Advanced Hires is a huge champion of improving work culture and making sure candidates and clients are a culture fit. This is because culture is often overlooked in the workplace, but is in fact one of the most important aspects of employee retention. If there isn’t a culture fit, it’s unlikely there will be longevity and growth in the relationship between employee and employer. So how can you improve your work culture? Read below to find out:
- Find out what company culture is really like: You can do this by setting up interviews and sending out surveys to current employees and asking for their honest and critical feedback about how they perceive the company culture
- Consider an anonymous survey service: This will be especially helpful for individuals who belong to historically marginalized communities, or who might not feel comfortable speaking out publicly about the culture. In this way, you’ll be able to figure out if you’re being properly inclusive and welcoming to all people.
- Evaluate the day-to-day activities: Look at the meetings, management tasks, and daily activities in the office. Are only the women in the office expected to tidy up the kitchen? Are comments from BIPOC often overlooked during meetings? Are happy hours only ever centered around drinking? These are a few ways to alienate certain employees. Make sure you’re looking at what’s happening daily in the office and adjust if you notice certain patterns that aren’t equal.
- Talk to and accept suggestions from employees: It might be worth talking to employees and getting their own thoughts and suggestions on how to improve equality or culture in the workplace. Don’t just take into account people in leadership roles; it’s important that everyone feels welcome and included in the office no matter what their salary might be. Create an open dialogue with employees and then actually listen to them when they give ideas.
- Be flexible: Especially during these hard and uncertain times it’s important to be flexible with employees on things like PTO, flex hours, and sick time. Remote work, or part-time remote work are also ways companies can be flexible and increase employee happiness and the overall work culture.