With digital nomadism, entrepreneurship, and home-based endeavors on the rise, companies today need to offer more than just fancy offices and brand-new laptops to their workers if they plan to inspire and retain their loyalty. In fact, earning employee loyalty and trust has become a challenge more difficult to overcome than ever before, with companies failing to boost retention due to their competitors, but also internal issues. One of the key reasons so many workers hurry towards new work opportunities includes the office culture of their current employers.
For startups, this is an issue that is even more vital than other, less-competitive companies out there. Startups need to represent that innovative edge, and they need to do so in more ways than one. In addition to offering a unique service or product, they also need to create their culture in the spirit of innovation, belonging, and team spirit. Investing more effort into creating, cultivating, and refining a positive work culture in your startup is more than essential, and here are a few reasons to keep you on the right track.
Reduce employee turnover
One of the main issues startups face nowadays revolves around keeping their workforce happy and devoted. With so many employment opportunities out there, competitors poaching your workers under your very nose, and limited funds at your disposal, your culture becomes your greatest asset in ensuring loyalty when your salary isn’t enough.
After all, modern-day employees are often more interested in the kind of environment they’ll work in as opposed to filling their bank accounts while they feel abused, overworked and burnt out. Research confirms this idea, as a study has shown that 56% of workers will put culture above salary when choosing their employment. You want to make sure employees stay by your side? Invest more in building your startup culture.
Attract top talent
Your idea may have been the catalyst behind your startup, but it’s certainly not the only, or even the most essential ingredient for its success. The complex interplay between different factors often has startup owners forget about the culture and its impact on startup success. Absolutely, your ability to source and impress investors, your negotiation skills, your expertise, all of these factors help you become the success that you are. However, your employees will make or break your business based on how proud they are to work under your wing. Will they recommend you as a good employer? Will they send qualified, talented people your way?
Employee reviews have become the standard by which brands earn the attention and interest of top talent, and businesses such as PostcardMania exemplify how the use of these public reviews can make all the difference. Their hiring decisions paired with their employee treatment inspire employees to feel proud to belong to that particular brand and that team. Consequently, they’ll gladly boast the brand’s culture online, and when the time comes for any potential employee to research the business, they’ll come across words of praise. Isn’t that precisely what you want, exceptional people eager to work along your side?
Improve services and productivity
Sure, high-quality equipment such as the latest laptops, the finest printers, the most advanced graphic design gadgets, and the most cutting-edge software all play a role in how you run your business and how seamlessly your office works. However, if your employees are unhappy on Monday mornings, take their breaks eager to escape their work, and stare at the clock to strike number five on Fridays, you have a more important problem on your hands.
In all fairness, few offices can be as exciting as Google’s, but you can do so much to improve the atmosphere and the mood of your workplace. When you do that, you’ll be surprised how the productivity of your team will increase naturally, with no interventions needed. People who thrive at the office, feel appreciated and valued, and people who genuinely enjoy the work they do will gladly do it well. As a result, your products and services will only get better, and your team will be proud of the work they do, allowing them to give it their best every time they come to the office simply by enabling them to love their job and the environment in which they perform their tasks.
Build your business reputation
One of your most valued assets and a notion that’s too easy to overlook when building a business, your startup’s reputation heavily depends on the kind of culture you establish. Of course, most businesses will focus on the service or product they create, as this particular segment will also play a huge role in how the target market and potential investors perceive your business. In the same manner, your company culture, how you treat your employees, the kinds of relationships you foster, and the atmosphere you enable will ultimately form the public opinion, as well.
Any startup needs to work hard to earn its reputation as one of being professional, trustworthy, and innovative. However, being all of that fails in comparison to being a member of the community, and a business that puts its people first. If you achieve to do that, and you can do so only with the right mindset in your office, you will build the kind of reputation that will become your legacy as much as your unique offer does.
Startups fail for many different reasons, from poor financing opportunities, overwhelming competition, all the way to a lack of innovation. Don’t let the lack of company culture wreak havoc on your startup and its success. Build and establish your business purpose among your team members, nurture their bonds, and you’ll slowly create a culture of belonging and encouragement that will only add to your success.
Infographic Provided by Halock Security Labs
