Research conducted by Novo Executive Search and Selection indicates how businesses can improve company culture to retain their best staff. The focus on culture is important, given that company culture being one of the most popular reasons given for seeking a change, as based on employee surveys.
Typically, executives and employees generally start to think about moving on in the New Year and at the end of summer holidays. This means that September often sees a spike in top performing executives reaching out to executive recruiters for a new role.
Given that culture is often the instrumental reason, other than pay, for someone wishing to move on, company culture has become increasing important over the last few years and is now a critical aspect of business success. The research found that among executives, 56 percent state that culture is more important than the size of executive package.
The research also found the almost three-quarters of adults would not apply to a company unless its values aligned with their own personal values and 65 percent of employees suggested their company’s culture is one of the main reasons for staying in their job (as indicated in Glassdoor’s Mission & Culture Survey 2019).
Novoexec.com has developed a model which outlines the six components every business consider to build a good workplace culture for their staff. Doing so will not help attract the best employees but keep them, too. These are:
Mission and values
Getting the mission of your company right is critically important. You want your company vision to resonate with the personal goals of individual executives.
Freedom and flexibility
Freedom in the workplace may not sound like a recipe for success but allowing a certain amount of creative freedom and flexible working can generate a happy atmosphere, even in a corporate environment.
Health and wellness
We live in a world that is becoming more and more aware of the correlation between physical health and mental wellness. This transfers into the workplace. If people are physically fit and healthy, they will be more mentally alert and produce better results.
Collaborative working
To create a collaborative culture, there needs to be a focus on communication. This doesn’t necessarily mean more meetings. It means creating an atmosphere in which co-workers feel like they can collaborate without permission. Teams can be flexible and fluid under this type of company culture. This can be liberating and create a tide of innovation.
Transparency
A level of mutual trust is needed for business to thrive. Trust is built through honest and open relationships. Therefore, this part of the company culture ties in with the collaborative approach mentioned above. But it places an emphasis on transparency and honesty.
Empowerment
Feeling empowered, is by its very nature, powerful. The results you get from a team of empowered employees far exceed those of a team that feel oppressed or lack motivation.
Commenting on the model, Dale Perrett (founding director of Novo) tells Digital Journal: “The importance of company culture is not to be underestimated. At Novo we understand the difference outstanding leaders can make to a company and invariably, culture is the most important factor in attracting and retaining exceptional executives.”
He adds: “The steps and checklist from Novo are intended to help you as a business owner, leader or executive, build a thriving and attractive culture that attracts and retains the best performing employees”
