How company culture transforms the workforce
Fundamental to an organisation’s ability to deliver on its strategic goals is an embedded culture aligned to those goals. A company’s culture drives behaviour which in turn impacts business performance – making it vital to create a positive work environment.
People are arguably the most important resource a business could have. Yet there can be a considerable gap between the supportive culture a company promises and what it delivers. From 2018 to 2019, 602,000 people were suffering from work-related stress or anxiety, resulting in 12.8 million lost working days. The impact of a defined and healthy work culture can be profound. Therefore, it is important to put people at the heart of HR practices and structure initiatives based on employee feedback. Ask your team: is this helping? If I build these resources, will they be useful?
Maintaining open communication channels is essential for any organisation and it should begin at the very start of the onboarding process.
Putting it into practice: ‘buddy’ system
Starting a new job can be an exciting but daunting prospect – despite having the desired skillset and experience, adapting to a new environment and new people is difficult. At Genuine Solutions we want to make the transition as seamless as possible and welcome new employees into the family from the offset.
As part of our wider commitment to our employees, our buddying programme consists of a new starter being assigned a ‘buddy’ who already works at Genuine Solutions that they can confide in and ask the simple ‘first day questions’ like ‘Where do you go for lunch?’ or ‘Where is the nearest toilet?’.
If done well, providing a structured ‘buddy system’ leads to better employee retention. If the new employee has had a positive early experience, he or she is more likely to feel comfortable in their new role – understand workplace systems, processes and culture better, resulting in a smoother transition.
Finding the right fit
Before people join the team, we ask new starters to put together a presentation about themselves and ask fun facts to get a good idea of their personality before they start. This allows us in HR to assign a well-suited buddy that they may share interests with, or we believe they would feel most comfortable with when they first start. Ideally, we match people up with someone in the same team and a similar seniority level so they can get the most out of the experience.
Introducing a mentor for new starters is key to building relationships within our inclusive team and acting as a buddy also provides a good developmental opportunity for existing members of staff, giving them the chance to develop their communication skills and share their knowledge and experience.
At Genuine Solutions, we have developed a FRESH set of values we live by – Fun, Responsible, Energetic, Supportive and Honest. Not only do we aim to deliver first-class service to our clients but most importantly, this culture builds a nurturing environment where every employee counts and is celebrated for their achievements.
Written by Sabrina Willabus, HR & People Director, Genuine Solutions Group.