A healthy organizational culture in 5 steps

At paraDIGMA groep , we are convinced that a healthy organizational culture is the basis for vital and sustainably employable employees. But organizational culture is not something you just buy, invest a ton in and see down to the decimal point what it delivers. Creating a healthy organizational culture can take years, but it ensures that the employees within this organization remain sustainably employable, are more productive and vital, and experience more job happiness. But a good organizational culture, how do you create it? Get started using the following steps.

Step 1: Recognize Signs

As human beings, we all need connection, appreciation and want to contribute to something; we want to feel that what we do is meaningful. In a healthy organizational culture, employees experience freedom and appreciation and do meaningful work. This has a positive effect on performance, vitality and job happiness. How do you know if organizational culture needs to be worked on? The first step is recognizing the need to change something in the organization. Signs may be an increasing turnover rate, a rising absenteeism rate, as well as employee dissatisfaction, a tense atmosphere or decreased productivity.

Step 2: Share the same vision

Developing a healthy organizational culture does not happen overnight. The willingness to invest in a healthy organizational culture must come from within. What is the vision of the organization? What is the higher purpose? Employees feel they are doing meaningful work when they contribute to something. And that purpose is more than just organizational growth or shareholder profits. There is no perfect organizational culture; good organizational cultures can be different in different companies. What matters is that employees recognize themselves and their basic needs of, for example, freedom, appreciation and meaningful work are met.

Step 3: Acting autonomously

Can employees act with sufficient autonomy or are they controlled in everything and is everything completely prescribed according to a set process? Having some autonomy increases employee involvement and responsibility. This can be implemented even in smaller tasks. This gives the employee freedom and the opportunity for personal development.

Step 4: Connection

A challenge for many organizations is maintaining connection; especially with hybrid working or working entirely from home, this is a larger growing issue for organizations. Create opportunities for collaboration and involve employees in organizational issues. One way to do this is by posting internal calls that colleagues from all levels and departments can collaborate on toward the right solution.

Step 5: Confidence

An unsafe culture with high levels of distrust is not conducive to employee self-confidence and autonomy. Therefore, it is important to instill trust. Confidence in your employees, such as by giving them a permanent contract or not recording vacation days and committing to non-micro-managing supervisors are steps to indicate trust.

Getting started with your organizational culture

In short, do you want sustainably employable employees? Then bet on a healthy organizational culture. Want to know what a healthy organizational culture looks like for your organization? We would like to think along with you! Please contact us for more information.