Most assume that a culture is something you’re born into or something that already exists. In most cases, culture is thought about in terms of different countries and the customs that occur in those countries. However, culture is something a little bit more complex. Culture is the beliefs and values of an organization, which then sets the behavior of individuals within an environment. Examples of culture can be seen in nearly every setting, whether in a school, a home, and especially an office. In other words, culture is more than simply the customers of the country in which you were born—it is something that can be created.
Office culture can play a role in how the employees act and think and are a major factor in how the office conducts itself. For employers and managers trying to create a positive work environment, understanding shared values and beliefs are a critical step towards promoting healthy culture.
How to Create Culture in Your Office
Creating an office culture is no easy feat. However, many companies have successfully created a culture that allows them to promote healthy ideals and beliefs. The following are some tips for managers that are trying to foster culture within their own offices:
- Understand the Environment
Creating a healthy office culture takes more than just providing benefits and company parties. In order to develop an office culture, leaders need to understand the forces within the office. One important way to understand your work environment is to talk to your employees and staff. Get an idea of their individual values and beliefs and what they expect out of a workplace. In addition, communicating with employees can help managers understand what motivates and drives them to succeed. Gauging perspectives and ideals will allow managers to create a culture with the employees in mind.
- Goals and Workplace
What are your main goals of creating an office environment? Some offices try to promote fun and creativity, while others focus on efficiency and productivity. Creating an office environment to complement these values will play a major role in fostering culture. For example, an office that strives to promote creativity may want to place paintings, statues or whiteboards around the office. For an office that places value in collaboration, having open work spaces may have more of a positive effect than cubicles. In other words, creating a balance between values and environment can play a major role in your quest to create a culture.
- Create a Plan
Once employers have gained an idea of the values and goals they want to promote, they need to follow up with executable actions. How can the office go about creating a culture that will demonstrate their values to employees and others? Depending on the goals, offices can hold parties, staff-wide meetings, or mixers in order to create a culture. In addition, managers can create other events that will allow employees to further interact with others.
- Engage your Staff
Creating office culture should not be a task solely for managers and employers—the employees of a company absolutely play a major role. Allow employees to contribute ideas for parties, mixers, or other events that can be held within an office. In addition, larger companies can create social groups and events for employees with similar interests.
- Set a Balance
Many offices want to create a culture that will promote creativity, collaboration and fun. However, it is important to keep in mind that achieving these values should not be at the expense of productivity and work performance. If an office focuses too much on fun, team-building exercises, they may lose track of the overall goals of the company. Therefore, when promoting office culture, it is important to maintain a balance between various ideals.
A healthy culture can provide advantages for the employees working in the office. By building camaraderie and team spirit, managers can foster a culture where employees work effectively together. Finally, creating a strong office culture will promote loyalty and motivation; thus inspiring your employees to do their absolute best.
Amanda DiSilvestro is a writer on topics ranging from social media to document management. She writes for an online resource that gives advice on topics including toll free numbers to small businesses and entrepreneurs for the leading business directory, Business.com.
