7 Easy Ways To Improve Company Culture
In the day and age of kombucha on tap at the office and “The Four Hour Week Week,” company culture is becoming ever important to us millennials. Here at Be Inspired PR, we live by the phrase, ‘work hard, play hard’ – but that doesn’t mean we can’t play at work! Whether you’re working in a creative industry or in tech, a positive company culture not only makes coming to work that much more enjoyable, but also inspiring. We love an inspiring work environment - Our company name is Be Inspired, after all! So today, we’re sharing 7 easy ways to improve company culture, that our team has personally reaped the benefits from.
1. Implement Work From Home Days
Mondays aren’t so bad when you can work from the comfort of home! Whether you offer working moms the flexibility to work from home, or give all employees the opportunity to work from home when necessary or one or two days a week, you create an environment of trust and understanding. We can tend to get trapped in the go-go-go of a Monday-Friday schedule, so slowing down our routine (and not having to brave a commute) one day a week is helpful for our sanity, and thus our work.
2. Hold Regular Video Chat Meetings
Speaking of remote employees – video chat is key in keeping all members of the team in the loop. And being able to see everyone face to face, er, screen, is much more personal than a conference call. Having all hands on deck for the meeting also creates camaraderie as well as an environment for brainstorming to flourish.
3. Plan In-House Events
We know office routine can become mundane and redundant, so planning events where the team can bond and break from inboxes for a moment is key. We love planning luncheons (read, feasts) or fun activities (like pumpkin decorating!) for holidays, but don’t underestimate the power of a just-for-fun event! Think bringing in a masseuse after a big event or taking a floral arranging class!
4. Summer Fridays
Summer may be over but the short Fridays live on as fond memories in our mind. Sigh. Don’t underestimate the power of a few extra weekend hours to enjoy those extra rays of sunshine. That boost of Vitamin D, or time to take a weekend getaway, will boost morale, and not to mention, encourage everyone work harder during the week!
5. Stay Connected on Slack
Or whatever your chat platform of choice. We not only communicate about important action items, goals, and news via Slack, which keeps us all connected, but also about fun (or totally random) things. A few of our favorite channels include ‘Gems’ for funny things we stumble across in our day, ‘#sweatyselfies’ for, yep, sweaty selfies that document monthly fitness challenges, and ‘random’ for anything else we want to share with the team.
6. Go Big on Birthdays
Bring on the treats, people! Birthdays are a great opportunity to make team members feel welcomed and loved. Whether you pick up their favorite coffee and bagel, decorate their desk, take them out for lunch by the beach, or all of the above (!!), an appreciated employee makes for a happy one. Plus, a celebration is fun for everyone!
7. Office Outings
Whether it’s something simple like happy hour after work or a walk to the farmer’s market at lunch, or something more organized like wine tasting, or a show, we try to plan regular get-togethers outside of the office. These fun outings allow us to get to know each other outside of work and bond over favorite comedians/wines/desserts etc. We always leave feeling extra thankful to get to work with such an awesome crew.
What are your favorite tips for building a fun work environment? If you’re interested in joining our PR agency team, make sure you’re following us on Instagram - We’ll always share new job openings there first!