Understanding Positive Company Culture – Rising Above Dysfunction

How many entrepreneurs focus on meeting the needs of their employees? Oftentimes, business owners let stress, frustration, greed, anger, control, manipulation, and blame guide their actions towards their team members and often receive the same in return. Rather than creating a safe, positive work environment, owners accidentally create a culture of fear and dysfunction. However, by understanding what motivates people, business owners can create a positive company culture that increases the overall value of their businesses.

Podcast Time Index for “How to Build the Best Company to Work For: Part 2”

00:26 – How to Build the Best Company to Work For: Part 2
01:21 – The Iceberg of Ignorance
03:31 – Organisational Awareness
04:55 – Survival
06:15 – Relationships
06:42 – Self Esteem
07:46 – Transformation
08:40 – Internal Cohesion
09:43 – Making a Difference
10:34 – Level of Service
11:02 – Why this Matters
14:18 – Cultural Entropy
15:04 – Closing

According to professional services company Aon Hewitt, “The best companies to work for engender high levels of employee engagement and commitment because the leaders of these organizations focus on meeting employees’ basic needs and satisfying their growth needs. They focus on helping their employees feel happy and fulfilled.”

Commitment Through Positive Culture

So what exactly is company culture? According to The Balance Careers, “Company culture is the personality of a company. It defines the environment in which employees work. Company culture includes a variety of elements, including work environment, company mission, value, ethics, expectations, and goals.” Depending on your particular situation, either you are influencing your company’s culture from the top down, or you are allowing employees to affect your culture from the bottom up. Either way, your company’s culture is either positive or negative.

The Importance of Positive Company Culture

It is a fact of life, the people that come in contact with your customers affect how they feel about your company. If your attitude or your employees’ attitudes are negative, it can be a stain on your business. On the other hand, your team exudes a healthy and happy company environment, that will not be missed to your customers, vendors, suppliers, and others. These people will want to work with your business. How, then, do you build a positive culture that meets employee needs in such a way to get them to think beyond themselves? How do you get them to feel and take pride in both themselves and in your company? Well, you need to meet their basic needs AND their existential needs. Let me explain.

#1. Meet Employees’ Basic Needs:

To create a positive company culture, you must first meet your employees’ basic needs.

• Provide employees with financial stability – Guarantee paychecks. Don’t work from survival mode where employees fear having their paychecks bounce. Provide them steady, regular, guaranteed pay that meets their personal financial needs.
• Promote harmonious relationships – Next, greet team members warmly and speak respectfully to them to foster warm, harmonious relationships company-wide. Meet their needs by giving them something great to be a part of.
• Train employees to excel in and be proud of what they do – Meet employees’ needs for self-fulfillment by training them to be excellent at their jobs.

If employees’ basic needs are met, they will most likely continue to work for your company. However, you must meet more than their basic needs to instill a sense of loyalty within your team members.

#2. Meet Employees’ Existential Needs:

To create the type of company culture that instills loyalty in its team members, you must meet your employees’ existential needs.

• Renew and transform your employees – Give your team members more than a paycheck. Help them see beyond themselves.  Offer them chances to improve their skills so they can make the business better than it has been. Empower them to participate in company decision making and goal setting.
• Build an internal community – Inspire employees’ commitment to your company by sharing your vision and values with them. Give them a sense of purpose, fun, and team spirit.
• Give employees a chance to make a difference – Form strategic alliances with community organizations, congregations, sports teams, etc. so your team members can be a part of making a difference in your company’s community.
• Offer employees the chance to serve their communities – Alliances are one thing, the chance to serve is another. To meet the most deep-rooted of your employees’ needs, give them a chance to serve others in their communities through your company’s activities.

Your Company’s Overall Culture

So, think about your current culture. Do your employees care only for their own interests or do they think about the good of the company when they make decisions? Where does their loyalty lie? Do they work for a paycheck or for something higher than their own needs?

What about you? Are you so worried about your own financial gain that you’re ignoring the financial needs of your employees? Are you in business for yourself without any thought of taking care of your team members basic human needs? Do you worry about employee retention and longevity, or do you expect employees to act in their own best interests?

Is your company full of fear, dysfunction, and negative energy, or is it full of harmony, service, and positive energy?

If reading these questions has you worried, keep in mind these are common issues that can be fixed. In the following articles, starting with ideas for investing in employee’s professional growth, we will be dealing with these complex people allowing you to transform your company’s culture. 

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