Culture is at the heart of everything . When our founders launched Moneypenny, at the centre of their vision was creating a place where they would want to work. And, twenty years later, it remains at our core. It is a business-critical element, a mindset and something to be nurtured.
To succeed in today’s ever-changing business landscape taking your team to the next level is essential. I have said this many times: Brilliant people do brilliant things. And creating a safe environment for them to realise their potential is the key.
For us, this is about trust, continued development and improvement, for every single employee, top to bottom. It is about building it into your daily schedule and is a mindset. As a leader or leadership team, if you are continuously seeking to improve as a business then you are consistently engaging with your employees, motivating and empowering them and involving them, as a team, in the evolution and growth of your business. Case closed.
Communicate
Strong communication and collaboration is integral to any successful workplace culture. Communicating expectations clearly and regularly, giving feedback not just at the annual review but throughout the year and ensuring that your door is open for further thoughts or clarification are all essential factors to consider. That way you are making small improvements continuously, openly and for the good of the business.
Remote working can make it harder to stay connected, productive and engaged with company goals but make the effort and you will see the rewards. Think about integrating some digital tools to assist you, like Workplace by Facebook. We integrated this into our comms tools to make sure that everyone was in the loop with useful and light-hearted updates, keeping everyone engaged with the company vision and as part of our wellbeing programme, moving our mindfulness and social activities online.
Empower
Granting your employees the resources, authority and opportunity to do their work will make them more motivated, happier and productive. Be open to new ideas and take the time to respectfully listen. Empower teams to make mistakes and put aside anything that would hold them back. Only by being brave and bold will people be able to come up with powerful and effective ideas.
Brilliant people will do brilliant things but they need the right culture and environment to do this. Give them freedom to pursue projects outside of their main remit, provide some fun and make work a place that they actually want to be. And if new ideas aren’t forthcoming, then question why and invest in their development. Be supportive. Recognise and reward.
Care
I mentioned the importance of creating a safe environment in unleashing your employee engagement. This applies professionally and personally. They do not stop being your employee when they switch off their laptop at 5pm.
Employee wellbeing is fundamental and never more so than in these unprecedented times as we embrace remote working and technology as our ways to interact. Promote a positive work-life balance, check-in with teammates daily, incorporate the technologies to your benefit and ensure that relationships remain strong. Every employee matters.
Importantly, allow employees to have fun. An employee who only looks forward to going home at the end of the day is not one who is engaged or happy. Fun means more relaxed, more productive and more inspired to come up with exceptional ideas.
Celebrate
Not only should there be a culture of celebrating ideas, of support, there should be a culture of reward and recognition. From a birthday sing-along to a light bulb idea that has been implemented to the benefit of your business your people are your strength and should be rewarded and celebrated.
The best places to work provide people with an overall sense of happy satisfaction, in life and in work. These companies are built by putting people first and by realising that a happy culture of continuous development and improvement and engaging with employees is not only the right thing to do it will lead to a happy bottom line and a successful business. If nothing else, make 2021 a year when you realise and unleash the potential of your people.
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