Our goal at Beyond Paralegals was never to be a big company— it was to create an environment that attracts top talent and promotes ingenuity.
To achieve this we intentionally created a culture that energizes and encourages each other, fosters connected relationships and great teamwork, empowers and enables our team to learn and grow, and provides an opportunity for us all to do our best work.
Many companies don’t take the time to be intentional about their culture. As a result they have allowed their culture to be created by default. If your culture was created by default, it is likely that unintentional values or norms exist.
If you are consistently dealing with conflicts, blame, frustration… your culture is eroding employee morale with every passing minute.
Culture should be intentional. It should be embedded in your company’s DNA— it should be cultivated and reflect your company’s core values. While there are many ways to create your company culture, here are 4 fundamentals that should be a good base from which to build.
DEFINE YOUR CORE VALUES
Having a clear and defined set of core values will be the fundamental beliefs upon which your business and its behaviors are based. These core values will also provide the guiding principles your company will pull from to manage its internal affairs as well as its relationships with it’s customers and clients.
Going beyond the poster in your break-room and providing examples of your values by modeling them in the office is an easy way to reinforce your core values.
INVEST IN YOUR EMPLOYEES
When you take the time to invest in your employees you will attract and keep the best talent and you will build a strong work culture unafraid of innovation, change, failure and success.
Two easy ways to show your employees you value them is by investing in their individual development, or by assigning them a mentor to help them achieve their goals.
RECOGNIZE ACCOMPLISHMENTS
Employee recognition is a low cost, high impact way to boost employee engagement. We all want to know when we pour our best efforts into a project — that it is going to be recognized.
Pay attention to the kinds of recognition your staff responds well to: it can be a bonus, a private praise, or, a shout-out from a peer. Whatever it is, taking the time to recognize your employees accomplishments is a win— win.
FOSTER EMPLOYEE PRIDE
When an employee can see how they are contributing to the success of a project, or the goals of the company, they take more pride in their work.
We use a system that visualizes and tracks goal alignments so anyone working on a project can see exactly how their individual contribution(s) are helping drive a project forward and the value it brings to our company.
No matter how you go about creating your company culture, it’s essential to remember culture is integral to your company’s identity. It’s the values your employees, customers and clients experience, so it’s critical to nurture a culture that reflects and radiates your company’s vision.
For more helpful tips visit our Resource Center.
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