Nurturing Talent, Fostering A Positive Culture

Nurturing Talent, Fostering A Positive Culture - Pushpa Thakur, HR

Working Culture at Orion:

A strong and long-lasting workplace culture is an environment where creativity is cherished, risk-taking is embraced and encouraged, communication is critical, and resources are committed. But with everything HR-related in a constant state of transformation, achieving this type of situation is difficult.

Company culture is how you do what you do in the workplace. It's the sum of your formal and informal systems and behaviours and values, all of which create an experience for your employees. At its core, company culture is how things get done around the workplace.

A company’s culture is imperative to its strategy especially when you consider this fact: culture influences whether talent is attracted or not attracted to the company. It’s also significant in the company’s ability to retain their best employees.


Important Indications in Orion Which Makes It an Excellent Company to Work With

Here are the most important things to look for that reveal that company is turn out to be a great place to work:

Long-term employees: Employee turnover is a strong indicator of company culture. Simply put, happy, engaged employees who are offered continued opportunities for growth are more likely to stay put.

Not just colleagues, but friends: A great work environment is a breeding ground for genuine friendships. When co-workers choose to spend time with each other, even outside of the office, you know that the professional dynamic is going to be just as positive.

Workplace involvement: Great company cultures support involvement and provide positive, fun ways for their employees to get together for personal and professional development activities, both within and outside normal company hours. And the success of the company culture is indicated in the level of involvement by each employee.

Transparency: Secrets and in general a lack of communication from the top down creates a culture of insecurity and uncertainty. Workplaces with positive cultures support a philosophy of transparency so that every team member feels they know where they stand, where the company is headed, and in general they feel “in the loop."

Clear mission and values: A great company culture doesn’t just manifest itself out of thin air. First, it has to be articulated and communicated throughout the organization, and then it can be lived out by the leadership and employees at every level. Positive company culture has values that every employee knows by heart. These values and this mission are accessible and branded into all of the company’s internal and external communications.

Diversity: If everyone in an organization generally fits the same demographic, that should be a red flag in terms of culture. Great companies and institutions embrace diversity -- diversity in hiring, diversity in thought, and diversity in approaches. This should be reflected in the teams and employees you interact with on a daily basis.

Wins are celebrated: Great companies have clear and frequent processes in place for recognizing the achievements of their employees, at least monthly or weekly. This shows that a great company culture makes recognizing performances a priority and announces to everyone the value its employees bring.

Leaders are visible and accessible: Employees support leaders who are transparent, accessible, honest, authentic, and who invest in them. When an organization’s leaders are front and center and make themselves available to everyone, it creates a sense that “we’re all in this together,” and employees are much more likely to feel good about the goals they’re working towards and the company’s mission.

Comfortable workspaces: The type of environment -- i.e., the physical space -- that employees work in each day can go a long way in determining how people feel about their jobs and their employer. Comfortable workspaces with amenities and perks that people actually care about contribute significantly to morale levels.

Absence of office politics: Positive workspaces and thriving company cultures where each employee feels valued, heard, and recognized have little room for gossip, backbiting, and politicking. While a small amount of sniping happens in any group setting, in a healthy company culture this is the exception, not the rule.

Ongoing professional development opportunities: Job satisfaction is closely tied to opportunities employees have for growth, advancement, learning, promotion, and expanding their skill set. Organizations with strong infrastructures that support employee growth -- both in philosophy and also literally with actual resources and budgets -- validate their commitment to each employee’s professional development and foster a strong sense of culture and community.