Smart Benefits: Culture Counts - The Invisible Benefit
Monday, August 12, 2019
Rob Calise
Culture isn’t one thing per se but instead is all aspects of a business that contribute to its personality. That can be valued, the atmosphere, how employees relate to each other, management style, and more. Whether culture is specifically defined by a company or arises organically, either way, culture carries a lot of weight.
When employees enjoy their environment, it’s been proven that they’ll work harder and be more productive. They’re also more likely to stay in the job. And happy workers are often a company’s biggest ambassadors when it comes to recruitment.
Since a corporate culture can make or break a company, here are some ways to make sure you have one that’s working for your business.
- Perform a Culture Audit: Even if you think you have a strong culture, ask employees what they think about it. Hold focus groups or poll them about the company’s shared beliefs and values, how employees and customers are treated, the communication style, and other areas of the workplace. Determine what you’re doing right and what’s missing for your unique workplace, then develop a plan to address any deficiencies.
- Make Sure Employees Understand the Culture: Often, companies work hard to establish a culture only to find out that employees don’t understand it – making it even harder for them to live it. Be sure you communicate what you stand for so employees can get behind it. This effort should start with training of new employees and continue with consistent messages and examples of ways they can contribute to the culture. You can also incent those who embrace the culture
- Lead by Example: You can’t delegate culture so make sure leaders embrace it. Since consistency is key, ensuring leadership embodies the culture and promotes it through their actions will show all employees what’s expected of them. By living the culture every day and modeling the behaviors the company wants others to mimic, management will not only get the rest of the organization on board, but will reinforce the culture for sustainable results.
Rob Calise is the Managing Director, Employee Benefits of The Hilb Group of New England, where he helps clients control the costs of employee benefits by focusing on consumer-driven strategies and on how to best utilize the tax savings tools the government provides. Rob serves as Chairman of the Board of United Benefit Advisors, and is a board member of the Blue Cross & Blue Shield of RI Broker Advisory Board, United HealthCare of New England Broker Advisory Board and Rhode Island Business Healthcare Advisors Council. He is also a member of the National Association of Health Underwriters (NAHU), American Health Insurance Association (AHIA) and the Employers Council on Flexible Compensation (ECFC), as well as various human resource associations. Rob is a graduate of Bryant University with a BS in Finance
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