Company Culture: See and be seen

Q. How can I check the pulse of my organization? 

A. The culture of our organizations dictates the productivity and output of them. As leaders, it is our responsibility to be in tune with the organization on a level that we can guide and steer the ship effectively. Here are three ways to improve the cohesiveness of your organization. 

Prioritize your people 

As leaders, we often want to prioritize executing our task list vs. delegating key items and managing downward. Prioritizing delegation allows us to test downline performance, as well as optimizing recurring check-ins with management. Knowing your leadership on a personal level will give you foresight into things like marital separations, aging parents, etc., which contribute significantly to their ability to produce quality work. This foresight can result in proactive support to ensure they continue thriving during hard times. 

Create companywide communication 

Creating a regular drum beat of communication across staff strata creates visibility, which creates trust. This can be done as simply as a monthly companywide email. Extra points for a regular town hall meeting (virtual or in person) where communication goes both ways. This gives everyone the opportunity to feel heard, and provides a forum for the continued deployment of company priorities, metrics and milestones.   

Survey your entire organization 

Whether internally or outsourced, gather data on your organization’s culture through companywide surveys. Often these pulse checks will highlight outlier employees or outdated systems that, once ameliorated, raise workforce productivity and satisfaction. The past three years added an immense amount of daily stress on people that has resulted in things like burnout, chronic fatigue and quiet quitting. It is paramount that we take the time to check in on our workforce beyond simple performance metrics. 

Scott Stone is president of Moat, a lifestyle healthcare company focused on company culture and workforce retention. You can reach him at 248-842-1070 or buildyourmoat@gmail.com.