Company culture has a significant impact on the success of a business. You don’t want your workplace to be something people dread every day. Your people deserve to have a fun and productive working environment — especially because employee happiness means lower turnover and better company performance. A great company culture sustains employee enthusiasm, and can be an excellent recruiting tool to hire top talent. If you’re looking for a few ways to improve morale and ensure that your team has the best work environment to drive great results, we’ve put together some research about the qualities of businesses that have been recognized as some of the best companies to work for. Examining the cultures of other companies can help you create a list of desired values and behaviors you will ultimately try to emulate into your own culture.

1. HOW TO CREATE A
CULTURE THAT YOUR
EMPLOYEES LOVE
10 Ways to Become One of the Best Companies to Work For

2. What is company culture and
why does it matter?
Company culture has become a popular
buzzword in the last few years. But what is it
exactly?
On a basic level, your company culture reflects
the beliefs, values and behaviors of everyone
in your workforce. We like to think of culture as
the guidelines that your employee handbook
leaves out, or the environment that you create
to keep your employees happy.
Your unique culture is built into your business’
DNA from day one. It begins with your
founders -- what they believed in, what they
valued and how they worked. A new company
has the opportunity to try new approaches to
culture, taking things that were learned from
previous workplace experiences and emulate
or embellish them to make their own unique
environment.
After you’ve been in business for a few years
and begin to lose your start-up mentality, it can
begin to feel like company culture is already
set in stone, not something you can adapt
and improve. This couldn’t be any further from
the truth. So if you’re feeling like your office is
stuck in a culture rut, fret not. Your workplace
environment can certainly be developed and
molded over time, especially with a lot of
thoughtful planning.

3. How can you make your company a
great place to work?
Company culture has a significant impact on
the success of a business. You don’t want
your workplace to be something people
dread every day. Your people deserve to have
a fun and productive working environment
— especially because employee happiness
means lower turnover and better company
performance.
A great company culture sustains
employee enthusiasm, and can be
an excellent recruiting tool to hire
top talent.
If you’re looking for a few ways to improve
morale and ensure that your team has the best
work environment to drive great results, we’ve
put together some research about the qualities
of businesses that have been recognized
as some of the best companies to work for.
Examining the cultures of other companies can
help you create a list of desired values and
behaviors you will ultimately try to emulate into
your own culture.

4. Focus on hiring excellent people.
1
When people hear the words “company
culture,” they often think about beer taps,
espresso, grand parties and ping pong tables.
While these sorts of perks can have value,
they don’t really matter unless you’ve created
the right work environment to appropriately
embrace them.
The purpose of job perks and benefits should
always be to attract and retain the most
excellent employees in the industry, because
the more talent you have, the more you can
accomplish. Creating a fun work environment,
and the providing means to do that, should
only be a way to make employees happier and
more productive.
To create a culture that employees are excited
about, you first have to focus on hiring people
who have the behaviors and skills that your
company values. Invest in a winning team with
passionate people and leaders who will grow
with the company. Focus on bringing in top
talent and then use perks to reward and keep
them.

5. Reward hard
work, not hours
on the clock.
2
It can be easy to forget that your
employees have busy lives outside of
work. Great employers today don’t
measure team success by how many
hours are spent in the office. All they
care about is that their people are
accomplishing great work.
In fact, most companies that
have been recognized on “best
companies to work for” lists don’t
have 9-5 workday or vacation
policies. They let their employees
use their discretion when allocating
their time, because they only hire
self-disciplined, hard-working
people. The most important thing
should always be the final product -not how it gets done.

6. Be as transparent
as possible.
3
Great companies believe that power
is gained by sharing knowledge,
not hoarding it. Don’t make all of
your business decisions in secret
meetings behind closed doors.
Your employees have a
vested interest in the future
of your company too.
Give your team the opportunity to
join in on meetings and feel like
they’re playing an important, trusted
role in determining the direction
of the company. Often times,
including your team will give them
a voice to suggest better ways
of accomplishing objectives. And
they’ll feel more ownership in each
decision that’s made, so they’ll
work harder to make sure initiatives
succeed.

7. Treat your employees like adults.
4
1
Which would you prefer: A company culture
defined by strict process and procedure
adherence? Or a culture of freedom and
responsibility? The answer may seem obvious,
but the majority of companies curtail freedom
and become more bureaucratic as they grow.
If your goal is to attract and nourish innovative,
creative people, running informally can be the
best way to do this. Try to minimize as much
procedure and complexity as possible.
It can be easy to forget that your employees
are doing a lot to juggle their work and
personal lives. If they need to work from home
on occasion, let them. If they need to move
some hours around to make their child’s
school play or catch a flight out of town, be
accommodating. Assume that the people
you’ve hired are responsible enough to manage
their own time. Treating your employees like
adults will make them more loyal because they
know that you respect their time.

8. Invest in employee wellness.
5
1
Over the past few years, having an employee
wellness program has become the new
standard for top companies. From free
smoking cessation programs to cash rewards
for tracking exercise, great employers are
doing more than ever to help their employees
make healthy lifestyle changes.
Even if you don’t have the budget to
implement some of the more costly wellness
initiatives, crafting a healthy work environment
is an extremely important investment for your
business. Your team needs to be performing
at its best, and giving your employees ways to
relieve some stress, get a little exercise and
feel great during the workday will make them
happier and more productive -- not to mention
that they’ll appreciate you looking out for their
wellbeing.
Try to organize activities that everyone can
participate in like a nutrition or exercise
challenge, and encourage employees to
participate in community activities together.
Whether it’s rock climbing, kayaking or running
a 5k, there are always ways to get employees
on their feet, doing the things they love
together.

9. Foster
employees’
professional
development.
6
Most of the best companies to
work for say they give preference to
promoting from within and design
programs to support this objective.
Regular training, development
programs and education
reimbursement can be great ways
for employees to continue their
professional growth.
By investing in the future of your
team, you’re not only cultivating
new skills that are beneficial to the
company. You also create a loyal
workforce that recognizes your
commitment to their success, and
your people will be more likely to
stay with the company, greatly
reducing turnover rates.

10. Prioritize technology and mobility.
7
1
Technology continues to change how people
work and communicate, and the need to
adjust to current and ever-changing business
climates exists.
have outlined their communications needs, set
clear strategic objectives and have realistic
expectations of what new technology solutions
will help them achieve.
As the global workforce expands,
businesses need to make
technology work for their people.
As more companies get a grasp on how
and where they can leverage technology
to enhance communication practices, build
operational efficiencies and meet employees
where they are, the more likely they are to
have employees that thrive and succeed in this
changing work climate.
Providing employees with mobile technology
that can help them thrive in today’s “on the
go” work environment is more important than
ever. Successful companies are those that

11. Recognize and celebrate
accomplishments
8
Your employees are the heart of your business,
and happy, motivated employees are going to
be more passionate about their jobs, be more
productive and better serve your customers.
Schedule regular, highly-structured reviews
with your employees to let them know how
they’re doing. This level of transparency and
communication will hold them accountable for
their work throughout the year and will also
keep them motivated to continually improve.
And when your team does something great,
celebrate it! Whether it’s a completed project
or product launch, take time to recognize
group and individual success.

12. Support community involvement –
and not just as a PR move.
9
The best companies to work for encourage
their employees to be good citizens of their
communities and of the world -- and not just
according to their public relations campaigns,
but for real. They think about their carbon
footprint, they come up with creative ways to
support local projects or small businesses, they
actively promote volunteerism among their team.
Emphasize the importance of workplace
sustainability, and encourage your employees
to dedicate their time to a local mission.
Whether it’s a helping clean up a park,
manning a soup kitchen or a raising funds for
a cause that you care about, there are plenty
of ways to give your company something to
support together.

13. Give your
employees a
mission.
10
The new workers entering the jobforce do
not care about keeping the same steady job
for their whole career like their parents did.
Employees today need to have a purpose and
want their work to be meaningful and fulfilling.
Companies truly succeed at creating a
company culture that employees love when
they believe that their work is a noble cause,
and commit to their mission in everything
they do. They have a purpose that everyone
understands. And even better, every employee
can tell you the role he or she plays in
achieving that purpose.
Clearly define what is at the heart of
your business.
How are your products or services changing the
lives of your customers? Then find a way to rally
your team passionately around that mission.

14. So you want this culture thing.
Now what?
The best companies to work for are
exceptionally good at an extraordinary number
of things. But their success does not happen
by chance or by blindly following trends. It
comes from attention to employee feedback
and developing programs that build upon the
company’s culture and values.
While much inspiration can be taken from
other companies’ accomplishments, building
your own great workplace has to start by
determining which values and behaviors are
most important to your employees and relevant
to your own unique culture. Then you need
to document and share what you think your
most valuable attributes should be with your
team. And as you bring new employees on
board, you need to remember to reinforce
your company’s cultural attributes. As your
company grows and changes, be mindful
of the things that should remain import as
a culture tenant and the things that need to
change.

15. GOMOMENTUM.COM
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