Ask The Expert with Alistair

We sat down with CEO and Founder of The HR Booth, Alistair, to discuss how he helps create a positive workplace culture, what this looks like and the steps you can take to do the same.

What does a positive workplace culture look like?

There are various different definition for a positive workplace culture. However, in my experience, it can be defined as an environment where employees are actively engaged and motivated to try their best every day. Through this, you can create a culture where morale is high and teamwork is part of the everyday work process, with the end result being satisfied individuals who feel happy and supported. Often, happy employees translates into happy customers, which can act as a driving force for the organisation.

A positive workplace culture should be built on a mutual respect amongst one another, trust, and open communication. This can create a sense of company loyalty amongst the employees, they feel part of the decision – making process and can advocate for a better working environment. This will all stem from management level by setting the correct tone and vision for how you want your organisational culture to look. Furthermore, offering adequate opportunities for personal development are something to consider as well. Employees will also aim to look one step ahead, and a clear career path will help them do this. Not only that, but they will also be more motivated to succeed if they can see a clear career path ahead of them, with your organisation. A positive workplace culture will celebrate diversity and inclusion, different perspectives are encouraged and welcomed into conversation. A work – life balance must also be encouraged amongst your workforce, especially if the workforce are spread across the country. The wellbeing of your employees should be at the forefront of any business and / or culture decisions.

A positive workplace culture will relish challenges and use these as an opportunity for growth and development of the business rather than a hinderance, ensuring there is a collective commitment towards achieving the organisational goals.

A positive workplace culture is not just about offering employee benefits. Whilst this does go a long way to boosting office morale, to create a positive workplace culture you should be focused and committed to creating a happy working environment, one where people are excited and passionate to do well in.

How does The HR Booth encourage a positive work culture?

One of our Core Values is Trust, and this is the foundation of any relationship.  In the workplace, you need to have trust, and at The HR Booth we trust and empower our colleagues.  This allows people to flourish and learn from any mistakes – this is important too and not to penalise or punish people when a mistake does happen.

At The HR Booth, my role is to create the platform for a positive workplace culture but ultimately, it’s the people in the team that create the culture – this is why recruitment and team fit is so important.  It’s also good to have different perspectives and having a community definitely helps – we do regular walk and talks, weekly team meetings and regular check ins and 1-1s with the team.  We shout out and recognise people for good work or demonstrating our values.  We also encourage development and it’s important people receive regular feedback and have a development plan.

We carry out regular surveys and check ins with the team to ensure people are being heard and supported.

Building a culture takes time, and the people in the business help shape this, but we strive to make people feel welcome, listened to and respected, whilst trying to have fun.  We all spend a lot of time at work, so it’s important to enjoy it too and this is why having a good community spirit helps.

What are the benefits of a positive work culture?

There are loads of benefits, and essentially a positive workplace culture leads to happier employees and happier customers.  All of this impacts on your bottom line.  Customers spend more, stay with you longer and recommend your business.  You will also see people stay in your business longer, reducing your recruitment costs, and you will see better levels of productivity.  Team work improves, collaboration improves, better communication, and your teams are happy to suggest new ideas/better ways of working.  This also improves wellbeing and people’s mental health too.

A primary benefit of a positive workplace culture is increased employee retention. If people enjoy their working environment, they will be more inclined to stay at the company. Recruitment can be an expensive, time – consuming and stressful process. You can avoid all that ( or at least reduce how often you need to recruit ) with a positive workplace culture. It is important to educate your employees on what makes a positive workplace culture, ensure that they have a solid foundation of knowledge on the topic. If the employees can help drive positive change in the workplace, then this can really accelerate your growth on this topic.

Another benefit is increased productivity levels. Employees who are engaged and motivated are likely to work more efficiently and effectively, contributing to business success. Your employees are more likely to work together and help each other out. This is something at The HR Booth that we have been extremely pleased to see happen on a regular basis. Open communication will also encourage ideas to be shared amongst the team, on a range of subjects, but all helps to create a positive workplace culture.

The benefits associated with a positive workplace culture are endless. Happy employees and customers will bring increased retention, increased productivity, better team work and an overall enhanced wellbeing.

How important is employee feedback in creating a positive workplace culture?

This is hugely important.  Your employees are your eyes and ears, they will tell you what’s wrong and what’s right in your business, and tell you how your customers feel before the customer does.  They can make lots of good suggestions.    Feedback plays an important  role in fostering a positive work culture by empowering employees to voice their opinions, contribute ideas, and actively participate in decision-making processes. It promotes transparency, trust, and accountability, creating an environment where employees feel valued and respected.

Feedback plays a vital role in creating a positive workplace culture. Employees should feel encouraged to give their opinion on workplace matters and suggest ideas. The famous saying being “there is no such thing as a bad idea”, is one which is common in our office – in the terms that we encourage people to suggest anything they feel may be beneficial for us as a business and as a team. Employees will want to feel valued and wanted in the workplace, so it is integral that you listen to them and be open to any suggestions that they may have.

If an idea is remotely realistic, then you should seriously consider implementing it. This will not only improve your workplace, but you will also see employee’s confidence begin to grow as they see their ideas being respected, listened to and implemented.

You can incorporate employee feedback into your everyday business strategy. By holding regular feedback session, you are giving employees a platform to speak up and voice their opinion – both positive and negative. You can be proactive when it comes to problem – solving, be innovative whilst enhancing employee engagement and employee satisfaction, all just by listening to them.

It’s important to take this feedback onboard, or explain where you can’t implement an idea, for whatever reason.

A positive workplace culture brings together various different elements of workplace life. The one common factor is employees – ensure that they are at the heart of this. Employees need to feel valued, trusted, engaged, and motivated to be able to perform at their best. A high level of morale, active teamworking, mutual respect and open communication will all be key elements for you to achieve your desired positive workplace culture. This type of culture will not only increase employee satisfaction, you will also see the benefits of increased customer satisfaction, all of which directly impacts your organisation’s bottom line.

At The HR Booth, we create a positive workplace culture by building positive and healthy internal relationships, which then translated into the relationships we build externally, such as with our clients and any other business partners. Management help set the tone for us to go and follow.

There are extensive benefits of a positive workplace culture. Namely, increased employee retention, reduced recruitment costs and a more stable and educated workforce. Productivity levels will rise as your employees will feel more engaged and motivated. Employee wellbeing and mental health should be at the epicentre of your business strategy.

By listening to your employees and acting on your feedback, you are giving them the confidence and belief they may need to succeed. Not only that, but you are also demonstrating that you are willing to listen to them and implementing any suggestions they may have for your workplace.

If you are looking for guidance or advice on how to create a positive workplace culture for your business, then we are always happy to chat things through with you. You can contact us via the contact form at the bottom of this page.