TOP 5 CULTURAL TRENDS EVERY GROWING BUSINESS SHOULD ADOPT

Business culture has been a hot topic for quite some time. Companies are disengaging from the old school command and control mentality to reevaluating their culture and treating employees more like family members. If companies don’t embrace culture creation, they will become obsolete as a leader in the marketplace. According to Hays Recruiting Experts Worldwide, “43% of surveyed employees claim culture was the main reason for the search for a new job.” Yet, according to Gartner, “only 31% of HR leaders agree that their organization has the culture it needs to drive future business performance.” Culture isn’t this cute, fluffy thing anymore, it matters, and you have the opportunity to make it your competitive advantage. 

At the beginning of a new year, you will find your team more adaptable to align with a change in workplace culture. This shift will help you attract the perfect candidate and promote a healthy work culture that fosters talent, action, and growth. As you capitalize on this time of year and seek continuous improvement, here are five cultural trends that will help set your business apart.

Have FUN in the workplace

At Keyser, we have fun with what we do, and with the members of the team. This is a mission we are thrilled to be a part of, and we won’t take on a client unless it will be fun for everyone. Nothing is worth sacrificing our happiness over, and so we are lighthearted and playful in all we do.

-Keyser Principle Number Nine 

The idea of fun at the workplace is growing in businesses, and having an Xbox, ping pong table, TV, and beer fridge are more commonplace today. But, having fun in the workplace needs to be more than just providing fun elements at your workplace. It needs to center around how you interact with your team and how the team interacts with each other. At Keyser, we are all about having fun. This mentality helps to inspire an energetic atmosphere and can increase workplace productivity and enhance employee retention. 

2. Establish a Flat Company Structure

Having a flat company structure can provide a lot of benefits to most organizations. One of the most beneficial outcomes of a flat structure is the empowerment and coachability that surfaces naturally from the novice and the experienced collaborations. As soon as they join the team, new members should be treated as integral parts, fostering and creating a fantastic culture of growth and respect. This idea of an anti-hierarchical workplace environment can also help members contribute in unconventional ways. Rather than facing challenges alone, flat business cultures grant team members what seems like an unlimited reel of knowledge and expertise through leveraged strengths and weaknesses.

3. Foster Self-Improvement Opportunities

We invest in our own self-improvement, always striving for greater awareness of ourselves, for we know that as we align with our true identity and remain focused on our purpose that the power within us will manifest and create our highest potential.

 – Keyser Principle Number 10

The power to change and improve is within individual strength and capability. Self-improvement is the ultimate long-term success strategy. Creating a business culture focused on self-improvement helps nurture a group’s talents, skills, and abilities for years to come. If company culture can encourage self-development and learning, it can increase efficiency in the workplace and individual return. Books, coaches, education, and goal setting are great ways to foster self-development. This process can reveal what we don’t know about ourselves and enable us to act boldly. 

4. Empower Employees in the Workplace

At Keyser, we never disregard ideas or people because of their youth; we instead foster and cultivate any energy that newcomers may bring, and you should too! More and more companies are removing boundaries for employees to thrive and explore their true potential. Trusting all employees with large tasks, clients, and more shows the individual that we believe in them and encourages them to put in the hard work as we hired them to do. 

5. Work Purposefully

A recent Gallup poll found that 80% of college graduates believe finding purpose in one’s work is “extremely” or “very important.” This sense of purposeful living sometimes seems too good to be true. However, when focusing on serving others, even in a business sense, true joy and fulfillment can be found. I believe work cultures who live to serve others and walk by the statement “it’s not about me” find themselves happier in better working relationships and overall are more satisfied. However, this selfless service mindset isn’t always easy to find in business cultures. Sometimes you have to, as Gandhi famously remarked, “be the change you wish to see in the world” for things to fall into place.

There are plenty of other cultural trends that will be reaching businesses next year. So get ahead of the crowd and start to embrace change for good and never look back.