Category Archives: Company Culture

How to Build a Positive Workplace Culture

Creating a Favorable Work Culture

Do you consider yourself a person who acts with kindness and positivity?

CorpStrat’s positive workplace culture is one of the most important features that we provide for our employees. We believe our culture throughout the years has been the driving force in attracting and retaining our employees on a long-term basis. Consider some of these ways to build more of an inspiring office culture.

One of the strategies we use to maintain a positive working environment is planning a monthly activity, we call “Friday Fun.”

For approximately 45 minutes, everyone takes a break and convenes in an area of the office to play a game – ‘Name that tune’ and Cornhole are two of our favorites. We also offer prizes, which adds to the liveliness of the game. The goal is to make it an extended, relaxing, and fun-filled break, which allows an opportunity for everyone to bond, and to strengthen the chemistry among our team.

Setting The Tone

A favorable work culture is one which encourages employees to behave like a family and one where employees have each other’s back. Everyone shares and supports one another’s goals, in addition to celebrating our successes.

Though leaders are mostly responsible for setting the tone, employees also contribute to how the cultural dynamic unfolds. So, it’s no surprise when companies develop a positive and kind work culture, they achieve substantially higher levels of effectiveness.

It is vital in bringing out the best in employees, even in adverse circumstances. Research shows the best way to improve your work culture is positive communication amongst your staffers, increased mindfulness, supportive attitudes, team spirit and providing a sense of purpose. That’s why when employees work as a team to meet both the company’s and their own personal needs, it’s a win-win for everyone!

Simple, Effective Ways To Help Build Office Culture

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Your office is busy, people are working hard from 9-5 ++. People come in to the office and clock in, they work diligently, take a few mandated breaks; their required lunch time and clock out to start the process all over again the next day.

Building office culture can help take the grind out of your employees working days and would help the office be more fun and add energy to your staff. By doing this, your employees will look forward to coming to work, add excitement & energy to their days, allow them to gain connection with their colleagues and most importantly, have them feel appreciated.

Here are a few simple ideas that have worked well for our clients.

Have an employee of the quarter. Put a voting box in a location and have your employees vote on the employee of the quarter. Management should not be involved.The employees write down who they think is the employee of the quarter and why they think they are. At the end of each quarter, announce the winner by reading in front of everyone and read a few things that their fellow employees wrote about them. Then give a gift certificate, a visa card, a private parking spot for the month etc. as the gift. Every quarter your employees will want to be that exceptional employee and try to be the next employee of the quarter.

Starbucks Run. Pick a time and announce that you are making a Starbucks run and ask all of your employees what they want. It’s a small investment and makes the employees feel that you care about them, they feel appreciated and thought of, and who doesn’t love a free Starbucks run?

Ice Cream Social. Pick a day and announce to your staff to be in the kitchen at 2:30 or 3pm. When they arrive in the kitchen have the owners or managers there ready to serve ice cream to the staff. Your employees will appreciate that the management is taking their time to make their staff feel good and let them enjoy a relaxed time with the other employees.

Quarterly outings. Once a quarter have management pick an event to get your staff out of the office for an event that helps get all of the employees together for bonding and team building. Ideas that we have seen our clients do. Go on a hike, rent bikes and go for a ride, miniature golf, painting class, donating time to a charity, walk around the block as a team, go to the park and just hang out or play games, take everyone to an arcade, take everyone to a movie, have a cooking class, take a guided tour through your city, etc.

Building office culture is one of the most important things you can do for your employees. It is often said that many employees feel that being appreciated is more important than pay.

What is it that your company does for your employees that builds on office culture and morale? Feel free to share your ways in the below comments section!

The Ultimate Employee Benefit – Their Own Private Foundation

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Giving is contagious and having a socially good company culture is vital today.

When people think of Microsoft and its founder, Bill Gates, often the first thing that comes to mind is the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation: a nonprofit organization they founded with the fortune. Its mission is simple: working to improve the lives of everyday people. The foundation is a significant part of the brand’s image, mission, and contributes to Microsoft’s reputation as a leader in social good.

Like the Gates Foundation, many companies are putting more resources into charitable causes, and for good reason. Along with the warm feelings associated with altruism, employees contributing to the social good recognize that philanthropy can provide good fuel for any company.

However, you do not have to be a Fortune 500 company to start a private foundation. Actually, any company any size can establish their own charity, dialed down directly to each employee.

This is due to a very new employee benefit program, called Give Back. Give Back allows companies to withhold charitable contributions via payroll deduction, and remit to the vendors of the employees choosing. (Think “United Way” payroll campaigns meet modern technology.)

Here is how it works:

An employer establishes an arrangement with GIVE BACK, much like a 401k would interface with their company. Employees agree to “give” each paycheck, to the charity of their choosing (most 501c3 organizations participate). Employer withholds any amount selected by the employee and remits to GIVE BACK. Employees log on and change their charitable selections anytime and so they can give to various charities all year long.

Imagine the opportunity for a parent to go home and share this giving program with their kids, allow their families to select the “family charity of the month”. What a powerful lesson and great way to engage employees and families in. Employers can match if they want – or contribute in similar fashion each month.

Benefits of a GIVE BACK plan:

Helps attract and retain employees by demonstrating that you’re a company that truly empowers its people.
Helps engage employees in workplace giving.
Creates recognition for your company as a “business that cares”.
Complements existing giving programs.
Offers an easy-to-administer payroll deduction plan.
Ensures careful vetting of all charities to ensure they are 501c(3) and IRS-registered.
Provides an easy administration of company matching contributions.
Provides company-branded Give Back web pages.

Talk about a low-cost and employee focused benefit!

Any company, any size, can have a GIVE BACK plan. CorpStrat helps companies establish Give Back plans as a way of helping them do socially good. Now, you can too with a comprehensive, state‐of‐the art payroll administration service from CorpStrat.

The “Office” Has a New Meaning Today

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Companies have relaxed their environment to reflect their culture and embrace the newer, younger employee mindset. Long gone are stoic office cubicles and personal workstations.

It’s not uncommon to see dogs at offices, communal workstations, plug & play desktops, and a relaxed dress code. Some companies have abandoned hours entirely, seeking outcome-based employees. Other companies staff full-service kitchens and gyms, child daycare and even cleaners have become popular on larger-scale campuses.

Zappos CEO Tony Hsieh says there is a reason there is a key to their success: “A lot of people act different on the weekends versus the office. It’s like they leave a big part of themselves at home. We encourage our employees to be themselves. We want them to be the same person at home and in the office.”

Companies are welcoming a new unconventional office culture that offers perks such as telecommuting, flextime, tuition reimbursement, free employee lunches and on-site doctors. Business cards have faded to e-cards, and custom plastic emblazed nameplates are a thing of the past! It’s a new world and a new workplace.

At CorpStrat, we identified a fun way to show our pride, distinguish our environment and have some fun. While our people do have dedicated workspaces, we have embraced a “FAT HEAD” culture.

What’s a Fat Head??

office culture in HR

It’s is an oversized cardboard cut-out – much like a selfie, a headshot; one that’s 2 feet big.

The FAT heads are atop all of our workspaces. They are fun, colorful, and a great way to add vibrancy to our office. They show our diversity and a commitment to employee culture. Plus, seeing big, happy smiles all day never hurt anyone that works in a challenging business like ours.

Fat heads are just one way we tackle workplace stress and cultivate a fun and interactive atmosphere at CorpStrat. Nothing builds camaraderie in any workplace than healthy interaction and playfulness.

Fat Heads are inexpensive, and a great way to show our people we care. Its only one item in a growing list of the ways we want to show our loyalty, earn our employees’ commitment, and embrace a positive workspace.

In the end, employees who feel appreciated are more positive and are more inclined to add towards the success of their organizations. A recognition-encouraging culture is more likely to have a high retention rate and though it may sound silly, Fat heads are a real fun way to work towards betterment.

Where Do You Draw The Line?

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Overly-Friendly or Sexual Harassment…Where Do You Draw the Line?

With the daily news of high profile cases of sexual harassment since Harvey Weinstein was accused last fall along with many others, clients have asked – how do you determine if someone is over-friendly verses harassment? The line between flirtation and harassment is a very fine, often, blurred one.

There is no disputing that a person’s individual and workplace culture plays a large part in this equation. Understanding what is happening (or not happening) in your organization, is most imperative for executives to take the lead on. The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has a clear definition of what is and is not harassment. So perhaps the question should be, what proactive things can I do to tackle this ever growing issue?

Know the facts. Review the EEOC definition and educated yourself.
Know the types of harassment. Sexual, verbal, gender, etc. and how they can play out in your culture.
Have an inclusive work culture that is diverse in ethnicity, social background, and gender.
Review and update policies that relate to harassment of all kinds.
Develop internal communication that outlines standards, a process for reporting abuse, and clear consequences for violating the policy.
Participate in regular scheduled trainings.
Create a supportive work culture where employee’s feel empowered and valued.
Support HR when a concern arises.
Don’t wait for a formal complaint. If you see or hear about it, ACT.
Respond quickly to all allegations.

Be The Solution

While there are no guarantees a company policy or training will be the perfect solution, employers can take proactive steps to address harassment and create solutions that ensure a safe and comfortable work environment for all.

For the skeptics, yes, false accusations have been made and genuine misunderstandings, easily rectified. But don’t let that lessen the seriousness of a complaint. Harassment of all kinds now have a voice and that has given people the courage to speak up, when they may have been too scared to before.

Given how little agreement exists about a clear definition of sexual harassment, employers seeking to create a comfortable work environment may need to be more explicit about the boundaries of acceptable behavior. Consider CorpStrat to help you through that next situation and in developing policies or trainings. Our HR on Demand packages can provide reliable HR support and create solutions. We are here to help.