values; whether managers foster a toxic work environment - all touch upon the critical role that people managers play in defining and reinforcing office culture. In order to dive into the topic of workplace culture in a tangible way, we’re going to focus on the critical role of people managers.
So what can we do to prepare people managers to support the development of a positive workplace culture? First and perhaps most importantly, don’t assume they know that this is a part of their job or that they know how to do it. I often see organizational culture take a hit when high individual performers are promoted to management positions without preparation or ongoing support. They end up struggling to motivate and lead their teams, resulting in burnout and loss of talent. Organizations need to be intentional about culture, connecting the words in their values to the behaviors of their leaders to their HR policies and procedures, all the way to the expectations and training of their new (and existing) managers.
You now may be wondering, if managers are key to org culture, what kind of training and support will make a difference? Here are some ideas to get you started:
Align on values - ensure your managers truly understand the why behind your org values, what they look like in action, and how to model them each day.
Emphasize purpose - employees want to feel connected to something greater than themselves, and managers can make this tangible by linking their daily work to the organization’s mission, strategic goals, and impact.
Ensure effective check-ins - prepare your managers to run one-to-one check-ins with their employees by providing an agenda template, training them on how to implement two-way feedback, and modeling accountability.
Enable employee growth - train your managers on the pathways and resources available within your organization to support professional development opportunities for their team members.
Personalize recognition - guide your managers in identifying meaningful ways to appreciate and recognize their team members’ contributions in ways that reinforce your organization’s culture and performance standards.
Intentionally naming and training your managers on these topics will give them a strong kickstart as effective ambassadors of your workplace culture. However, the work doesn’t stop there or with them. Organizational leaders need to model these behaviors in their work with their people managers if they expect their team members to continue to uphold them. And organizational leaders need to appreciate - through internal recognition programs and performance evaluations - the efforts of their people managers if they truly want a positive organizational culture to “stick.”
