Starting up a StartUp: Final Part
This is it, everyone, the moment you’ve all been waiting for - the end to our 4-part series guide into “Starting up a StartUp”. In this last piece, we’ll go through a few points on how to cultivate a healthy work environment and set up a positive team culture within the workspace.
Luckily for you, we already have a few great guides on the joy of organizing your workspace as well as 10 simple tricks to adjust to the post-lockdown work environment, so there we won’t have to get into how to structure your office setup in this article. Let’s focus on your team’s mental health and happiness to boost their potential and keep them happy within your company or start-up.
Now, as of 2021, the world has seen a mass movement which is now known as “the great resignation”, where millions of workers have walked out on their life-long careers, jobs, and occupations to seek a better opportunity, practice, or place of employment. Why? Because the lockdown has shined a bright spotlight into how off-balance the scales of work/life balance has been this entire time.
Working tirelessly 40-hour workweeks, going to an office 5 times a day, living in your workplace more than your actual home, and (of course) those frustrating commutes for the city dwellers. People are fed up, tired, angry, and hungry for change.
So in this article, we want to help you structure something new, together with your crew, a new form of the workplace - one where they feel at home, can be at home, and will be cared for. That way, they take care of your brand, company, and overall business. Because, let’s face it, without an ace team by your side, you’ll never reach the great heights of becoming a unicorn.
A Healthy Workplace
The opposite of a healthy workplace is a toxic environment, and unfortunately, most people have realized they’ve been stuck in one of these for quite some time and have been itching to get out and finally have. Now, when this massive unemployed workforce goes back to job seeking in the market, one of their top concerns when asking about your company or startup is - How do you treat your people?
“Do you have any mental health benefits or programs?” And you will have to have an answer for this or you’ll see top talent walk away from your very promising offer. So go through these 4 points to better adjust your working conditions to retain happy team members:
1) Take care of your employees' mental health
Actually care! Develop an HR team where the H = HUMAN. Where individuals feel cared for and nurtured to be part of the workforce collective of your venture. To care for the state of mind your team members have should be your new golden rule with HR.
2) Take a look at your current working environment
If your current set-up has any minor leaks, be sure to quickly fix them up so it doesn’t get out of control. But, if you’ve had a major retention problem in the past, it’s time to sit down with your HR team and plan for the future of, not only your team but your startup’s health.
3) Organize company events
Taking your mind off daily tasks and “the grind” can deteriorate away morale little by little. Allow some space for growth and your team members to wind down or have fun with company events, themes, or even guest and keynote speakers to give them a boost in morale, motivation, and ambition to keep working their best while under your wing.
4) A healthy body leads to a healthy mind
This is so important! We can’t stress this enough, if your people maintain healthy habits with their bodies - the mind will follow. Some stoic wisdom always comes in handy when it comes to this topic because there’s always room for self-improvement - and people will always be grateful when there are structures in place to help guide them. So think about adding gym benefits, healthy snacks, an in-house nutritionist, or even a mentor system to help guide your team to success!
Nurture Your Culture
Different people do better in different environments. As a result, we recommend providing a variety of alternatives and allowing workers to work where they believe they will get the best outcomes - this reads F L E X I B I L I T Y, or the now popular term “hybrid work”.
Employees are more relaxed within this new confound structure, which allows them to think more creatively and come up with new ideas. Furthermore, when employees are satisfied with their work environment, they are less inclined to hunt for another place of work. The answer is to set up a positive team culture to maximize your retention plan.
Without further adieu, these 5 simple key tips to follow through in positively nurturing your company culture. You’ll quickly understand that by following these five concepts, your team will greatly appreciate working for you and the rest of your crew:
- Assist everyone in understanding their role
Constructing this professional framework for your team serves the combined objective of increasing their motivation and assisting them in comprehending the company's and industry's future directions. It also helps them think about what they should be doing with their time and where they should focus their next innovative initiatives.
- Develop your leadership abilities
Developing leadership skills and successful managers instills confidence and self-worth in your departments, as well as encouraging retention and providing strong role models for your new hires. Allow them to be the leader they would follow and watch them build a path for your startup.
- Provide opportunities for professional advancement
How many stories, series, and movies have we seen when people get fed up or break free from a company because they were promised growth but were never permitted to go full bloom into a higher role? Too many, right! Almost everyone desires the opportunity to study and enhance their talents to go up a level or enhance their roles (and paychecks!). By tactic of encouraging your team members to grow not only improves engagement but also raises retention rates and expands your available resources as employees tackle more complicated duties and tasks. You will most certainly grow your brand as your staff develops because it’s simple - they grow, you grow.
- Encourage diversity
We strongly believe that diversity is a key component in fostering a pleasant work environment. Diversity in the workforce has a variety of business advantages as well. A diverse staff not only makes it simpler to attract the best and brightest in your business, but it also boosts productivity and revenues. Look for methods to actively encourage women, fresh graduates, LGBQT+, and individuals of all ethnic and cultural backgrounds.
- Establish clear lines of communication
In some ways, modern technology makes it simpler than ever to communicate at breakneck rates. Every day, over 269 billion emails are sent throughout the world, and online communication technologies like WhatsApp, Slack, and Zoom are becoming more popular among global workforces. When it comes to developing a healthy work environment, it's critical to consider how you and your staff interact. Consider how you communicate with one another and how your leaders communicate.
Both providing a healthy workplace and nurturing a positive team culture go hand-in-hand and should be treated as such. By offering unique and structured office spaces and applying these key concepts in their respective contexts, when you launch your startup - you’ll surely blast off into the domains of success that may even have you reach unicorn status.
For those who have been in the market arena for some time and are looking for ways to grow, expand, and bloom into your full potential, well, we recommend you read our series from the beginning and take notes along the way!
For office space setups, collaborative working opportunities, and a nice view in Portugal, send us an email. Who knows, you may just become the next rising star unicorn to be born in Portugal. We’d love to have you with us.
