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Motivated and committed employees are one of the most important resources for the long-term success of an organization. That's why great employers invest in their employees and their workplace culture over the long term. But how exactly do they promote an excellent workplace culture? To take a closer look at an organization's HR and culture work, Great Place To Work® Switzerland analyzes the 9 design fields of a successful workplace culture as part of the Employee Culture Journey. In this article, we would like to show you a few particularly good best practices from organizations we have worked with and inspire you to get creative yourself.
Employee Culture Journey: The journey is the destination
As the name suggests, the Employee Culture Journey describes all the measures and processes that an employee goes through during their journey in an organization - starting with the first job interview. These processes can be divided into 9 design fields and in turn three core areas of a successful workplace culture: "Building a strong team" (Integrate, Celebrate, Involve), "Achieve goals better" (Inspire, Inform, Listen) and "Encourage best performance" (Recognize, Develop, Care). The focus is always on trust in employees as the basis for a positive culture. However, there are no guidelines for perfect implementation. The important thing is to constantly work on the processes so that the organizational culture remains positive and is actively lived.
In the following, we would like to show a few particularly nice examples of organizations we have worked with (for reasons of confidentiality, these will of course remain anonymous). You can read these examples as great stories or as a source of inspiration to get creative and develop your own workplace culture.
Adjustment
Before new employees can be introduced into an existing organizational culture, they must first be recruited. Recruiting is an important milestone in the development of an organizational culture. This is because it is here that it is decided whether the candidates fit into the organization at all on the basis of their personal values and can therefore identify with the existing organizational culture.
A major retailer in the textile sector proves that this cultural fit can also be discovered through play. It asks candidates specific questions about their organizational culture using a quiz. Candidates are only invited if there is a fit between the answers and the organizational culture. In this way, the retailer wants to ensure that potential new employees fit in with the organization and, conversely, that their personal values fit in with the organization and, conversely, whether they can identify with the existing organizational culture.
Integrate
In the event that the cultural fit and professional skills of the applicant fit and the employment contract has been signed, the next, perhaps even most important step on the new employee's cultural journey is the welcome and integration into the organization and the new team. Integration should be designed in such a way that new employees feel comfortable and part of their team and the entire organization.
In order to stimulate interesting conversations between new employees and their team members and colleagues from other departments as quickly as possible, a small company operating in the IT sector (Rackspace Switzerland) has created the 10 Things list. This list contains 10 interesting facts about the person, which should serve as an "icebreaker" for conversations with the new team. In this way, new employees can approach other team members (and vice versa) and pick up on a topic from the 10 Things list.
Inspire
However, once new employees have settled into their working environment, their integration into the organizational culture does not end there. It is important to inspire employees again and again and to show them the value of their work in general and also in relation to the overall success of the company. One effective and easy-to-implement measure is "positive gossip".
For example, the employees of a food company share positive gossip about their day-to-day work before every meeting. This can be work-related (e.g. discussing a successful presentation) or organization-related (e.g. a funny situation from last week's virtual team aperitif). The aim is to set a positive mood for the following meeting and highlight the valuable contributions made by employees to the success of the organization as a whole.
Informing and listening
Similar to the design field described above, but with a slightly different focus, "informing" and "listening" are about promoting open and transparent communication within the entire organization. To this end, it is important to share both good and bad information with all employees. This could be company updates, for example, in which the new business strategy is presented. No less important is the promotion of an active feedback culture. Feedback from individuals can help to answer questions from everyone or improve existing processes. Employees should therefore be regularly informed about events and their input should be taken into account and actively involved in decisions.
A medium-sized company in the media industry (Jobcloud AG) has launched the "Meet-the-CEO-Lunch". Employees are invited to lunch with the CEO every three months. Ten employees at a time can register voluntarily for the lunch. In this informal setting, the CEO provides information on current topics, answers questions from participants and receives feedback.
Recognize
However, giving feedback does not only have to be done on a formal, substantive level. Feedback on an informal, emotional level - for example by saying thank you and showing appreciation - is just as important. And not just between managers and employees, but also among employees.
To promote this peer-to-peer recognition, a medium-sized company in the pharmaceutical sector has introduced the thank-you tree. The thank-you tree stands in the entrance area and is decorated with compliments from employees to their colleagues. The appreciation is thus visible to everyone and the compliments are handed over to the relevant people after a few weeks.
Develop
While recognition acknowledges past efforts that have already been made, development is aimed at the future. This is because another form of recognition and an important area of the Employee Culture Journey is the further development of employees.
In order to promote and focus on the further development of all employees, a market leader in the beverage sector has launched the "May is for Mentoring" program. In May, each manager makes one day of their time available for mentoring, which employees can book in one-hour blocks. As the idea was so successful, it was repeated after a short time. The motto "May is for Mentoring" will probably have to be extended to other months in future.
Show care
We spend a large part of our time at work. It is therefore very important to maintain a work-life balance with our private lives.
A large furniture manufacturer is taking an exciting approach and has come up with a program that aims to increase not only the work-life balance but also internal diversity and equality between men and women. This company offers the "Maternity and Paternity as a Master" course for expectant mothers and fathers. In this workshop, future parents are prepared for the new phase of their lives and are also encouraged to bring their new skills, such as resilience and time management, into the workplace.
Celebrate
In addition to the birth of children, there are of course always reasons in organizations to celebrate and strengthen the culture. These may be business milestones, birthdays or anniversaries.
To combine the celebration of milestones with a pinch of fun, a small IT company rings a cowbell to mark successes. This is not a digital button, but a real cowbell! It can be rung by employees so that everyone knows about positive news. However, the cowbell has been digitized a little, as it is also available on the intranet in the Good News Channel, so that everyone who was not in the office can hear the bell ringing symbolically.
Participate
Communicating and celebrating good news within the company is essential. But if you look beyond your own organization, there is also great news that can come from outside and is just as much a part of the employee culture journey.
In a medium-sized pharmaceutical company, all employees have the opportunity to spend one day a year with a patient whose life has been positively influenced by treatment with the company's products. These encounters motivate employees and at the same time demonstrate their own contribution to the common good.
In addition to an organization's contribution to society, it is of course important to focus on its own employees. This can also include financial appreciation.
As a sign of trust and appreciation, an organization in the financial sector thanks long-standing employees with shares in the company. In this way, they show that they are grateful for the work they have done and that they believe in the success of their company. Specifically, each employee receives 5 company shares on their 5th anniversary, or 10 company shares on their 10th anniversary, and every 5 years thereafter employees can choose between a further 5 company shares or a selection of other gifts.
A positive organizational culture must be actively shaped, lived and, if necessary, improved
These are just a few of the cool, inspiring and creative stories from organizations we've worked with. Of course, there are many more ways to integrate new employees, communicate successfully and gather feedback, show appreciation, celebrate successes, etc. Above all, these best practices should encourage you to implement creative ideas and inputs that suit your organization.
Some measures may not be equally feasible or even suitable for all organizations. But they don't have to be! The important thing is to think about your own employee culture journey, actively work on it, regularly question programs and processes and, if necessary, adapt them. In this way, a positive organizational culture can be actively shaped and continuously developed.
