A focus on promoting a positive workplace culture pays dividends when it comes to the bottom line, according to Jean Gamester.
Giving employees a sense of purpose, the director of consultancy firm Semaphore said, is among the ways business bosses can improve working culture.
Involving workers in the exploration and shaping of that purpose personalises the process to the benefit of the company, she added.
Ms Gamester said: “I’ve spent some time in some dysfunctional companies and one of the things that turned me off was the sense that the purpose of my hard work seemed to be to make money for shareholders and nothing else.
“That’s just not going to engage people and make them want to do anything beyond what gets them through the day or gets them their own personal goals.”
Also, organisations that are clear on their values and hold themselves to account are likely to have a culture that reflects those values. To this end bosses should outline the kinds of behaviour expected and accepted, and what kinds of behaviour are not, according to Ms Gamester.
Culture change is only going to work if you make it systematic, Ms Gamester said: “That means that whatever methods you use to do performance management, recruitment and promotion need to embed the behaviours you have defined.
“If someone who is constantly rude gets promoted when you have a value of respect, then the system is broken.”
This approach requires strong leadership and the ability to have constructive and challenging conversations with members of staff, Ms Gamester said.
She added: “The consequences of not dealing with cultural issues can be tough – and in order to make it work well you need strength and courage. But if you do focus on your purpose, values and desired behaviours, if you work to make sure they are at the heart of all you do, you will have a great culture. And with great culture comes infinite possibility.”
Adviser view
Richard Ross, director at Norwich-based Chadwicks, said: “Our entire business is based around our brand values and we try to promote that both internally and externally. For example, we are learning organisation and we demonstrate this by actively encouraging and helping people to work on their personal development. We have helped people in the business study for their second masters degree, for example. Also, we are trying to encourage members of staff to become more social media savvy. To this end, we enlisted the help of a university creative writing lecturer to come into our office and give a session.
“We have also expanded our business by taking on university graduates and have taken on work experience undergraduates. This is something we have been doing for six years and helps differentiates from other similar businesses because it shows we have a vested interest in encouraging our people to progress professionally. Ultimately this results in better outcomes for clients.”
