No-Cost Investments You Can Make in Your Company Culture Today

These days, company culture is at the forefront of recruiting and can be an important retention tool as well. There are easy ways to invest in your company culture in 2022. No, we’re not talking about ping-pong tables and free food. Company culture runs deeper than that and this topic is one we always discuss with leaders at the Scandia family office. 

Review Core Values

It’s important to always be growing and evolving, especially within your business. Have you sat down with your leadership team to discuss values and value-alignment for the coming year? This can be as simple as reviewing your core values and asking your team, “Do these values still ring true for our company?” Identify ways your company does or does not reflect these values and make note of internal changes you can make to allow your business to better reflect your core values.

Don’t be afraid to include your team members – after all, they are important stakeholders. We’re not just talking about a brainstorming session. Find ways to keep your values at the top of your team’s mind. Regularly reflect on them in team meetings, have the values be accessible in common areas, email signatures, etc. Live them out in your day-to-day interactions with employees, customers, and vendors.

Core value development is one of the many areas the Scandia family office makes the relationship with our investments different than traditional capital resources. 

Communication

Strong, open, and proactive communication will be key to a thriving company culture in 2022. Assess your current communication methods and look for new, creative ways to keep your team in easier contact – especially if you are working remotely.

Consider implementing tools like Slack, a workplace communication and task platform that has a free-to-use tier. Even if some of your team continues to work remotely in 2022, keep regularly scheduled video-conference team meetings to keep lines of communication open and strong. If your team was used to face-to-face meetings on a regular basis, keep that little sense of community going. 

Celebrate Achievements

As you lay out the calendar for your business in 2022, look for ways to celebrate both big and small. Identify milestones you can celebrate as a company. For example: number of years in business, celebrating a number of projects or clients, recognizing revenue or profit goals, or even expansion of the team. Is one of your employees hitting a big milestone? Celebrate it! Did you land a big account? Successfully launch a new project? Why not celebrate as a team?

Find ways to surprise your team with celebrations of their hard work. Set goals and celebrate with them as a group as you reach them. Consider putting employees’ birthdays, work anniversaries, etc. on a calendar and make a point of acknowledging them – whether with an email for a work anniversary or an office celebration for a birthday.

Socialize

There are creative ways to socialize, even when your team is working remotely. Consider implementing group volunteerism as opportunities to both encourage socialization and to give back to your communities. We have seen many successful businesses allow employees time off once a quarter or once a month to participate in group volunteer activities. From Meals on Wheels to volunteering at the local food bank, check out Volunteermatch.org to find opportunities in your area. In our experience as the Scandia family office, this type of activity can really make a difference for your team’s morale.

We hope these simple tips and ideas can help you plan out your 2022. Here’s to a great year and developing a positive Company Culture in 2022. If you’d like to learn more about the Scandia family office and possible investments, check out the rest of our blog posts or contact us.