4 Ways a Healthy Company Culture Can Retain Employees and Grow Revenue

Creating productive systems was a big theme at this year’s International Builders’ Show, held last month in Las Vegas, and company culture was no exception.

“Creating a good culture doesn’t cost anything except time and effort,” Craig Neal, director of sales and marketing for Nest Homes, told a full room of attendees at the show. “We spend so much time looking at ways to improve efficiencies and save money, but we never look at culture as a way to save money.”

His co-presenter Chad Sanschagrin, CEO of Cannonball Moments[JD1] [SK2] , echoed Neal’s sentiments while also recognizing the difficulty of creating a productive and positive culture.

“People think they want an easy culture, but easy is never fulfilling,” said Sanschagrin. “We live in the hard; we spite it when we’re in it, but it’s the only thing that’s fulfilling.”

Here are their four tips for creating a company culture that will help retain employees and grow revenue:

1 | Foster a sense of belonging.

Neal emphasized the importance of exploring and recognizing each team member’s identity rather than trying to fit all employees into one box. Allowing employees to embrace who they are and what they enjoy doing at work (within reason) helps to show them that the company and leadership team care about them as more than a number.

“You want to encourage them to bring their uniqueness to what they’re doing, and celebrate when they do,” Neal said.

Sanschagrin echoed his colleague’s sentiments, adding, “Most companies don’t see their employees. They see them as their position rather than who they are.”

2 | Provide growth opportunities.

This does not always mean promotions. In treating employees as individuals, it’s important to recognize that not everyone aspires to climb the corporate ladder.

“For a lot of people, (growth opportunities) might just be the chance to be given more responsibilities in their current role,” said Neal.

“And when you let employees tap into their creativity, you drive profit,” Sanschagrin added. “Do you give people time to allow them to innovate? That’s when great things will happen.”

3 | Promote work-life balance.

The pair discussed the importance, both to work and to family and friends, of an employee’s ability to have a work-life balance. However, Sanschagrin added a caveat that work-life balance should not necessarily mean no boundaries or rules in place for things such as work hours or output expectations—but it should make room for flexibility.

“Be where your feet are. If you’re at work, be at work,” said Sanschagrin. “If you’re with your family, be with your family.”

4 | Pair autonomy with accountability.

Sanschagrin noted that employees of all levels want autonomy over three big areas: their team, their time and their tasks.

“People think autonomy means no accountability,” he added. “But really, the more autonomy you get, the more accountable you need to be.”

When giving employees autonomy, it’s important to also recognize that ultimately you still need to lead the team and monitor what is getting done.

“You want to create a culture where your team can have autonomy and can use creativity, but you want to verify it, too,” said Neal. “‘Trust but verify’ shows the team that you’re letting them do what they think is best, but that you still want to keep the company going in the right direction.”