People Culture
Article by: Sara Pantaleo
Do you have a people culture in your workplace?
Fostering a people culture helps organisations succeed.
What does people culture mean?
As Peter Drucker put it, ‘Culture eats strategy for breakfast’. He did not mean that strategy is unimportant, rather that a powerful and empowering culture is a surer route to organisational success.
People culture means that employees perform from a value-based lens. They feel valued and empowered and have a sense of belonging. Employees seek workplaces where they can intertwine their beliefs with those of the organisation and work together on a shared vision of purpose and success.
Leaders successful in building people culture unite the team around a common cause. Help align to the vision, purpose and goals of the organisation.
How do you create a people culture in your organisation?
In today’s workplace environment, people would rather forego a fancy title and higher salary and not work in a bad workplace environment. Employees care about whether companies foster environments where they can be themselves and positively impact society. Today’s workforce wants to know that they’re making a difference within their companies.
Leaders can take action by listening and allowing employees to speak up when they don’t agree with an organisation’s activities or work on projects they are passionate about. Let the team lead in their expertise and empower them with the ability to make decisions.
Create opportunities for employees to strengthen relationships and team building by having social gathering spots around the office. Encourage recognition and feedback at all levels and build trust with open communication.
Encourage employees to examine or reconsider how their role ties back to the greater organisational purpose.
Being authentic and transparent is also essential to enable communication in the workplace and ensure that everyone participates.
Creating a people culture involves selecting a series of values that define the organisation’s products and services represented. Then, as a leader, you need to encourage those values in your employees’ everyday behaviours.
Have regular conversations which help people know where they can improve and what actions are most important to the businesses’ overarching mission and goals.
Feedback sessions help all parties clarify whether employees are content with what they’re doing and align with the organisation’s values.
Recognition and praise are essential parts of fostering a positive work environment and showing people they are valued. Therefore, it’s crucial to give detailed feedback and be genuinely grateful for the employee’s strengths and accomplishments.
Flexible working environment
More and more people today enjoy flexible work schedules and working from home.
Some ways you can encourage balance at the workplace include:
- Onsite daycare
- Paid time off
- Lunchtime yoga classes
- Gym discounts
- Formal work-from-home arrangements
Anything you can do to help employees make their day-to-day schedules less stressful will message that you value and appreciate them as people. The result should be happier, more productive staff.
So, creating a people culture takes alignment of all stakeholders, owners, management, and employees. Ensure employee voices are heard, recognise employees, have genuine one-on-one meetings, align employees to company purpose and success, provide honest real-time feedback. Finally, the organisation’s leaders embody a culture that values its people and employees and walks the talk.