Building a strong, employee-centric company culture is key to attracting top talent. “75% of job seekers consider a company’s culture before applying for a job with them” while 56% consider company culture to be of more importance than salary, Forbes reports. 76% of workers also say a positive work environment allows them to work more productively and efficiently. It also increases retention rates — 62% of employees say toxic company culture is the main reason they left their last job.
By following ways to build an employee-centric company culture — one that puts people first —, you can increase employee engagement, productivity, and loyalty and, ultimately, build a business people want to work for.
Prioritize Employee Wellbeing
Employee well-being is at the heart of a strong employee-centric company culture. When employees are happy at work, they become more engaged, efficient, and productive. Engaged employees have been proven to be 21% more profitable, as well as 41% less absent, a survey by Gallup found. Turnover rates are also slashed by 59%.
Additionally, nearly 90% of employees at companies that support wellbeing initiatives are more likely to recommend that business as a good place to work to others. So, a simple yet effective way to prioritize employee well-being at your organization is to offer employees flexible working hours — the ability to choose where, when, and the hours they work.
Flexible work hours reduce stress and burnout, improve job satisfaction, and help promote a healthy work-life balance among employees. “Flexible working can also reduce absence rates and allows employees to manage disability and long-term health conditions, as well as supporting their mental health and stress”, a recent report from the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development reveals. Similarly, providing enough paid time off is also crucial for employee well-being.
Paid time off is a great way to thank and reward employees for their hard work and loyalty. It essentially helps ensure employees feel valued, therefore encouraging them to stay at your business for longer.
Ensure Workplace Safety
Workplace safety plays a key role in creating a safe, secure, and uplifting environment for employees. 81% of workers consider their physical safety to be extremely important to them, yet only 58% think their safety is extremely important to their employer.
When employees feel safe and secure at work, they’re able to perform at their best and ultimately make the company culture stronger. So, provide employees with comprehensive safety training tailored to their roles.
For training to be successful, you need to first consider the most relevant and applicable safety topics for your employees. Here, it’s important to abide by any legally mandated safety regulations that may exist for your industry.
Professional accrediting agencies may also provide safety training materials you can use. Training sessions may be provided on a weekly, monthly, or ongoing basis, depending on your goals. Just remember: consistency in your safety messaging is key for reinforcing key points and aiding information retention. So, use similar language each time you communicate a certain safety point.
Efficient safety training can ultimately keep workplace accidents and injuries at bay. There were 2.6 million nonfatal workplace injuries and illnesses in the U.S. in 2021, a 1.8% decrease from 2020, recent data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reveals. Slips, trips, and falls, in particular, account for as many as one-third of employee accidents, with broken bones, head, back, and neck injuries, pulled muscles, cuts, and sprains being the most common resulting injuries.
Traumatic brain injuries (TBIs) are a particular concern, with around 2.8 million people sustaining a TBI every year. Survivors of TBIs usually experience serious deficits that impede their daily functioning and potentially their ability to return to work. The overall cost of TBIs is high — totalling at least $1 billion every year due to the cost of lost wages, decreased productivity, hospitalization and rehabilitation, and dependence on government aid.
TBIs, therefore often result in millions in settlements as the long-term costs of care are so high. It’s therefore important to prevent head and brain injuries in the workplace with effective safety training. Simple precautions like maintaining clear walkways free from clutter and ensuring signs are in place to alert employees to wet and slippery surfaces can make all the difference.
Listen to Your Employees
Listening to your employees is crucial when building a business people want to work for. Employees like to feel valued, respected, and that they’re proactively contributing to the success of your operations. If, on the other hand, they’re made to feel unimportant, neglected, or ignored, you’re instantly limiting their stake in your business.
So, ask your employees for regular feedback — whether that’s in one-on-one meetings or with engagement surveys. Both methods are effective at getting an idea of your team’s concerns and challenges, as well as understanding what your company is succeeding at.
Therefore, listen to your team and trust their perspective when they tell you what workplace changes need to be made for them to perform at their best. Yet, you need to do more than just listen — you also need to act on employee feedback. So, let your employees know what actions you’re going to take in response to their concerns.
Some improvements may be able to be implemented immediately, while others may require more time. Keep employees up-to-date with the status of current changes being made via emails, company apps, or meetings, for example. And, if you receive employee feedback that you can’t act upon, don’t just ignore it. Explain to your employees you value their perspective, and detail exactly why action isn’t feasible here. You can also provide an alternative solution to demonstrate you still hear and care about your employee’s concerns.
Building an employee-centric company culture can improve employee engagement, productivity, and loyalty. By prioritizing employee wellbeing, highlighting workplace safety, and listening to your employees, you can build a thriving business people want to work for.
