How a culture of celebration is a culture of success

In recent years, the employment landscape has changed. More and more people work in casual positions than ever, and the room for freelancing and independent contracting has never been so large. The gig economy has seriously changed how businesses are doing business.

The gig economy is in full swing! How can you retain your staff and make your business a company worth staying loyal to?

Employees are becoming less and less loyal to a single company. Long gone are the days when people work for a singular employee for 20 odd years. Not to mention, with the rise of digital platforms, such as LinkedIn, employees don’t necessarily need to be actively searching for a new job to find one. As a result of the changing digital landscapes and employment structures, organisations are faced with an increase in employee turnover rates.

So in these turbulent and uncharted times, how are companies holding on to talent, improving productivity and achieving more success than ever?

We believe the key is in the simplicity of developing a culture of recognition and celebration to foster camaraderie and team spirit. By recognising and celebrating individual, team and business achievements companies are inverting the ways in which success is perceived.

While terms like employee engagement, recognition, and retention, may seem like Human Resources buzzwords for many business owners and managers, the reality is that they are critically important to success. These are concepts which seek to understand the motivations behind, and thus minimise, employee turnover. An issue which is growing for organisations in all industries.

For a business, addressing employee turnover is to hold onto talent. Not to mention negating the costs of the loss of an employee, subsequent recruitment, and training of a replacement. For employees, the decision to leave is multifaceted. However, what HR studies are finding, is that while money (pay-packets) talks, it doesn’t always have the final say.

So, if you are an employer or manager, here is what you need to know about: engagement, recognition and retention to build a culture of success.

It’s More than Just a Job

Just as marketers are preaching the need for branding that adds depth, responsibility, personality and understanding to the traditional approach of awareness and accessibility. HR professionals are calling on organisations to develop or improve their internal personality, through the development and consistent implementation of an internal culture.

Corporate or organisational culture isn’t something that should only exist as a means of ‘rules’ or ‘codes of conduct’. Rather, organisations need to consider the internal personality, mood and tone that they want to promote as part of their business and brand. It’s too simple and superficial to load your careers page with buzzwords like, “great culture”, “fun workplace”, “team players required”, it can’t end here. Decision makers need to actively cultivate this personality and culture within the office on a daily basis.

There are no right or wrong pillars of values and attitudes upon which a business must base their culture. Rather, it is the uniqueness of personality and ethos which are desired.

However, developing an internal culture which fosters workplace camaraderie is considered favourable. In essence, businesses must create a cultural dynamic which instils a sense of “togetherness”, allowing the individual to feel connected to the team and the outcomes which their work is contributing to.

Why Connect?

Human connection is a fundamental need, it fosters rapport and is one of the critical needs for psychological stability. Undertaking actions which encourage the development of camaraderie between teams and individuals is to actively invest in unity. To have a united team is to work together towards a common goal.

Commonality, fosters empathy, which leads to a sense of unity. This is, in short, the path to shifting the dynamics of employees towards that of a collaborative team. Rather than the individual working for isolated remuneration. When camaraderie is fostered employers can see the results of improved motivation, increased productivity, loyalty, and of course, reduced turnover rates.

Recognition is Key

One of the HR buzzwords touched on above is “recognition”. Recognition is vital, to managing team and employee expectations against business goals and outcomes. It helps to support a culture in which employees are more than just a cog in the machine.

A recent Forbes study identified that of the top 20% of companies which they recognised as having a culture that promotes employee recognition reported 31% less voluntary employee departures. Additionally, research companies such as  Gallup, have collected data which shows that employee engagement results in improved productivity.

When employers take the time to recognise the work of their employees, both teams and individuals, they are working to instil a sense of accomplishment. This recognition promotes employee engagement, commitment and retention through helping your team develop a sense of purpose.

But How?

On the surface level, it is all well and good to say “engage your employees and you will see X, Y & Z results”. In practice, it is a far more complicated and lengthy process of creating this desired internal culture of camaraderie, fulfilment and appreciation in order to support employee engagement. What we do know, as explored above, is that recognition is one of the most tangible aspects of employee engagement.

But how do you do this? By CELEBRATING of course!