How Does Organizational Culture Develop that Retain Talent

If you're like most business owners and managers, you sometimes struggle with effective ways to attract and retain talent . In a bustli...

If you're like most business owners and managers, you sometimes struggle with effective ways to attract and retain talent. In a bustling economy, skilled workers have the ability to call the majority of the shots as they pick and choose from a wide array of employers. Even in a lukewarm economy, companies don't really benefit from having employees who stick around simply because comparable jobs are scarce. In fact, these employees are invariably the first ones to jump ship when the job market warms up, especially if they've gotten the sense from higher-ups that they can be easily replaced due to a competitive job market. In this article will discuss in detailed how is organizational culture formed that attracts and retain talent.

Economic cycles come and go, but good employees shouldn't do the same — they're worth keeping no matter what cycle the economy is currently in.

So how do employers retain employees and keep them engaged instead of simply punching a clock and going through the motions? The first step is creating a positive company culture that makes employees feel like they are being invested in.

How Does Organizational Culture Develop that Attracts and Retain Talent

There are many ways to cultivate the type of working environment that makes employees want to stick around. Let’s dive into seven steps in creating organizational culture that will help your company to attract talent:

Make Work Meaningful

Creating and referencing a company vision statements helps keep the essential purpose of the company front and center in people's thoughts. For instance, if your company manufactures and distributes outdoor clothing and equipment, craft a statement around how outdoor experiences enhance the average person's overall quality of life. Every employee must know exactly why they are doing what they are doing. Nowadays, people have a greater necessity to be part of something that is making a difference in society.

The company’s vision must be always well-represented in all aspects of your corporate culture. Managers must be constantly communicating the “why” behind every task assigned to employees. It is important that this “why” is always aligned to the company’s vision. When employees know exactly where their efforts are going to lead increase motivation drastically.

Offer Valuable Employee Benefits

Employee benefits are another component that employees weight when deciding whether to seek the proverbial greener pastures or to stay around. In fact, 78% of employees would remain with their employers because of the benefits they provide. Valuable employee benefits can highly influence a company’s turnover rate, the attraction for new talent, and overall employee satisfaction. Many businesses struggle with putting together a benefits plan that appeals to the majority of their employees. That’s because their workforce contains significant diversity in age and lifestyle, and benefits that matter most to one demographic may seem nonessential or even superfluous to another.

Someone just starting out in the workforce, for instance, may value student loan assistance over a comprehensive retirement plan at this point in their career. Employees who have children will probably put a high priority on family leave and flexible hours.

The key to keeping a diverse employee base happy with their benefits is to provide a menu of options that allow each individual to design a customized employee benefits package around their own unique needs and preferences.

Support Employees’ Growth

Supporting employees in their career development goals is an excellent way to keep them engaged in their work. And according to one report, organizations that focus on employee engagement reduced turnover rates by 40%.

Tuition reimbursement programs, in-house mentoring, and holding constructive employee reviews on a regular basis are all good ways to support employees as they strive to climb the ladder. The goal is to make your employees feel like you are investing in them.

Keep in mind that very few people have the desire to remain at the same place throughout the course of their career, and employees may become resentful if they get the sense that their professional development simply doesn't matter to the company they work for. One of the best things you can do to retain employees is to make their personal career goals accessible by developing an organizational culture that encourages and nourishes them as they gain more skills and education

Encourage Bonding Within Employees

Work environments where gossip and other unkind behaviors run rampant are often so emotionally draining that employees fall short when it comes to productivity and engagement. You can help keep this sort of thing to a minimum by encouraging employee bonding at all levels.

For instance, supporting a local sports team is something that all employees can participate in even if they don't play a sport at all. Other bonding activities include volunteer projects, company retreats, and team-building exercises.

Team building events help promote trust among employees as well as boost overall morale — and productivity levels mirror employee morale. Your team-building events should be fun, and although they should occur with some regularity, they shouldn't happen so often they interfere with your employees' personal and family lives. Activities should also be tailored to the individual likes and personalities of each individual employee.

Embrace Flexibility

As mentioned previously, flexibility might be of primary importance to those with families, particularly when very young children are a part of the picture. However, flexibility is also valued by those of different demographics. Single millennials, for instance, may value flextime because it provides them with a greater opportunity to pursue personal interests. Seasoned employees whose children have grown up and left home may enjoy a flexible schedule for similar reasons.

Flexibility also means allowing employees to work hours that are different from the company's normal operating hours. For instance, someone may choose to begin their workday at 6:30 A.M. and end it in the early afternoon, while another may opt to begin later in the day and work until the evening. Part-time schedules are another component of flexibility that may be prized by those in certain stages of life. For instance, new parents may appreciate the opportunity to work part-time while they settle into a new routine.

Acknowledge Achievements

Recognition and rewards programs are also essential components of creating a supportive environment for employees. No one likes to feel as if they're toiling away unnoticed and unappreciated. So keep in mind that even the occasional brief word of encouragement can make a difference between an uninspired employee and one who feels a connection to the company as well as to the job.

It is not just about money. Although cash bonuses are always welcome as a way to show gratitude for optimal employee performance, they aren't the only way to provide acknowledgment for achievements and jobs well done. Public recognition is another strong driver when it comes to keeping employees striving to be their best selves. Awards ceremonies are a great way to publicly recognize employees who have delivered exemplary work, especially if you hold a formal dinner at a nice local restaurant for the festivities.

Travel is another incentive — it's not unusual for car dealerships, for instance, to send their top salesmen on fun fishing tips in exciting places such as Alaska. Many employees appreciate fun, activity-based incentives more than a few extra dollars on their paychecks.

Give Feedback

Regular feedback is another characteristic of a company that's achieved a positive organizational culture. Although it's customary for standard employee reviews to occur on an annual basis, most people perform better when they've got regular feedback that happens more often. However, it isn't necessary to do a formal review every month or so — brief conversations designed to touch base are adequate for everyone but new hires. It's important to keep in mind that this is the time to listen to any questions or concerns employees may have rather than simply giving them an overview of how their job performance measures up.

Some organizations even employ a technique known as the stay interview. Stay interviews are designed to identify what it would take to keep valued employees from looking elsewhere.

The Bottom Line

The bottom line is that there is no one-size-fits-all strategy to maximizing employee satisfaction and efficiency. Creating an optimal company culture is an ongoing process that requires constant attention and care. However, once your company hits its own specific corporate culture sweet spot, you'll begin to see so many tangible as well as intangible benefits that you won't be able to imagine having it any other way. You must follow the aforementioned steps in creating organizational culture in your company and organization.