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15 Best Ways To Build A Company Culture That Thrives

Forbes Coaches Council
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Forbes Coaches Council

Corporate culture can define a business and make all the difference when it comes to retaining employees and keeping them happy. With 64% of employees feeling like they don’t have a strong work culture, according to a report by TruPath, many companies are falling short in providing their staff what they need to succeed in the workplace.

Your company culture is a reflection of what your organization stands for, and as the voice of your business, your employees are key to ensuring that it succeeds. When you provide a work environment that your staff enjoys spending time in, it can help to improve their performance each and every day.

Below, 15 members of Forbes Coaches Council share the keys to building a company culture that thrives. Here is what they had to say:

All images courtesy of Forbes Councils members.

1. Enlist, Empower And Encourage

The key is aligning people to the culture. It's one thing to say you want a great culture, it's quite another to mindfully shape people's thoughts and beliefs around this vision you have. You have to get people excited, proud and appreciative of the culture. Enlist them, empower them and encourage them. When they "own" it, the culture will thrive. - Laurie Sudbrink, Unlimited Coaching Solutions, Inc.

2. Create A Respectful Workplace

In 2018, one of the most important parts of building company culture is related to creating a workplace that is respectful. In light of so many corporate problems in 2017, we need to work together to treat others with the same level of respect that we want to be treated with -- even when that person is different than us or may have different personal values than we do. - Angela Copeland, Copeland Coaching

3. Care About Each Other

Regardless of what sort of culture you want for your company, there has to be an element of caring about each other. You are all in it together. Caring about each other -- their well-being, what's happening in their life, etc. -- creates trust and teamwork. When you don't care, the culture suffers because it's everyone for themselves. - Larry Boyer, Success Rockets LLC

4. Live It

It's easy to identify a culture you would like to have, but it's another thing to practice and implement it daily. Cultures that thrive have leadership support, champions throughout the organization, and people who believe in what is trying to be accomplished. Without the buy-in from those levels, it will flop. - LaKisha Greenwade, Lucki Fit LLC

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5. Be Inclusive

Millennials are leading the way with inclusiveness around gender, race and sexual orientation. We should take note and add multigenerational and position within the organization. Couple that with open and candid communication, and we are laying a strong foundation for a thriving culture. Everyone should be able to voice their perspective in a respectful manner. More input equals more clarity. - Frances McIntosh, Intentional Coaching LLC

6. Be The Example

If your leaders don't buy into cultural change and healthy cultural environments, don't expect your employees or stakeholders to follow suit. Too often, leaders know what it takes for the team to succeed but don't hold themselves to the same or even higher standards. For leaders who live it and don't just talk values, they can expect the trickle down to be what they want -- a positive culture. - John M. O'Connor, Career Pro Inc.

7. Communicate Properly

Cultures that thrive are bound by a mutual understanding and respect for the company mission, vision and values. This shared connection requires companies to be intentional about how information is disseminated. The strongest cultures are highly effective in properly communicating news, changes, goals, and successes throughout their ranks and are inclusive in soliciting feedback. - Niquenya Collins, Building Bridges Consulting

8. Repeat Your Message

It's essential to ensure that your message and goals resonate with your senior leadership team, that they purport it regularly and you live your mission very obviously. By doing this, you will bring about "brand" ambassadors, encouraging employees to speak up about what is and is not working. Change management is tricky so I'd also recommend bringing in a consulting firm to help remedy any issues. - Meghan Godorov, Meghan Godorov Consulting, LLC

9. Never Forget Your Purpose

Companies have vision statements, and goals, which are usually written down so they will not be forgotten. Oftentimes what isn't written down is the reason why the company exists. When building a dynamic company culture, make sure everyone understands why it is important for the company to exist. This reason fuels the passion that is needed to overcome challenges that will arise. - Donald Hatter, Donald Hatter Inc.

10. Establish Trust

The key is trust. Trust is the cornerstone of any culture that thrives. If you trust the leader to take you on a path they've committed to, it builds ownership and buy-in from employees. Everyone is holding themselves to a higher goal and not their agenda. - Kelly Meerbott, You: Loud & Clear

11. Make It About Humanity

To develop an effective company culture, people must be at the center. You can implement theory-driven models, but if you don't make your culture about humanity you are missing the mark. Happy, supported people are productive, and productivity leads to revenue. When you make your business model about revenue as opposed to people, the culture becomes about competition as opposed to efficiency. - India Martin, Leadership For Life

12. Create A Core Values Statement

A thriving company culture takes establishing a core values statement that every employee knows verbatim and then living them. A culture can't thrive if it doesn't know the rules; it becomes a lawless society. This means everyone is on equal footing, so if an executive breaks a core value, anyone can call them out. A culture isn't built on hierarchy, it's built on behavior that is a way of life. - Tracy Repchuk, InnerSurf Online Brand & Web Services

13. Focus On What's Going Right

Building a culture that thrives requires leaders who celebrate behaviors that exhibit the company’s desired culture. Too often, leaders focus on what’s not going right, which creates more of the same. Instead of placing attention on what’s wrong, focus on what’s right. What’s celebrated in a company will flourish. This simple shift in mindset is what allows companies to build great cultures. - Dr. Stephen Kalaluhi, The StephenK Group

14. Share The Same Vision

A thriving company culture is built when everyone in the company shares the same vision for the company. Each person is clear about how what they do contributes to that vision becoming a reality. When everyone at the company, all levels, has a sense of that purpose, the company culture thrives. - Christine Hueber, ChristineHueber.com

15. Have A Common Story

A company culture that thrives has a common, widely known story they are trying to achieve. The story of their product, their service, their customers. People like stories, and employees like contributing to the story of helping their customers thrive in whatever they do. Outlining what the story is and how every employee brings the story to life creates an authentic, thriving culture. - Lesha Reese, Lesha Reese, LLC