Ask Ashley - Take Four
Four Ways to Positively Influence your Company Culture
WELCOME, fellow earthlings, to Ask Ashley! This week, our question is brought to you by the bigger universal question… How can you positively impact company culture as a leader?
If you are new here, welcome - I come in peace; I am Ashley, the Community Manager at Crewhu. Every week, I get the pleasure of sitting at my computer and answering your questions about Crewhu, Culture, and the MSP Community! So put your reading glasses on and enjoy this week's content!
In 2020, Indeed defined Work Culture as a collection of attitudes, beliefs, and behaviors that make up the regular atmosphere in a work environment.
Well, we are a long way from 2020, so does this definition still stand true? Especially when our office norms have become the way of the past. Nowadays, you can work from anywhere and choose where you spend your time and effort; the word “boundaries” continues to be a buzzword for the workforce in 2023. The incentives important to the workforce ten years ago differ from what they are today. Hell, they aren’t even the same as they were in 2022.
One of the biggest challenges I found as a manager was finding candidates that fit our culture. I often ended up hiring cultural fits rather than skilled candidates. But it left the crew unbalanced and often brought the morale down.
As a leadership team, we decided to refocus on our Core Values and outlined additional values we wanted to recognize our staff for with the help of Crewhu...duh.
Along with Crewhu, these are the four ways I worked to influence the company culture as a leader positively:
ONE: Remain consistent.
Being a leader is tiring, but so is being an employee. If you are agitated, angry, or overwhelmed, your staff will be the same. If you remain consistent with your leadership style and expectations of your crew, they will remain consistent with their work.
Need to be more sure of your leadership style? Learn more here: The Crash Course: Find Your Leadership Style.
TWO: Be Human.
Of course, we want everyone to meet their metrics 100 % of the time. But sh*t happens; the day goes sideways, and you end up shy of where you wanted the numbers to be. Empathy goes a long way, not just with customer service but internally. Your staff wants to know that they are allowed to be human and are not just there to make you money or try to meet unrealistic metrics.
THREE: Celebrate the small wins.
The pizza party is dead. Stop doing it. People want genuine appreciation and recognition for the work that they are doing. They want it to be personable so that they know they are being seen. Think outside the box; consult your crew and ask them how they want to be rewarded.
Shameless plug: Learn more about celebrating and recognizing your crew at crewhu.com!
FOUR: Have fun.
Work is hard. However, it doesn't have to be the worst thing in the world. Don't get me wrong… some days will suck! But, find ways to make work fun… or at least take a little of the edge off, so the staff doesn't dread working so much. As Stephen Spiegel (CEO & Founder of Crewhu) says, enjoy the journey. Give your staff reasons to smile.
So there you have it, earthlings!
Until next time,
Ask Ashley… That is me!