Business is a human endeavor. Despite the rise of automation, remote work, and online transactions, it will always have a human element—businesses work with and for people, after all. This is why company culture is an integral part of a company’s success.
Company culture is the shared goals and values of an organization. It manifests in collective behaviors and intangible aspects such as the motivation and mindset of its employees and executives.
A positive culture means ensuring employee satisfaction in terms of benefits as well as a sense of fulfillment from actively contributing to the company’s advocacy. Moreover, according to a Deloitte survey, employees rank intangible elements such as candid communication, employee recognition, and access to leadership as the highest factors that impact workplace culture. With that, below are some tips on how to build company culture.
1. Hire Candidates Who Can Adapt
To cultivate a stable workforce, managers must focus on hiring candidates who have core values that align with those of their current employees. However, you shouldn’t put cultural fit as your only criteria. You need to diversify your team with candidates that have unique perspectives and new ideas. Look for those who can adapt to new workplace culture without disrupting their workflow.
Magic takes this approach. We have a diverse team of vetted remote workers who can adapt to any industry and any company culture. Whether you’re looking for a virtual assistant for marketing, sales, administration, or bookkeeping, we can match you with a Magic assistant that can get the job done without compromising your team’s core culture.
Vincent Alessi, the associate director of Interoperability Institute, used this to his advantage. He takes on many roles: entrepreneur, scientist, and investor among other things. When Magic matched him with an assistant, they blended into his workflow without any hitches. They did email and calendar management for both his business and personal endeavors. He also delegated light literature reviews, arranging resources and citations, and presentations. Vincent was able to build rapport with his Magic assistant which made their workflow seamless.
“She acts as an extension of me—and she does a very good job at it.” – Vincent Alessi,
2. Encourage Work-Life Balance
Building a positive culture entails looking after the well-being of each employee. In fact, health is a consistent factor that employees prioritize in terms of work-life balance across gender and age groups.
There may be instances where employees aren’t able to complete their core deliverables due to work overload. As a leader, you may even be compromising your own personal time to accomplish ad hoc tasks. Being open to discussion about management styles and delegating workload with your team is the first step you can take in encouraging work-life balance.
3. Create Workplace Rituals
Rituals can be a way for employees to strengthen their relationships with each other. You can create a ritual for new product launches, opening or closing a facility, or a change in leadership. Celebrations play an important role in our lives outside work and they can serve the same purpose inside.
According to a study conducted by Michael Norton of Harvard Business School, group bonding rituals positively contribute to how meaningful employees perceive their work to be. And meaningful work was found to have significant correlations with work engagement, commitment, and job satisfaction.
Rituals can look like pizza parties in the office, passing out gift cards, or ringing a bell after a successful sale. Remote teams can also create workplace rituals despite the distance. Virtual parties, group chats, and other online spaces are some of the most common ways to encourage team building.
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Magic can help you facilitate similar virtual rituals. Administrative assistants can integrate easily into your Slack and Telegram channels to assist with organizing them. Alternatively, check out these apps for your next virtual hangout:
- Gather.Town features a customizable 2D world where team members can connect authentically. For instance, you (or your 2D avatar) have to be virtually close to them to hear them.
- Cozyroom is a spatial peer-to-peer audio environment for casual hangouts.
- Here.fm allows you to customize your room with virtual items, pictures, notes, and more. It’s also combined with video chat features.
4. Foster A System Of Learning
Learning means encouraging creativity and innovation. This can take the form of training programs for skills outside of an employee’s core function, allowing open discussions during a meeting for brainstorming, and changing how leadership and employees interact with each other.
Magic can also be a driver for your company’s learning initiatives. In addition to fulfilling their assigned roles, they can also share their ideas and unique perspectives in their department. For instance, we matched Steven Lewis, the executive director of The Boost Pad, with an assistant that helped him with administrative work while also actively engaging in meetings and discussions on how to improve their workflows.
“I don’t think of Mark as an assistant, I think of him as more of a team member. […] Because he has the desire to do more, and he’s just been very gracious and humble in the way that he’s been a part of our team.”
You can build a positive culture regardless of your company size, budget, and industry. When you continuously allot the time and effort to invest in your employees’ happiness and well-being, you will see sustainable growth for your company — and Magic will help you achieve that.
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