Council Post: Four Tips For Creating A Healthy Work Culture In 2021

Sabeer Nelliparamban is Founder of Online Check Writer & CEO of Tyler Petroleum Inc.

I’m sure I’m not alone when I say I’m ecstatic to put 2020 in the rearview mirror and start working on making 2021 a much better year. In just over a year, Covid-19 has completely altered how many of us work and live. Several industries have faced internal issues, which, in turn, disrupted their services. Meanwhile, some businesses have flourished.

So, what can struggling businesses start doing — and what can thriving businesses continue to do — in order to find success in 2021? I believe it comes down to your organization’s culture. Here are some essential steps that can help both beginner and seasoned brands advance their company culture as we begin a brand new year.

1. Define and uphold the values of your company.

When you think about the past 10 years, the number of companies that have started up is high. If you’re in a market that is heavily saturated with many of these new companies, how can you stand out without defining your company’s identity and values? The short answer is, you can’t.

Core values are essential to your culture and your success as an organization, which means establishing them should be a top priority. Once you’ve defined what your company stands for, ensure you hold all of your staff to the same set of standards. This will create a positive culture built on the foundation of equality. In turn, this will ultimately increase the core values across all departments so they become implanted in your culture.

2. Put your people first.

Working and running a business from home can create a challenge in the form of hiring and retaining productive employees. Toxic company culture can lead to high turnover, and the price of replacing those employees can cost companies billions of dollars. As you could imagine, this also drives productivity directly into the bedrock.

Organizations that truly wish to succeed in the coming year need to do their best to make sure employees feel appreciated, connected, valued, respected, supported and, of course, productive. By doing this, you can help prevent team members from leaving.

How can your company do this exactly? The first and maybe most important thing to do is shift your primary focus to the health and well-being of your team members if you haven’t done so already. It doesn’t take the most seasoned CEOs in the world to see that when employees come first, they have a greater chance of making the business run more effectively. Aside from that, take another crucial look at your benefits packages, workplace safety and internal communications practices to make sure all of these are up to par and meeting the needs of the employee.

3. Hold upper-management accountable.

I’ve observed this step is overlooked by a lot of businesses, and a lot of those same businesses fail. Why? Because holding upper management accountable is key to maintaining a healthy culture. Productive and efficient teams have been able to do great things for companies only to be hindered by poor management.

The quality of executive management that is chosen is by far one of the most critical factors of a company’s success (or failure). Company leaders are the captains of the fleet. These team members are responsible for driving the business in the direction of sustainability, innovation and growth, and when they aren’t upholding the values of the company, the whole team can sink.

4. Communicate. Communicate. Communicate.

Pandemic or not, communication is the key to every successful business. Whether you work in a factory, a warehouse, an office, a bank or even an oil rig, communication is (in my opinion) the single most important factor in running a successful business. A good manager will create a healthy work environment by simply getting everybody talking. Check in with your team using phrases such as:

• “How’s everything been going?”

• “How would you do it differently?”

• “Do you have any suggestions?”

As a leader, it’s important for you to hear people’s opinions, whether they’re good, bad or ugly.

Of course, there are many more things that a business can do to promote a healthy work culture moving into 2021. Hopefully, these few tips help you get or stay on the right path this year.

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