Employees typically leave jobs to search for better pay, but nowadays, South African workers aren't only resigning to follow the money. While the search for a higher salary is still the leading reason for most resignations, many people are leaving to look for better career prospects. Workers are not only looking for financial rewards but a positive work environment, a healthy work culture, leaders who will support them, and a company that values teamwork and collaboration.
What is workplace culture?
Workplace culture is a set of attitudes, ideas, and actions that influence the everyday atmosphere of your work environment. Characteristics of a positive workplace culture include good communication, teamwork, high employee morale and low employee turnover.
What are the benefits of creating a positive workplace culture?
- Everyone wins when you build a positive workplace culture. It can help establish a good reputation for your company, helping you attract skilled, high-performing technicians, and simplifying your recruitment process. People want to work for a company where they'll be supported and appreciated, so a positive work culture will help you retain these workers. A positive work culture can increase employee satisfaction. Happy employees are more likely to be hardworking, improving productivity and the quality of your service offerings.
How to create a positive workplace culture
- There are a few ways you can create a positive workplace culture to keep your field workers happy and encourage productivity.
Establish clear goals and expectations
- When your team doesn't know what's expected of them, they won't know if they're doing a good job or not, leaving them feeling anxious and insecure about their job performance. When clear goals and expectations are communicated, workers know exactly what work to do and how to do it, making it easier for everyone to work towards a shared goal. It's crucial to share your organisation's objectives with your employees, but you also need to work with your employees to develop personal career goals. You can use these goals to measure your employees' productivity and encourage healthy competition.
Encourage open communication and collaboration
- Open communication and collaboration will help you create a culture where teamwork, feedback, and knowledge sharing are accepted and encouraged, positively impacting your business's productivity and success. While it can be challenging to communicate with field workers located at multiple sites, you can promote open communication with Staff Management Software. Collaboration is easier with cloud-based software, as everyone can share and access job cards and information they need to work together. You can manage your team's schedule with one platform, and your technicians can access their calendars and job cards via their mobile devices.
Improve employee recognition
- Recognising achievements shows your employees that productivity is valued and rewarded, creating a culture where employees are inspired to work hard and contribute to your company's success. It fosters healthy competition, where workers encourage each other to give their all. You can use the goals you've set with your workers to measure performance and reward technicians when they reach their targets. Incentives like cash bonuses and paid time off can motivate your team, but don't underestimate the power of detailed verbal or written feedback. This can help your technicians understand what they're doing well and how they can improve their performance.
Provide opportunities for skills development
- Give your technicians the opportunity to develop their skills and advance their careers. When you invest in skills development, employees feel valued, boosting employee satisfaction. It also sends the message that they have a future at your company, encouraging them to stay at your company and work their way up in the business. You can offer online training or in-person skills development, including mentorships and job shadowing. Every time a worker completes training, review what they've learned with them to improve your skills development programmes and ensure that the content is relevant and helpful.
With the right approach and a tool like Staff Management Software, you can create a positive work culture that supports your company's values, boosts productivity and happiness in the workplace, and encourages workers to help you grow your business. To learn more about our software and Eworks Manager, connect with a member of our team or start your 14-day free trial today.
