4 ways to continuously improve your companys culture
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CHERICO ESTATE
CHERICO REAL ESTATE
718-653-2699
ONX, NY
BRONX TIMES R 30 EPORTER, JAN. 8-14, 2021 BTR
BY JASON COHEN
As COVID-19 deaths are
rising again, businesses
are closing and struggling
and many people are at
wits end, some are looking
for a glimmer of hope during
these dark times.
The Throggs Neck
Business Improvement District
(BID) recently planted
a tree in front of Randall
Ave. and East Tremont and
on Jan. 16, will dedicate it
to fi rst responders. Bobby
Jaen, executive director
of the BID, told the Bronx
Times there will be
a plaque made for
the site and this was
important for him
to do.
He also thanked
Councilman Mark
Gjonaj and the Parks
Department for assisting
in the process.
“It’s just a way of
saying thank you,”
he stressed. “Hopefully
the tree will
grow with the neighborhood.”
BY ENERGAGE
Driving an intentional
culture year-round
One thing most Top Workplaces
have in common is a
clear commitment to supporting
and sustaining workplace
culture year-round. These companies
don’t just check off the
engagement box once a year.
They make continuous culture
improvement a daily priority.
Leaders at these successful
organizations work to know
what drives their culture, listen
to what their employees are
telling them, take action to improve,
promote their strengths
— and then they start again.
Four phases of continuous
culture improvement
Building an intentional culture
requires more than an annual
survey snapshot. To truly
move the needle on culture, we
suggest these four steps:
1. Measure and benchmark
your culture
To get an accurate picture
of your current culture, survey
the people who know your organization
best — your employees.
With so many survey providers
claiming they have the right
measurement tools, how do
you fi nd one that’s accurate, research
proven, and actionable?
Here’s what to look for:
Start to fi nish, the process
is quick, and the statements are
scientifi cally sound.
Employee responses remain
anonymous to encourage open,
honest feedback.
Data visualization clearly
and accurately identify your
culture strengths and focus areas.
Comparative analytics that
goes beyond simple industry
benchmarks.
2. Use feedback to listen
and connect with employees
A survey is a great start, but
it’s taking action that matters.
Once you know what drives
your culture, you’re ready to
dive deeper to understand the
root issues. First, listen to your
employees — explore their responses
and offer opportunities
to expand on their feedback.
Second, use your strategy to
connect while ensuring alignment.
The right strategy will involve:
Thanking employees and
creating a custom follow-up for
more input.
Making sure every manager
and team lead gets results for
their team.
Sharing local results with
every employee to inspire further
insight.
Connecting successful
teams and managers to people
who can learn from them.
Using survey results to help
consider culture in every leadership
conversation.
3. Take action to engage
and grow
You have your data and you
know the thought that went
into it. Now, it’s time to act — or
even more effectively — let employees
act. It’s their feedback
that started this journey, so empower
them to move everyone
forward.
This is the fun part, really.
Employees get to solve their own
problems, stretch their skills,
and unleash their potential.
They’ll be glad for the opportunity
to improve the organization.
You’ll see better results —
and more engaged employees!
To improve your culture and
performance, make sure to:
Start all action at the front
line, only escalating topics that
can’t be handled at that level.
Seek and empower passionate
employees, no matter their
role.
Make it easy to visibly track
action and celebrate success.
Keep doing what works,
but make a plan to re-evaluate
later.
Enforce win-win solutions
across the company; anything
that isn’t working for one group
soon won’t work for others.
4. Celebrate the good
and showcase your culture
strengths
Once you know where your
culture stands, you’ve identifi ed
focus areas, and you’ve acted
using this intelligence, it’s time
to celebrate the good and showcase
what makes your organization
unique. Why do this? It will
help differentiate your organization.
As a result, you’ll stand
out from the competition and attract
the right talent.
To highlight your culture
strengths:
Compete for recognition as
a Top Workplace or employer of
choice.
Celebrate culture “wins”
with your employees to build
pride and motivation for even
better connection.
Highlight specifi c culture
strengths identifi ed by your
survey and verifi ed by a third
party.
To sum things up, building
an intentional culture requires
more than an annual survey.
It necessitates organizations
to commit to discovering their
full culture potential. But most
importantly, they sustain, support,
and celebrate that culture
every single day.
Nominate your company as
a New York City Top Workplace
at amny.com/nominate. Laura
Brinton is content marketing director
at Energage, a Philadelphia
based research and consulting
fi rm that surveyed more than
2 million employees at more than
7,500 organizations in 2019. Energage
is the research partner for
Top Workplaces.
/nominate