Top tips for building a strong internal culture from three experts

Creating a strong internal culture is vital for employee engagement. If the secret sauce, the intangible thing that makes an organisation unique, is left unattended – culture will change, and the once-shared values will disappear, leaving disconnected and disengaged employees.

Sadly, three in five employees in the UK feel disengaged from their workplace as organisations struggle to form a post-pandemic work culture in the hybrid world, according to  research by recruitment consultants Robert Walters.

This disconnect is costing the UK economy more than £340bn every year in lost training and recruitment costs, sick days, productivity, creativity and innovation, that’s the equivalent to a fifth of an employee’s salary says separate  research from Perk Box.

It’s inevitable that we’ll all check-out or disengage with work at some point in our career says Chris White, the lead from the University of Michigan’s Center for Positive Organizations. When we feel unsafe or undervalued at work we protest quietly – we stop trying as hard or act in ways that undermine leadership or against the company we work for, this is sometimes called ‘quiet quitting’.

So, what can be done about ‘quiet quitting’?

By aligning internal communications with the company culture, your employees are more likely to understand and embrace key messages, which can lead to greater engagement, higher productivity and a more positive work environment.

But don’t just take our word for it.

We’ve curated three experts’ opinions on how to combat a disengaged and disenchanted workforce. And their solutions are surprisingly simple. Let’s take a look.

Walkouts and check-outs happen when we feel that we’re not being heard, respected or considered in the workplace, says Chris White.

“Just about all of us have experienced having our ideas shot down or ignored. When it happens, we tend to experience it as an identity threat. Some of us respond to that by closing down. When we feel that we don’t belong, or that we’re unimportant, our reaction is to stop caring as much about our work or the people around us. To avoid this, we need to continually invite people to speak up at work. Ask questions. Invite input. Foster creative conflict.”

– Chris White, University of Michigan’s Center for Positive Organizations

Find out more of Chris’s solutions to building a work culture that brings the best out in your employees, watch his Ted Talk.

When employees know why your company exists, they feel more passionate about working for it, says Simon Sinek, author of ‘Start With Why’. He says, when a founder’s beliefs and values are imbued into the company, employees will work harder and be more loyal.

So, sharing your origins story, why your company exists at a very human level, which goes way beyond the product or service, is what keeps the inspiration alive, he says.

“When we do something that’s consistent with what we believe we feel passion. When we have to work hard for something we don’t believe in, that’s called stress. You work just as hard when you’re passionate about something as when you’re stressed. The difference is one it feels good. One it doesn’t.”

– Simon Sinek, Author of ‘Start With Why’

Watch Simon Sinek’s conversation with Inc. on How to Build a Company That People Want to Work For.

Sir Richard Branson, founder and CEO of Virgin Group, says he likes to think of employees as family. His philosophy is to put staff first, customers second, and shareholders third and if you treat your employees as family you’ll get a lot back from them.

“What is a company? It’s a group of people. That’s all a company really is. If you’re going to have a group of people together, they must be happy people. If they’re going to be happy people, they’ve got to be led by someone who is happy themselves, who loves people. Who genuinely cares about people and who looks for the best in people. Someone who doesn’t criticise but praises and brings out the best in people. If you bring someone in that destroys the morale in the company it’s very, very difficult to get that morale back.”

– Sir Richard Branson, CEO & Founder, Virgin Group

Watch Sir Richard Branson’s speech at World Of Business Ideas:

Find out how to use your intranet to build a strong internal culture. Book a demo with one of our friendly team today and they’ll show you how.