Employee Engagement & Its Path To Culture

Culture is something that we’re all born into. It sustains us, and it grows regardless whether we nurture it or not. Whether it’s good or bad, culture is something we mustn’t ignore. Company culture gives life to employee engagement or crushes it. This week on #TChat, we were joined by guest: Josh Levine, Director of Strategy and Founder at Great Monday and Co-Founder of CultureLab. Josh’s unique experience and perspective on employee engagement guided our knowledge on the matter and its connection with building great company culture, because culture is only a moment away from being impactful to employee retention and productivity. Company culture is not defined by high-performers and profitability. Culture has to be more than just that. Since culture requires constant looking after, culture management is not only a business priority, it can be what makes or breaks an organization.

The battle for keeping employees engaged starts with understanding the 5 P’s of culture: package, potential, people, purpose, & perception. And why not? Each help cohesively align an organization’s vision with their employees’ goals to create an engaged workforce. Great company culture is so critical to have because:

This is the first time in history where biz priorities align w employee priorities. This is why company culture is critical. #TChat

— Josh Levine (@akajoshlevine) October 22, 2014

Some of us have already had the light-bulb moment, while others are still wandering around aimlessly trying to figure out why their employees dread coming to work everyday. Luckily, the few organizations that understand their business priorities must align with their employees priorities have either knowingly or unknowingly tapped into the 5 P’s of culture. Creating employee engagement involves learning and understanding employees’ potential to match their purpose. Culture often gets lost and jumbled into the mix of organizational priorities and sustained profitability. A harsh truth, but:

A2 If leaders would hire personalities & develop skills then they would understand the correlation btw success&people as priorities. #TChat

— Iva Ignjatovic (@IvaIgnjatovic) October 22, 2014

Employees are the organizational priority. An organization exists because they exist. Packaging their personalities and skills into their work is how we find that correlation. Building a position around an employee’s personality and skills helps them unleash their potential and engages them. As vital as the 5 P’s to culture are, the glue that holds them together is communication. Management cannot develop and sustain company culture without being the first to jump onboard and communicate to employees what’s trying to be accomplished. Current employees have to get onboard as well and follow management’s lead. By aligning current employees with where the organization is going and communicating the importance of building culture and cohesion then we can start to build a unified culture. Bringing in new employees and aligning them to the game plan will happen with the understanding that:

Cultural engagement begins with communication. Open up the dialogue about the organization, challenges, and successes. #tchat

— Eric R (@FounderEric) October 22, 2014

Be upfront and honest when bringing new employees onboard. Have current employees educate candidates and new hires about the company culture. Set the tone right from the very beginning and employee engagement will start to grow on day one. The 5 P’s of culture isn’t about painting a pretty picture. It’s about being real, intelligent, and supportive with employees and candidates. Remember, culture is always changing and it happens the moment a new employee walks into the office. We must be mindful and perceptive of this. To understand culture, we must invest in:

A3: Helping employees create their own social story, in their voice, about what they do. Employee driven messages resonate! #TChat

— Jessica Hatcher (@jessicahatcher) October 22, 2014

Purpose is what employees want and often seek out. Being there to help them create their own place in an organization shows real emotional intelligence. It shows employees that the organization cares about building trust and understanding that the 5 P’s of culture build employee engagement by taking employees’ priorities and turning them into organizational priorities. Employees breathe company culture the moment they walk in the door. Good or bad, it’s there and it’s very real. Bad company culture shouldn’t be similar to inhaling bad fumes. Having a healthy and positive company culture means employees are engaged, which means productivity levels should be higher than normal and profitability should come with it.

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Closing Notes & What’s Ahead

Thanks again to our guest: Josh Levine, Director of Strategy and Founder at Great Monday and Co-Founder of CultureLab.

Wednesday, Oct. 29th, #TChat Events: How to Avoid the Business Leadership Cliff

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Photo credit: Jay Mantri cc