What exactly is the Company Culture?

What exactly is the Company Culture?

We all compare among ourselves, whether is it salary package or how established the companies you are working for. If I know of a friend working at Google, I would immediately be impressed and exclaim “Wow! I bet it must have been amazing there!”. I associate Google with the excellent culture – on the basis that they must have been giving a lot of perks since they are so established and cash rich.

This article is going to change all of that.

Culture is not about perks

Just because a company keep organizing retreats for its employees, throw birthday parties regularly, keep feeding employees with snacks, encourage work life balance and even allow their employees to bring their families and pets to work does not equate a great culture.

Introducing perks is easy, but changing culture is difficult.

Culture is all about conversations

The best way to understand the company’s culture is through interaction with existing employees inside. Not interaction in the form of corporate video, but genuine one to one conversations for people to reveal their deepest thoughts.

Alternatively, you can understand culture through understanding how is the training and development conducted and to understand how often are feedback consolidated by the management.

Culture depends on the management

The Middle management are probably the person who most influences culture in the organization through the decisions that he makes, as well as the environment he is supposed to encourage.

If you get a middle management who always questions, and always ask for revision of proposals – you will likely get an environment where people are not keen to contribute ideas because they feel insufficient. In comparison, imagine if you get a middle management who encourages mistakes so employees are about to learn, and a middle management who always encourages bottom up feedback to further improve himself or to make strategic decisions.

On the contrary, you have the middle management who always encourage meeting to facilitate discussions among the different team members and yet you have idle management who discourages meeting as it feels it affect the team in achieving their deliverables.

It is possible to have different subcultures within the organization

Because the middle management is the one who have the strongest influence in the culture, it is possible to have different subcultures within the organization. You still need your sales people to be in a very performance orientated culture, while you need the marketing team to celebrate innovation and creativity. You also need the Human Resource Department to be precise, and not encourage a culture of allowing mistakes, especially in the payroll department. 

Ultimately, the culture will drive the changes in recruitment, employment branding and most definitely, the attrition rates. This means, that established organizations do not guarantee an awesome culture.

Why a mentorship program is necessary?

It has been a long time established program, but not many companies have executed the mentorship program. Businesses are always keen on capturing more market share, and to find the cutting-edge factors to enhance revenue. If you believe your people are your greatest asset to your company, then you should consider the mentorship program

These are the following benefits:

Foster a stronger team work

There is a common misunderstanding that only managers or high performing individuals can become mentors. This is not the case. Giving a colleague who have more experience, the opportunity to mentor will allow them to establish, connect and deepen their relationship with their peers.

This further enhance the teamwork between the existing teams, where collaboration can be found readily available.

Helps in recruitment & retention

With a strong mentorship program, incumbents into companies can easily have access to advice from the high performing individuals, whom they may identify as role models. This allows the opportunity for new entrants into the company toquickly understand the company’s culture – which are crucial in retaining the right employees.

Through a strong mentorship program, you are attracting the growing population – which is the millennials. This group of people often require themselves to feel empowered, and are looking for people who can guide them in their career paths. If your employees are performing, your organization is performing as well.

If you can provide the constant need for career development and empowerment for this group, you will also lead to the increased retention of this group of employees as well.

Increased morals

Empowered employees who become mentors would feel that they can contribute back to the organization, which increases their self-worth and job satisfaction.

Mentees would feel that knowledge and advice is readily available, which allows  them to execute their duties more confidently, while allowing them the opportunity to develop their interpersonal skills.

What can you do to ensure that your employees are not suffering from burn out?

Experiencing burn out can be constituted by many different factors. The usual factors are extra hours spend at work, the amount of quality of work expected by managers, as well as amount of work that is required to be completed within a short notice.

However, burn out can also be easily associated with employee’s morale – which can consist of unfair sentiments arising from unfair compensation – on whether someone is getting more highly paid, while performing the same duties or the salary is the same, with one having more duties and responsibilities. It can also be associated with poor management and misalignment of direction. To put it simply, imaging redoing a work several times because of changes of instructions by the management.

These are what you can do to ensure your employees are not suffering from burn out:

Listen

Regardless the amount of work load, you should always make time to engage them to prevent burnout from happening. You should listen, whether is it in an actual complain, or through subtle signs like their tone, their frustrations at work. If you do realize that they might be experiencing a burn out, you can allow them a voice to understand the root of the problem.

This strategy works best, if you empower your employees. Let them know you are always there readily available to hear complains and grievances without providing a judgement – and above being a leader, you’re also a friend.

Provide

To be fair to your employees, you should provide avenues for them to raise their unhappiness to you – whether in the form of a regular employee survey, or one to one talks with their leaders. You need to be able to provide them accessible advice and help to complete the tasks given, or a reasonable deadline for any tasks assigned.

You are also able to provide the environment which minimizes burn out – by providing more welfares such as random parties, good food and providing day offs to celebrate company’s successes.

You can also provide employees with the education on what a burn out feels like – so that employees would be more aware, and will take the necessary actions to reduce burn out.

Be Fair

Evaluate yourself. If you are making decisions irrationally, by providing unfair treatments – then you need to be the change. You must recognize effort rationally and to communicate the rationale on why decisions are made (I.e., why did you promote this person), to reduce any tensions arising from inequality.

If your employee is putting in effort, while still not delivering -  it is of no harm to provide encouragement as well and to see how you can help the employee in reaching the organization’s goals.

Recharged on Your Off Days!

Taking a break is the best way to keep yourself going in your career. Let go of all work-related matters, from emails to phone calls to messages. Never check any of them to re-energize your body and mind. If you keep going back to your work matters, you’ll probably get back to work and felt you have never rested!

Think through what you want to do on a good rest day, never stumble off with a list of things to clear and yet again, rushing through the short frame of time that you must clear the list.

Never Check Emails.

Start your rest day with a piece of mind. Stay away from the electronic devices to check on your emails. Yes, some of our works will require us to return responses as soon as we can. But that again, you know it’s a rest day, you get back when you are able to respond. If there is anything that is urgent, the other party should have rung you up and not wait for your respond over emails.

Prioritize on the important errands.

While you are trying to clear up your personal errands on a rest day, never allow it to take up the whole day. Before you realized that you are done with the errands, you are already exhausted to even catch up with yourself.

OH, and one thing to remember - try keeping the errands around the proximity so that you do not spend too much time running from point to point.

Hit the Gym! Sweat it out!

The rest day gives you the chance to restore yourself physically and mentally, so never get yourself stuck in front of the TV or computer, like any other typical day in the office. It does not help because you get back to office with the same old lethargic motions.

Even if you do not hit the gym, go for a jog or brisk walk, to sweat it out. Make the heart beat like never on a normal day! Exercises do help in increasing positive endorphins and help you clear the stressful mind to ease your anxiety.

Rekindle Friendship.

You can even use this time to meet up with long-lost friends who may happen to be their rest days too. As you grow up, you come to realize that your friends are busy with their daily lives and catching up with time after work, which leaves totally no time for others.

When you meet your friends after work, we will always be looking at the time ticking away, worrying for the last bus or not catching enough sleep to focus at work. Meeting in the day time can gives achieve a more productive catch up, no need to rush home for work on the next day, making it more fruitful.

3 Simple Tips To Have Better Water Cooler Conversations

Interactions between colleagues is one of the ways to quickly grow a conducive working environment. While safe topics about work and weather reports are common in the office, it takes more than that to be able to establish yourself as a co-worker and friend. Being able to hold good conversations in the office helps to lighten the mood, introduce yourself as a valuable personality to the rest, and can be especially helpful in awkward elevator situations.

Of course, one must balance out their time between doing proper work and talking to others at the office, unless it is a networking event. There are usually short amounts of time one can chat freely, such as lunch breaks, or crowding around the common water cooler. While it is tricky to turn short nuggets of conversations into meaningful chats, there are certain ways that can guarantee better exchanges between the two parties.

START THE BALL ROLLING WITH THEM

It is the end of a long weekend break, so there is no time better than now to ask what’s new with your colleague. Starting the conversation with a genuine interest in the other party is a powerful way to get the ball rolling as people like talking about the topic they are most comfortable with: themselves. It also helps you to get to know your co-workers better, and builds a mutual sense of respect and trust. Although, be careful not to be too intrusive as it might be touch on some private aspects of their lives, so finding a neutral balance is key here.

CHOOSE TOPICS THAT ENCOURAGE OPINIONS

Getting someone’s opinions create an opportunity for one to embrace differences and learn from the other. Sticking to topics that are routine or ordinary will get the conversation flow nowhere, usually leading to stagnant common ground. Instead, try to bring in topics like favourite television series or cuisine genres, where you can make certain stands and voice them out. This encourages healthy debates that can strengthen and stimulate the mindsets of both sides. At the end of it, new information may be shared during the process to help colleagues learn from one another, which can either help to augment standing opinions or form entirely new ideas.

FOLLOW UP ON OLD CONVERSATIONS

There is nothing more sincere than remembering an old conversation, perhaps one that got interrupted previously or left hanging for future catching up. If the conversation is worth a rehash, bring it up with your colleague to connect with him or her on a deeper level. It shows that the conversation is important enough to be recalled, or that you have new things to add to the conversation, like additional titbits or other information. It also allows for you and your co-workers to develop fresh perspectives on an old topic, encouraging a more meaningful exchange this round.

3 Healthy Work Snacks To Boost Office Morale

Food cheers everyone up, especially after a long day or when faced with a bad case of Monday Blues. While there are standard lunch breaks in most companies, snacks are a great way to boost the office morale throughout the day. In moderation, it can help to keep the energy levels up and help people to stay focused on their work. The ideal snacks are high in protein and fibre, and should be around palm sized each serving, so being diligent about the right amount is crucial to staying both healthy and fuelled.

However, snacks come in many shapes and sizes, and it can be tricky when considering the mess or smells. If the company is air-conditioned or the floors are carpeted, then there are certain snacks that would not be ideal for the working environment. Snacks like chicken soup and crackers, grilled cheese toast, or even cup noodles, would be too much and intrusive to the shared working space. Instead, consider these healthy and simple alternatives to bring into the office for a quick munch between tasks.

RAW/ROASTED NUTS

Instead of keeping candies on desks, nuts are healthier and taste just as delicious. Whether they are raw or roasted, they are a great and simple way to have something small around the desk to munch on and keep the blood sugar level pumped. It is high in proteins and fats, plus it makes a great combination with a handful of string cheese. Nuts like almonds or cashews also don’t require any removal of shells or build up extra waste, allowing them to be the ideal office snack that can be personally enjoyed, or shared among colleagues.

PROTEIN BARS

There are all types of protein bars available in the supermarkets, from flavours to the actual types of ingredients (for example, fruits, nuts and granola) that make up the sticky bars that have become common substitutes for proper food. They are great for fulfilling multiple pillars of nutrients simultaneously with all the different components. Easily tucked in a bag or pocket, they are designed to be super handy and easy to consume on the go. It also satisfies the appetite significantly, as a single bar can contain enough servings for an actual meal.

DRIED FRUITS

Fruits are nature’s very own candies, but fresh fruits might be a bit tricky to prepare and eat in the office. Unless you have the time to cut fruits like apples or oranges beforehand, the whole process might get a bit messy. On the other hand, dried or preserved fruits are much neater to handle than their fresh counterparts. Dried fruits like apricots are naturally sweet and can satisfy any sweet tooth craving. To top it off, most of the dried fruits selection are loaded with healthy sugar and fibre, allowing for a speedy and satisfying nosh while handling paperwork.

3 Tips to Achieve Healthier Work Relations

Daily interactions are key milestones to our everyday movements, but it can get tricky when trying to figure out a balance between work and personal relations. However, cultivating meaningful relationships does not necessarily mean that it will take excessive time and energy. Usually it boils down to sincerity and effort at the right moments. 

Trying to maintain good relations can be highly beneficial in the long run, as it can increase productivity and positivity in the company. While not everyone in the office will be friends with one another, here are some ways to achieve healthy work relations for a better working environment.

BE AS REAL AS POSSIBLE

It is understandable if you want to keep your work and personal lives separated, but in order to form deeper connections with your colleagues, try to be as real as possible. Revealing bits of yourself outside of the office will help them create an impression of you better than what they perceive from just the desk. A little self-disclosure is healthy in this case, because it will help to create better understandings that can aid working partnerships in the future.

OFFER TO HELP WITH THEIR PROBLEMS

When your colleagues face problems at work, always be proactive in offering to lend a helping hand. This encourages them to trust you and therefore return the favour when necessary. You also get to show a different side of yourself when you offer to do tasks outside of your work scope. It will also help them to see you as not just a co-worker, but also a friend. 

CONSIDERATION IS KEY

In the office, working as a well-oiled team is paramount for any company to flourish. So be considerate towards your colleagues, and remember that it is not just important that you’re happy, but consider their needs as well. For example, turning down the volume of your music or keeping your things neat are good ways to show that you have considered their presences as important as yours also.

Tips on being a more productive worker after the long holidays

Imagine coming back after a long weekend or after a long holiday, and seeing the work pile up on your desk. You have not been working for such a long time, and you feel like you have lacklustre stamina to deal with all the stress. You need to be more productive, and here are some tips!

Plan the work you should complete today and Inform others

Take a breather while seeing your work load, and prioritise. Once you have decided on the area that you need to focus on, plan on the agenda for today. Once the agenda has been decided, let your colleagues know what your agenda is.
The trick behind this strategy, or “self-sabotage” as what others might call it – is that it makes you more accountable of your actions. 

Preventive Measures

If you know you are going for a long holiday, plan. You should have planned what are the aspects of work you could have clear before going for the holidays, especially those that you know is to be submitted within a few days of your arrival back to office. 

This helps you reduce stress, while meeting tight deadlines, and hence affects your productivity at work. 

Compliment your colleague! 

This is a weird technique, but in general research has shown that encouraging another’s success create a more positive work environment. This positive work environment helps in reducing stress and increasing productivity. This manages your stress level as well, and it encourages team work. You might have a team member who might volunteer to assist your over loaded work on that day. 

A compliment might result in an encouragement from your other co-workers. That encouragement could later lead to productivity. 

Stress Management Techniques

We all know when one is stressed, one becomes unproductive. Therefore, managing stress level can also help you become more productive on the first day of work. In general, techniques used like having lunch with your co-workers in an outdoor setting with fresh air and sunshine, could work.  You could also bring a potted plant into the office, to enjoy that bit of greenery. 

In addition, you could also talk about how your vacation went. Instead of just replying with one word sentences, you could share something more specific about what you have done. This helps you to be more positive as well, while you recall your happy times.