Pacific Workplaces San Jose Market Street Building ExteriorA company’s culture is often what attracts potential employees and keeps them there. If the culture is positive, it’s easier to retain the employees you need. There are several steps you can take to keep management and employees working as a positive and productive unit and foster a strong company culture – even if you’re working out of a shared office space.

    1. Let employees know what your company stands for. Having a mission statement that lets everyone know what the company’s core values are lets your employees know what values management holds in high esteem. The mission statement gives employees something to get behind, and that adds significantly to the culture that binds everyone together. For some companies, the core values are environmental, ethical or even spiritual. For others, they center on the services that the company provides or customer goals. Whatever your company’s values are, your mission statement should be concrete statements that employees can easily understand; not vague, abstract ideas that won’t mean anything to them. Give them strong, bold statements to get behind.
    1. Give your employees a reason to strive for success within your company. When employees feel that their hard work isn’t rewarded, they feel much less loyalty to the company. They won’t trust that their hard work is going to be recognized and appreciated. To create a better company culture, make sure that employees know their efforts will be noticed. Hand out verbal praise when it’s merited and promote from within the company to show employees they can move up the ranks if they work hard. When employee loyalty is based on a meritocracy, you can expect a positive culture to flourish.
    1. Get employees to eat together in the office each day. Creating a central area for all employees to eat together is a time-tested way to create relaxed daily interactions between employees. People who may not have ever spoken to each other before can get to know each other better in this environment. Some companies bring employees together by offering low-priced lunches, and others by offering completely free meals. Still others provide a kitchen where employees can prepare meals together. In addition to getting employees together, this practice also increases productivity. It reduces the amount of time they spend away from the office traveling to restaurants and waiting for meals. If you’re working out of a shared office space, you can use a coworking room or business lounge to put this principle to the test.
  1. Create an element of fun in the workplace. These days, the companies that are voted the best ones to work for have a fun corporate culture because they purposely inject fun into the workplace. Whimsical décor, fun workspace, funky furniture, etc., can make it more fun to work for your company. Some companies offer simple toys to their employees to encourage a little creative fun. Nerf guns and video games are used in some offices to give employees a way to play together for short periods. When employees know that having fun is sanctioned by management, they feel more positively toward the company and toward each other.

Courtney Ramirez
Research Analyst, Pacific Business Centers (rebranded as Pacific Workplaces)

Courtney’s research for Pacific Business Centers focuses on tracking emerging office space trends and best practices – with an emphasis on how they affect business operations, technology, and the future of work trends.