Business culture consists of the sum of employees’ values, principles, and attitudes. It also includes the work environment and workspaces. Conventional work environments are highly structured and organized and are characterized by rules and procedures, while more creative environments are unsystematic and emphasize freedom of expression. Some use a team-based approach, while others do not. Workspaces range from cubicles to office space, and now, many are working remotely from home.

The first step to increasing employee retention is to articulate your company’s culture using an assessment tool. Establishing a cross-functional focus team, unpack the findings of the data, and identify gaps of misalignment. For example, your assessment data indicates a culture of employees who are creative; innovative; and have a strong sense of self and what’s true and important in life. Yet, the leadership is strong in rules and processes. People sit in cubicles and there is little interaction with other departments in the organization. This misalignment leads to employees being disengaged, unsatisfied, and producing poor quality work. Therefore, it is necessary to create the core values of the organization that define the company culture.

Next, review the company’s vision and goals and make adjustments as needed. Then, align the culture to the vision and goals. This is where the focus team builds an action plan to implement necessary changes in the culture. Many times, employees are not familiar with the company vision and goals, and developing and implementing a plan to communicate them helps the culture to shift.

Once satisfied that culture and company vision and goals are aligned, move to align all other systems and processes. For employees that fit well with the culture and share the beliefs and values of the company, job performance and retention will increase.

For more information on building a culture to increase retention, contact www.deliverworkforce.com or kathy@deliverworkforce.com.

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