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Workplace Best Practices To Start Using Today

The document outlines best practices for establishing a positive workplace culture, whether employees are working remotely or in an office. It recommends setting clear goals and values, having a clear mission, following the company's culture, establishing rules and policies, and participating in company activities. It also suggests keeping morale high by recognizing accomplishments, prioritizing learning, opening communication channels, making yourself helpful, providing feedback, and ensuring everyone is comfortable. The overall goal is to create an engaging and productive work environment that supports employee well-being.

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0% found this document useful (0 votes)

223 views8 pages

Workplace Best Practices To Start Using Today

Uploaded by

cameron william

We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.

Available Formats

Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd

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Workplace Best Practices to

Start Using Today

In a remote or physical work environment, workplace best
practices can help us maximize productivity. Here’s how to
implement them in your office.

Work can be grueling. Handling expectations, relationships, and

communication is overwhelming for many. We’ve put together some
tips and best work practices to help make your life — and the lives of
those around you — as comfortable and smooth as possible.

Workplace survival 101

In a standard workday, we spend eight (or more) hours coexisting with

clients, bosses, and coworkers. This can be tough and very stressful
for us, so it’s best for us to facilitate these interactions with a few key
strategies in mind.

With the pandemic shifting the expectations of our workdays and how
to best communicate and collaborate remotely, creating a good
workplace culture has become more important than ever. Whether
employees are now in an office, working from home, or a hybrid
method, we must aim to create a work environment that’s safe,
engaging, and productive.
Why is workplace culture important? Because it directly affects
everything else. Employee well-being, for example, supports
performance and productivity, while communication and transparency
help create trust. All of this factors into employee engagement
practices, and directly impacts a company's reputation. With all these
moving parts in play, how can we begin to build a positive workplace?

Work to establish and become part of the

culture

A company’s culture is made up of the values, attitudes, and traditions

of its employees, who have a significant and ongoing influence on it,
whether they’re in a leadership role or not. Here are some ways to
create a great working culture:

 Set clear goals and values. Employee engagement best

practices at work are more effective when we’re all on the same
page and working toward the same goal. Great internal
communication can help team members align on objectives and
understand what’s expected of us.

 Have a clear and relatable mission. The benefits of clear

expectations also apply here. In a work environment where
employees can relate to and support the mission statement and
values, there’s likely to be increased productivity and
engagement.
 Follow and exemplify your workplace’s culture. As business
leaders are an active part of the decision-making process, they
should be responsible for the employee experience. This means
they take into account their team members' personal lives,
mental health, physical well-being, and any other workspace
concerns through employee engagement surveys. By doing this,
they create a work environment that serves everyone.

 Establish comprehensive rules and policies. These rules and

policies must be in line with the company’s purpose. Clear
communication is crucial for running an office smoothly. In
remote work environments, we might choose to use apps such
as Slack, LinkedIn, or Microsoft Teams to keep everyone in the
loop. These tools can help with real-time notifications to convey
anything urgent.

 Participate in company activities and routines. Engaged

employees are high-performing employees, and leaders can
encourage this by taking the lead and demonstrating it first.
Casual social engagement can also improve rapport and show
that we care about team members as individuals.

What are some values and attitudes we want to see in the office? If
open communication, teamwork, and taking accountability for
mistakes are important to us, we should strive to demonstrate these
attitudes and incorporate them into the culture of our company.
Keep the morale high

It’s important to keep workplace morale high by rewarding team

members who have done well to encourage good behavior in others.
Even providing resources, workshops, and other professional
development initiatives where necessary will motivate team members
and make them feel valued.

Here are a few more ways to boost morale and engage with
employees in the workplace.

1. Recognize accomplishments

When team members go above and beyond or make it through a

rough patch, reward them. As leaders, we shouldn’t shy away from
publicly rewarding and appreciating our peers or employees. This will
help everyone understand each other’s contributions.

Be sure to make rewards personal. We want to come across as

genuine and demonstrate our gratitude, so an email and thank-you
card won’t cut it. Try social recognition and tap into peer-to-peer
relationships within a company. Think of this as a chance for
employees to engage with each other to express their gratitude and
share positive feedback.

2. Prioritize learning
At the office, we’re often tempted to play it safe and go with the pre-
established flow. This is why fostering innovation and ideas in the
workplace should be rewarded and encouraged. When a teammate is
curious and adventurous about alternatives to the current system or
has ideas about improving the workspace, we should recognize their
willingness to innovate rather than shut them down.

Small companies in newer industries must especially prioritize

learning. In industries where exploration and innovation are crucial,
employee engagement contributes greatly to company success.

3. Open communication channels

As business owners, it’s important for us to remember that feedback

goes both ways. Those of us in leadership or managerial roles should
allow employees to provide feedback for our own performance, give
ideas, and ask questions.

To do so, we should set up clear and accessible channels for quick

and transparent communications. This will make the feedback process
more effective and boost employee trust, allowing them to
communicate honestly and give feedback without fear of retaliation.

4. Make yourself helpful

Employee engagement in the office can manifest in a variety of ways

and can be tailored to suit our individual personalities and strengths.
An outgoing team member could focus on cultivating workplace
friendships, organizing social events, and facilitating communications
or introductions, while a more experienced member of staff could
volunteer to train a new hire or ask to work on a new project in their
spare time.

5. Don’t be afraid to speak up

It’s daunting to be the first to speak up, even when we have something
important to say. But it’s likely that our feedback will be invaluable in
improving the workplace culture. Here are some helpful tips to provide
feedback in the workplace:

 Focus on the behavior to change, not a person: Try to give

constructive, actionable criticism, and don’t make it personal.

 Don’t leave anything to the imagination: Be specific and provide

details about the things that we want to change. It may also be
helpful to give concrete examples (without pulling people up).

 Timing is everything: Consider that a person with a positive state

of mind will be more open to what we have to say. Don’t take too
long to say something that’s urgent, but be mindful of when you
broach a topic that may be sensitive.

 Sandwich it: We should structure our feedback so that a negative

thing is stated in between two compliments or recognition of a
positive accomplishment. This will help keep things light-hearted
and show that we aren’t engaging with negative intentions.

 Offer support: We should keep an open line of communication

and attempt to follow up. Team members who may be struggling
with criticism will appreciate having a resource to lean on if
things get difficult.

6. Make sure everyone is comfortable

Our physical (or digital) workplaces should be a reflection of our

company’s culture. For this to happen, make sure everyone is
emotionally and physically comfortable. Ideally, the company culture
should be positive and supportive to combat any stressors in the
workplace, and our peers should be our partners and allies, not our
enemies.

To sum it up

Being with the same group of people for a prolonged period of time
can sometimes be rough, but the workplace doesn’t have to be a
place of stress and competition. If everyone is committed to good
communication, empathy, openness, and encouraging inclusion, we
can begin creating a space we’re excited to be in.