What to do about an unhealthy company culture?

Company culture is like a long-term relationship. It’s not just about togetherness in problematic times and pleasant things in good times. Having a company culture where employees really are important means ensuring permanent and meaningful support at work. You can help your people by doing the following:

  • Clearly show them the company’s goals and priorities
  • Provide practical solutions to customer issue
  • Discuss openly and always react quickly to suggestion
  • Provide sufficient financing for important projects as well as for routine matters
  • When employees are assigned a new task, train them sufficiently
  • Offer support of new initiatives, even if they are uncertain.

Clearly demonstrate your approach by actions, not just words. Practical assistance in the areas of health and the family is standard today. But most important for employees is having the opportunity to sufficiently grow professionally at work.

How to recognize an unhealthy company environment?

Sometimes employees appear satisfied, but appearances are deceiving. What if they’re just afraid to make themselves heard? If you are not sure, try assessing the following characteristics of an unhealthy company culture:

1. Employees flattering their bosses, playing favorites.
2. Exceptions in rules for some people.
3. People afraid to take risks, resisting innovations.
4. Employees having the tendency to react defensively.
5. Employees constantly providing only positive feedback.
6. Talented people giving only an average performance.
7. Customers complaining frequently.
8. You finding out bad news too late. This frequently involves customers’ frustrations with the way your company deals with them. The problem is also transferred into customer relations.
9. The same problems keep on popping up at company meetings.
10. Employees’ partners stop attending the company’s social events.

If any of the characteristics described above are relevant for your company, then maybe employees are not sufficiently satisfied with how you are meeting their needs. Show them that you will take care of them professionally.

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Article source OPEN Forum - U.S. website and community of small entrepreneurs
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