How to Improve Company Culture with Online Forms
Company culture is no longer a “nice to have,” it is a must have. The modern workforce is evolving quickly, and companies that don’t adapt will risk falling behind. Millennials have become the largest generational cohort in the U.S. workforce, with almost 54 million making up the labor force.
Millennials have different defining experiences, as they grew up in a time of financial prosperity and rapid technological advancements. Our world view has contributed to the shift in company priorities, such as a greater influence on flexibility, professional development, and company values.
According to a recent study by Deloitte University Press, HR leaders consider culture and engagement their number-one challenge. Not only does a positive company culture attract and retain the modern workforce, but it also drives productivity and fosters a supportive atmosphere where great ideas can be born.
Great company culture thrives on inclusive and effective communication, which can be strengthened with an online form building tool like JotForm. Here are some actionable tips on using online forms to improve company culture.
1. Ask for feedback on a regular basis.
Using a feedback form to collect comments and suggestions from employees is the first step in opening up the door to office betterment. Whether you’d like to collect transparent or anonymous feedback (your call), regularly asking for feedback encourages a culture of openness. It shows employees that they’re opinions and experiences are respected and valued, and that their company is at least taking a step in the right direction in the journey to a world class company culture.
You should regularly ask for employee feedback, not just when there’s a problem or when the budget allows for some extra spending. By making asking for feedback part of the culture, more open communication will be expected and facilitated. Now that you have tons of feedback from your co-workers, it’s your move.
Tell you co-workers about your goal: making your organization a great place to work — and ask them for help. Building a great company culture is a group effort. Empower them to brainstorm their own solutions, and you can help by developing a process, and making it happen.
2. Find out how your co-workers want to engage.
Having fun inspires creativity, and having fun with co-workers encourages collaboration. But is your only regular company outing a happy hour after work? That can isolate employees with families, as they can’t really hit the bars with younger co-workers all the time. Some employees may just not want to head to the bar. Find out how your co-workers want to do for fun and team bonding, and organize more than 1 option. Happy hours, a book club, soccer team, and board game nights are ideas to switch up how employees interact with each other.
Crowd-sourcing company outing ideas, or events at the office encourages engagement, as employees can organize inter-office clubs and activities that they are excited about. Whipping up a quick form that asks for the logistics is the best way to plan what day or time the event should be. Your team can even vote on their favorite ideas through an online form.
If you ask for suggestions from your co-workers, try to incorporate as many of their ideas as you can — even if you have to fine-tune them a little. Give personal recognition for every person who submits a winning idea! Morale is all about teamwork and recognizing your co-workers’ contributions.
3. Give your co-workers something to look forward to
What causes people to feel unmotivated, stagnant, and bored at work? Sometimes people fall into a rut where they feel that their days are repetitive and routine, and stress creeps on. Passive repetition creates these unproductive feelings. Help give your co-workers a jolt of enthusiasm in the here-and-now by giving them something to look forward to.
This can include holding different office events like a company retreat, a ski weekend, or holiday party. You can create a form that works like a lottery drawing for going out to dinner with a handful of randomly chosen co-workers. You can see who’s interested, what nights of the week work for them, and even if they have any dietary restrictions. JotForm can easily compile this information so that you can take it from there!
Organize something out of the ordinary! How about bringing in cute puppies from the local animal shelter for a couple hours? Hiring a couple massage therapists for the afternoon can really elevate the mood and help out. You could also tap into your co-workers’ talents, like allowing a yoga enthusiast to teach an entry level classes as a break.
4. Help your co-workers track their goals
According to an EdAssist survey, what Millennials want most from a job is learning and development. Developing a team where members want to work for knowledge is the key for rapid innovation and advancement, as these traits make for a self-driven workforce. When millennials were asked to choose between 2 similar jobs, nearly 60% chose the job with strong potential for professional development over one with regular pay raises.
What that means for companies is that they should serve as a support system for their employee’s continual growth and advancement. A career “track” can be created for each employee, where they can create a template to document skills they’ve acquired, skills they want to learn, and goals they want to reach. It can be motivating and useful for helping employees stay on track and fulfill their professional goals. Visual reports of their progress can be easily generated with JotForm.
5. Set up “Lunch and Learns” or informal workshops
You can also conduct an internal survey about what sorts of skills they’re interested in learning, and if they know of anyone that would like to host a workshop at the office, perhaps during a “learn and lunch” break. Ask for volunteers to give a casual presentation on something that they’re passionate about. Learning from your co-workers fuels creativity, learning, and builds a strong team dynamic.
You can kick off the idea with a survey that asks if anyone is interested in presenting on a interest that they have, even if it’s a quick how-to presentation on how they use a tool. A money management enthusiast can present how they use Mint to keep track of their personal finances, Wunderlist to keep an organized running list of movies they want to watch and restaurants they want to check out, or any other tool or app that they love.
Do you have co-workers who are passionate about animals? Comedy? Playing a musical instrument? Have them present their knowledge about a topic. This is beneficial to foster a learning culture in and of itself as well as team building.
