THE ESSENTIAL GUIDE TO DEVELOPING A
POSITIVE WORKPLACE CULTURE
CONTENTS 06 20 26
Understanding Workplace Culture
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The Sodexo Approach
What a Great Culture Can Do for a Business Tools for Building a Successful Culture
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WHAT MAKES A GOOD WORKPLACE CULTURE? We all know about the companies that are supposed to have one – the colourful office, the endless holiday time, the beanbags, table football and rooftop gardens.
But is a colourful environment the same as a great culture? In fact, if you scratch off the PR sheen of some of the more glamorous workplaces, will you find engaged employees? Because that’s what a good workplace culture should really be about – making people happy, engaged and part of something bigger. In this ebook, we’ll explore what it means to have a truly positive workplace culture, what that culture can do for an organisation, and the tools that can be used to develop or maintain one – one that recognises and rewards employees to improve performance, retention and engagement, rather than one that looks good on the surface, but fails employees on a day-to-day basis. We’ve also gathered the expertise of some of our incentive and recognition specialists, and surveyed 1,000 of the UK’s workersi, to really get to the bottom of what a good culture means, and how it works.
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UNDERSTANDING WORKPLACE CULTURE 6
WHAT WORKPLACE CULTURE REALLY MEANS A workplace culture isn’t something you buy or create out of nowhere – your organisation definitely has one already. Whether it’s a good or bad one is another matter altogether.
WORKPLACE CULTURE IS THE CHARACTER AND PERSONALITY OF YOUR WORKPLACE, IT’S HOW YOUR EXPECTATIONS COME ACROSS, AND IT’S IN EVERYTHING. Boiled down, your culture is how your people behave and engage with your business and your customers, each and every day. Many articles on the best companies to work for will focus on the actual workplace itself – the décor and the quirky features. And while this stuff does matter, there’s so much more to it. We’ve picked out nine factors that we truly believe define a great workplace culture.
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01 MISSION, VISION AND VALUES Perhaps the most important factor in determining an organisation’s culture is its overarching values. What does the business stand for, and what is it trying to achieve? What impact does it try and make on the world? But just having these in place, stuck up on the wall for all to see, isn’t enough.
LIVE UP TO THE VALUES 8
A business needs to actively live up to their values. Simply put, an organisation that means what it says, and inspires people through its actions, will have a more positive culture than one that doesn’t. These values also need to be aligned to an employee’s role – they need to understand the part they play in helping the organisation achieve its vision, and feel like they’re actively contributing.
OVER 72% OF EMPLOYEES BELIEVE THEIR
COMPANY’S CULTURE REFLECTS THEIR VALUES ONLY FAIRLY WELL When we work with a client to help hone their culture, we have to understand their market proposition and industry. Their goals, values and what success looks like for the company – are completely essential to that! Some companies have great brand values, but face challenges in living up to them day-to-day. Also, a lot of clients we come into contact with have been through a merger and need to redefine their core values
to match. This is a big part of what we do – looking at why companies want to create a positive culture. Developing that mission, vision and set of values, helping businesses to actually live and breathe them, and making them the building blocks of the workplace culture.
Iain Thomson, Client Engagement Director
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1/4
PEOPLE SAY A BAD MANAGER IS THE LEADING CAUSE OF DEMOTIVATION AT WORK.
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PEOPLE SURVEYED RANKED TEAM SPIRIT AS THE MOST IMPORTANT BEHAVIOUR IN THE WORKPLACE. 10
02 LEADERSHIP AND MANAGEMENT Do managers support employees, empowering them to be their best and recognising their achievements? Or are they more of a hindrance? Do company leaders set a good example, and interact with the people on the ground, or are they always distant? How many people in your organisation have actually had a conversation with the MD, or met the CEO? And is there one rule for the people at the top and another for everyone else when it comes to pay, holiday and standards? The way leaders and managers communicate with the rest of the organisation is important – and a business that puts the concerns of the senior leaders ahead of the rest of the team might not have such a positive culture.
One of the biggest problems UK businesses tend to have – and this may be controversial! – is that line managers can’t really manage. Yes, they can supervise, allocate work and approve holiday requests – but they don’t prioritise the need to coach and mentor people, or maybe lack the tools to recognise a good employee performance. Managers and business leaders need to be more human – no matter what the size of the organisation, people need to feel like they work for “someone”, rather than “something”. Graham James, Merchant and Partner Director
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03 WORKPLACE PRACTICES AND POLICIES How are people expected to work in your organisation? Overly authoritarian policies – such as strict rules on dress code, inflexible attitudes towards flexible working, or even cracking down on office chatter – may seem like they’re for the greater good, but they don’t always make for a particularly positive workplace culture. Bureaucratic practices can have a similar impact on an organisation’s culture – too many levels of management to go through before an employee feels like they’re talking to someone who can actually help them, convoluted change request procedures, and other overly-complicated systems make people feel like they lack control over their work and their ability to add value to the business to achieve that vision.
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04 WORK/LIFE BALANCE Many organisations can lose sight of the fact that employees have a life outside of work – and that the things going on outside of the four walls of the office may occasionally be a bit more important to an employee for short periods of time.
The nature of the workplace is really changing. Everyone always looks to the tech sector to set the trends, and more and more of these companies – such as Netflix, LinkedIn and HubSpot – are giving their staff unlimited holiday time.
A poor work/life balance can be a massive cause of stress, and giving people more control over how they make their work fit with their personal lives can be an incredibly important factor in a positive workplace culture.
As long as they get their work done, employees can take as much leisure time as they want. Obviously, this isn’t going to work for everyone, but this focus on creating a positive work/life balance is what businesses in the UK need to embrace and work towards. The traditional 9 to 5 is disappearing!
WORK/LIFE BALANCE RANKED AS THE HIGHEST PRIORITY IN THE WORKPLACE, WITH 48% OF PEOPLE LISTING THIS AS THEIR NUMBER ONE PRIORITY.
Ellen Perton, Head of Planning, Incentives and Recognition
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05 COMMUNICATION AND TRANSPARENCY How well do managers and leaders communicate with staff on the ground? How often does it happen? Is it just a one-way street, or are employees able to talk to company decision makers? And is communication seen as transparent? Are business leaders honest with their employees, or are people left in the dark about how and why things are happening in the organisation? Are company values communicated to employees strongly enough? Do people know what’s expected of them? The answers to these questions will have a huge impact on an organisation’s culture – in our ever-changing world, one thing is always key communication!
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50%
OF MILLENNIALS SURVEYED FEEL A LACK OF RECOGNITION OR APPRECIATION THE MOST DEMOTIVATING.
06 THE PEOPLE Having the “right” workplace culture means having an appropriate and meaningful culture – something that people will actually engage with.
Of course, a workplace culture isn’t something that’s imposed upon people – it’s something that people help create.
The right culture gives people an attachment to the company they work for, and the people they work with. And workplace culture should play a part in recruitment, too – because if you’ve got the right recruitment policy, then you should have the right people. But it can be difficult - just because someone enjoys some aspects of the workplace culture doesn’t mean they’re right for the company. They have to be fully engage with the vision and the values.
Encourage dialogue across the business and engage teams to create something that will genuinely be relevant to them. This does mean that the senior leaders who set the tone have to give the people on the ground something relevant and meaningful to effectively buy into, but the people the organisation hires – their personalities, skills, behaviours and backgrounds – will all play an essential role.
Ellen Perton, Head of Planning, Incentives and Recognition
HAVING THE “RIGHT” WORKPLACE CULTURE MEANS HAVING AN APPROPRIATE AND MEANINGFUL CULTURE - SOMETHING THAT PEOPLE WILL ACTUALLY ENGAGE WITH. 15
07 DEVELOPMENT So, you’ve got the right people, doing the right job, in a company that’s right for them. Surely they’ll be happy forever? Maybe not. Opportunities for development are an essential part of a positive workplace culture – people need to feel recognised for their achievements, and a big part of this is giving people who do achieve great things the opportunity to progress.
43%
OF PEOPLE RATE PERSONAL GROWTH AS IMPORTANT OR VERY IMPORTANT AT WORK. 16
08 TECHNOLOGY AND TOOLS We’ve already mentioned how we can take the lead from tech companies for many aspects of a workplace culture – and the technology people use to do their jobs is definitely a big one! Grappling with old, outdated machinery is a drain on time and resource. Are sales teams still relying on endless spreadsheets or are they plugged into a slick CRM? Are employees constantly emailing documents back and forth, or are they working together with collaborative tools? Giving people the things they need to do their jobs as effectively as possible – it all contributes to an organisation’s culture.
09 ENVIRONMENT And finally, we come to the actual physical environment of the workplace – the factor that your typical internet article on the top 10 coolest companies to work for will actually tell you is the most important. Colour, decoration and quirky breakout spaces are obviously part of making a work environment that feels a bit friendlier and comfortable to work in, but compared to the factors above, it’s really just window dressing. A more pleasant working environment shouldn’t be neglected – but the most important aspect is how much control employees have over that environment. Are suggestions for new features heard? Is adding home comforts allowed? Is there an unspoken rule that the nicest breakout space is saved for management? Do people have enough space to work comfortably?
42%
OF PEOPLE SAY FEELING DISPENSABLE IS A MAJOR CAUSE OF DEMOTIVATION. 17
31% OF PEOPLE DON’T KNOW
WHAT WORKPLACE CULTURE THEIR EMPLOYER IS TRYING TO ACHIEVE.
WHAT WORKPLACE CULTURE ISN’T A positive workplace culture isn’t something you tell people exists. It’s not something that you can force through beanbags and a table tennis table in the break room. It’s not the number of social events you have, or providing free beers on Friday afternoon. It’s about how your organisation connects people to your values, drives behaviour and recognise when all of the good stuff is going on. It’s not just providing a few benefits, like childcare support or an employee discounts – more than ever, these are just becoming an expected part of an employer’s offering. It’s something an organisation actively has to work on.
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WHY DOES WORKPLACE CULTURE MATTER?
A positive workplace culture is essential for ensuring staff are motivated, productive and keen to stay with you – this much should be obvious. But more than ever, companies need to look at human capital – attracting and retaining the top talent, and putting more time and energy into effective people management.
Having the “right” workplace culture means having an appropriate and meaningful culture – something that people will actually engage with. The right culture gives people an attachment to the company they work for, and the people they work with. And workplace culture should play a part in recruitment, too – because if you’ve got the right recruitment policy, then you should have the right people. But it can be difficult - just because someone enjoys some aspects of the workplace culture doesn’t mean they’re right for the company. They have to be fully engage with the vision and the values.
Graham James, Merchant and Partner Director
28%
OF PEOPLE SAY THEIR ORGANISATION’S VALUES ARE EITHER UNCLEAR OR NOT LIVED UP TO. 19
WHAT A GREAT CULTURE CAN DO FOR A BUSINESS 20
INCREASED ENGAGEMENT People need to feel a sense of belonging at work. This means they need to feel appreciated, to know that they’re an essential part of the organisation they work for. They need to understand, and be on board with, its mission, goals and objectives. These are the messages that a positive workplace culture instils in employees. A culture where people feel comfortable and respected – where they’re looking forward to coming to work because it’s a great place to be, where they have good relationships with their co-workers and, most importantly, their managers – will create a greater emotional connection between employees and the organisation they work for. And that connection means people will want to see the organisation succeed – causing further positive effects.
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IMPROVING PRODUCTIVITY AND PERFORMANCE We’ve found that, across our clients, an engaged workforce really does give an increase in productivity! And that can be through increased unit output, innovation and creativity – just about anything that the organisation is trying to deliver. Engaged employees will work harder, because they see how their individual achievements help the organisation to achieve its mission and vision. Iain Thomson, Client Engagement Director
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One of the most noticeable impacts of an engaged employee? They’ll work harder. It really is that simple. When people are on board with (and even believe in) an organisation’s goals and values, and are recognised by peers and company leaders for their efforts in helping to achieve them, they have a bigger personal stake in their employer’s success. There’s been a lot of research into the impact of employee engagement on business outcomes – studies by Harter et. ali regularly conduct meta analyses of research into employee satisfaction and productivity across the world, finding significant differences in productivity and quality of output between organisations ranking in the top and bottom 25% for employee engagement. The key conclusion of these meta-analyses is that “changes in management practices that increase employee satisfaction may increase business-unit outcomes, including profit.” If you have a positive workplace culture with open and transparent communication, where employees understand why things are happening and what’s expected of them, then suddenly targets don’t look so daunting. And when people know there’s a potential celebration on the cards for hitting those targets, well that’s all the better – but more on that later.
RETAINING TOP TALENT It’s no secret that people are changing jobs more than ever before. A recent study by LinkedIniii found that the number of companies graduates work for in their first five years in the workforce has almost doubled in 20 years. Couple this with an overall fall in unemployment, and many sectors in the UK are facing a skills shortageiv – meaning it’s more important than ever for organisations to hold onto top talent. When people want to leave, and are difficult to replace, companies need to do more to keep them around. But a great workplace culture – one that gives a great work/life balance, that offers loads of opportunities for development, and that people have a real attachment to – goes an incredibly long way to keeping people sticking around. It’s about making sure the grass doesn’t look any greener elsewhere by keeping your own grass the greenest.
Part of the benefit of a workplace culture is that it can greatly lower the cost of retaining staff. A higher salary is still one of the leading causes of jobhopping, so companies will often have to beat a rival offer to hold onto top talent. But people won’t just leave for more money if they truly enjoy where they work. And people will be loyal and stay longer if they have learning and development opportunities on top of an existing emotional attachment to the company. Ellen Perton, Head of Planning, Incentives and Recognition
48%
OF PEOPLE USE GLASSDOOR AT SOME STAGE OF THE JOB-HUNTING PROCESS 23
ATTRACTING NEW TALENT Keeping top talent around is one thing – but if an organisation wants to continue to grow and develop, with new innovations that keep it at the top of the industry, then it always needs to attract new talent. Workplace culture is becoming a more important factor in attracting new employees than ever – but at the same time, it’s becoming increasingly difficult for organisations to control the narrative that goes out to potential hires. Websites like Glassdoor let employees both past and present review the companies they work and have worked for, giving the real story on what goes on behind the office doors, and they’re becoming an increasingly important part of the job-hunting process. For example, one surveyv found that around 48% of people use Glassdoor at some stage of the process, and that more than 20% of people will be put off applying for a company that has negative ratings in the work/life balance and senior management categories. More than 15%, meanwhile, will be put off by negative reviews of company values and career opportunities, while over 30% of people require a company to have at least a three-star rating across the board before they think of applying.
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It’s not enough to just talk the talk anymore – people are getting a lot smarter about what they actually want from a company. If you’re not practicing what you preach, you’d better believe that the internet means people will hear about it! With that in mind, a positive workplace culture needs to touch every aspect of the company – it needs to start with a candidate’s first interview, and go right on through the onboarding process, appraisals, day-today life, and even the exit interviews if someone does decide to leave. And don’t be afraid of using websites like Glassdoor to your benefit – a great culture needs ambassadors in the organisation. These people don’t just get people within the company excited about the culture – they spread the word to the rest of the world too. Graham James, Merchant and Partner Director
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TOOLS FOR BUILDING A SUCCESSFUL CULTURE 26
RECOGNITION AND REWARD When it comes to helping people live and breathe the company values that underpin a workplace culture, recognition and reward are absolutely essential. After all, how can you expect employees to engage with a company’s values and go the extra mile to achieve its mission if there’s nothing in it for them?
It’s important to remember that recognition doesn’t always have to include a reward to be effective. It really can just be as simple as a “thank you” – I’m always amazed by the difference that can make. Ellen Perton, Head of Planning, Incentives and Recognition
We really do believe that you have to give more to get more – but it should never be seen as a bribe, putting reward tokens into the employee machine to keep them spitting out more work. Recognition needs to be meaningful, valuable, and absolutely built into a workplace culture at the very core.
Recognition and reward can happen in a number of ways, including: Financial rewards – such as gift cards and vouchers to be spent as the employee pleases Merchandise – it could be something small, like a pen or a bottle of wine, or something more extravagant like an iPad or smartwatch Experiences – whether it’s a simple cinema ticket or a day at a spa, it’s the experience that will be appreciated Travel – a holiday is often viewed as the ultimate reward!
Or, it could be something as simple as a thank-you for a job well done.
63%
OF PEOPLE LIST A LACK OF RECOGNITION OR INCONSISTENT RECOGNITION AS THEIR BIGGEST CAUSE OF DEMOTIVATION AT WORK. 27
HERE, WE’LL LOOK AT THE MANY DIFFERENT WAYS EMPLOYEE RECOGNITION AND REWARD CAN BE USED TO BUILD AND REINFORCE THAT WORKPLACE CULTURE. Innovation and personal growth are of equal importance to employees when it comes to a healthy workplace culture.
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CELEBRATING SUCCESS AT ALL LEVELS When businesses succeed, it’s because of the people that work there. Every single person plays a part in success – not just the person that delivers the presentation, signs the contract, posts the earnings report, or sits at the top of the ladder. An essential step in building a positive working culture is making sure that everyone across all areas of a business gets to take part in celebrating success. That everyone has their own unique efforts and contributions recognised. Disparity between how different members of staff are rewarded can be incredibly demoralising. It undermines fairness and transparency, and may well counteract company values, too. But when everyone is able to share in celebrating the organisation’s success, they’ll be more inclined to push for greater success in the future. Most of all though, it creates a workplace culture where everyone is recognised and rewarded for the work they do – rather than just the lucky few. Reward schemes can also play an active part in attracting new talent – and if rewards are valuable enough, they’ll come to play an essential part in retaining talent.
Whatever your recognition structure – it’s important that how you manage the process is consistent. If not, it can lead to people getting left out, and it can also lead to a disparity between the top and the bottom – for example, there’s one rule for everyone else, but the MD is still handing out impromptu gifts to his team. Everyone, at every level of the company, needs to engage with celebrating success, sharing the appreciation and giving valuable rewards where they’re due – regardless of where they are in the company. That’s how a positive culture is really reinforced. Iain Thomson, Client Engagement Director
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REINFORCING CORE VALUES AND DESIRED BEHAVIOURS Celebrating success is one thing – but perhaps more important is why celebrations are taking place. What are the criteria for success, what is someone being recognised for, and how do people achieve a reward?
The most important thing to remember is that it’s not the actual, physical reward itself that’s really important. It’s why the reward is being given – and consistency - that will make the biggest difference.
An organisation’s core company values should be the guiding principle of its culture – and that extends to the behaviours of an organisation too. Celebrations, recognition and reward are most effective when they’re tied into these values – when people are recognised for behaving in a way that corresponds with the organisation’s mission, vision and values.
Keeping people focused reinforces good examples of desired behaviour. It’s about making people feel valued and appreciated for what they do – and giving them a tangible sense of achievement and job satisfaction. You know you’ve achieved a goal, and you get a positive feeling from the right culture. This is how you create a long-term behavioural change, making desired behaviours natural and routine. It might sound manipulative, but it’s not – everyone understands what’s expected of them, and everyone knows what they need to do to.
With everyone living and breathing the company values, all pulling in the same direction – and knowing why they’re doing it – you’ve got the beginnings of a positive, inclusive company culture that people can really relate to. This is why recognition and reward are an absolutely essential building block of any strong workplace culture – culture is something that needs to be built, that needs to be reinforced, and needs to give people a reason to invest themselves in.
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Graham James, Merchant and Partner Director
SOCIAL RECOGNITION We’ve already mentioned the power of a simple thank you – and social recognition such as this is a key part of keeping the culture alive and positive every single day. After all, it’s impossible to hand out monetary - based rewards every single day – the cost would be massive, no matter how great a deal you’ve found with your supplier.
will really make a workplace a more positive place to be. Peer-to peer recognition such as this can be made into a more formal part of a recognition strategy – by providing an online platform for employees to thank or nominate their co-worker, managers are able to see the everyday aspects of a person’s performance that they might otherwise miss, and provide formal recognition and reward appropriately.
Managers shouldn’t shy away from recognising the efforts of their team – saying thank you for pushing a bit harder for a deadline, telling them they’ve done a good job on a particularly difficult project, or even just saying thanks for their daily efforts. A little bit of praise and personal recognition really does go a long way. And it doesn’t just have to be from managers. Social recognition, simply put, is about encouraging everyone to recognise each other – but we don’t mean forcing everyone to be friends! It’s more about recognising a job well done, saying thanks when someone has helped them out, patting each other on the back for smashing a target – everyday encouragement
A culture isn’t just influenced by managers – so recognition needs to be natural and routine for everyone. A positive workplace culture is one that includes everyone. Everyone plays a part, and feels the effects.
Graham James, Merchant and Partner Director
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LONG-SERVICE AND PERSONAL MILESTONES Although recognition is most effective when it’s tied to a company’s core values, there are opportunities to provide recognition and reward outside of this framework. Personal celebrations are a very important part of a positive workplace culture that values people’s contributions. Recognising long service may not directly link to one of the organisation’s values, but it’s worthy of recognition and demonstrates that the business appreciates an employee’s loyalty and commitment. More personal milestones, such as birthdays, weddings and new babies, are even trickier to tie into a company’s mission – but once again, they’re still worth celebrating. It goes back to encouraging a good work/life balance – showing employees that their lives outside of work are important to the organisation too, that the company has their personal wellbeing in mind. It’s an important step in creating a positive workplace culture.
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KEEP IT SIMPLE Whatever you intend to do to create a positive workplace culture, it’s important to keep it simple. We previously discussed bureaucratic working practices, so be very mindful not to introduce a needlessly bureaucratic system of values, nominations and rewards! For example, let’s revisit the idea of peer-to-peer nominations. These little bits of social recognition should be quick and easy, fitting seamlessly into day-to-day activities. Our own research has found that 80% of nominations are abandoned half way through if it takes longer than two minutes to complete the whole procedure. If you have a reward mechanic, these need to be simple and straightforward to redeem, too. If people have to jump through too many hoops to choose or collect their reward – or if the reward is too small to even be worth a small amount of effort, then they simply won’t bother– and the behaviour that was meant to be recognised won’t be effectively reinforced.
IF PEOPLE HAVE TO JUMP THROUGH TOO MANY HOOPS TO CHOOSE OR COLLECT THEIR REWARD, THEN THEY SIMPLY WON’T BOTHER. 33
THE SODEXO APPROACH So, how do we do it? Well, our approach is completely collaborative. We work closely with our clients, and their employees, to develop the best approach - together.
There’s not a one-size-fits-all solution. Each client is different, with different goals, and the people who work for them are different too. And it’s all about people, after all. We work in partnership to understand an organisation and its people as best we can, and create a blueprint of the culture required to get the best out of everyone. Iain Thomson, Client Engagement Director
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Many services will focus on one tool or a platform to build an entire culture – but there’s then a big risk that if people don’t engage with the platform, then the whole programme fails. Here at Sodexo, what we do is start to understand the organisation, what makes it tick, what drives its people. And we develop a range of ways to make things happen. It’s all about the engagement of hearts and minds. We create the culture, and we enable people to feel and experience that culture, so they can truly be part of it.
Graham James, Merchant and Partner Director
REFERENCES i. Survey of 1,000 people aged 18+, TLF Research, 2017 ii.http://www.factorhappiness.at/downloads/quellens17_harter.pdf iii.https://blog.linkedin.com/2016/04/12/will-this-year_scollege-grads-job-hopmore-than-previous-grads iv.http://www.telegraph.co.uk/business/2017/05/08/skillsshortage-bites-fallunemployment-leaves-britain-short/ v.http://www.softwareadvice.com/resources/job-seekers-useglassdoor-reviews/
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WHO WE ARE Part of Sodexo Employee and Consumer Engagement, our Shine solutions inspire a successful workplace culture by incentivising performance and recognising success.
consumer engagement with your brand, we transform the way in which employees and consumers behave or perform, meaning they’ll engage more deeply with you.
We change behaviours and drive outstanding engagement - all focused around your specific business objectives. Never out of a box, we’re all about the experience, always purposeful and always powerful.
If you have any questions about any of the topics covered in this ebook, please don’t hesitate to get in touch with us. We’d love to work with you.
At Sodexo, we have over 50 years’ heritage in creating awardwinning experiences that make people’s lives better. From growing employee culture and inspiring success in your workplace, to driving
Sodexo, Avalon House, Breckland, Linford Wood, Milton Keynes, MK14 6LD. W: sodexoengage.com E: sales.engage@sodexo.com T: 01908 303456