December 2022 CAI-NJ

CULTURE. It Matters. By Kelley Dolan, First Onsite

W ho feels that we talk about culture too much at work…Or not enough? Why has company culture continued to be a topic that comes up in articles, events, and office discussions? What retains employees during a time of movement? What retains peo ple who are watching their colleagues leave companies they have been at for ages, or for minutes? What brings new hires on board now more than ever? Culture...It matters. Below are some ideas that may have a positive influence on company culture both large and small: 1. Make your employees feel appreciated and valued. The words “I value what you brought to us on this idea…” and/or “I appreciate what you put into this.” carry a lot of weight and can be the difference between retaining a team member who is thinking about moving on or having them feel ignored and looking for greener pastures. 2. Plan out new hire orientation. An employee’s first 90 days dictate the rest of their time with you. Send them and their family flowers before they start and/or wel come them to a location with a catered meal so they can chat with coworkers. Added bonus, the employees you need to train the new hire will always appreciate a free meal. Map out training, both internal and external, for at least the first 6 months. 3. Celebrate small wins! Are people hitting goals, solv ing problems, learning new skills, working on soft

skills? Acknowledge their contributions publicly and encourage others to do the same! Celebrate as a group whenever you can. Potlucks are one of our most treasured cultural activities. Everyone gets involved in whatever way they can, we get a few minutes togeth er, and usually have a lot of laughs! 4. Make it clear, culture is everyone’s responsibility and hire for it. It’s hard right now to pause and think, “Will this candidate add to my culture and not just fit with it?” But that has to remain a priority when bringing someone on board, otherwise, you risk losing the staff you have. We are ALL working hard at reminding each other that we are our culture. It won’t change unless we want it to. As a small firm that was recently acquired, we now have the benefit of spreading what we have worked on to all our new coworkers and expanding what we can do with the programs they bring! For years we have read about cultural activities with crazy huge budgets and sighed with frustration when we knew we couldn’t spend like that. However, as a team we never let a limited budget stop the culture we have built and continue to work on. Your company doesn’t make your culture, your team does. If you get the right people in the door, committed to your goals and working with each other, there is no stopping what the team can accomplish together. Culture is people, and we need each other to keep the bonds of a strong culture together. n

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