From: http://www.bizjournals.com/

Every business organization has a company culture — values, beliefs or systems that can help guide employees towards the company’s ultimate goals.

Successful companies have a strong culture that is embedded into every business decision and practice, and motivates each employee to continuously work on improving the organization.

With this in mind, here are four key practices that can strengthen your company culture to help establish a quality workforce and low customer turnover.

1. Leaders should be involved in day-to-day work

Demonstrating that the management team is taking an active role in daily activities is a good way to keep your employees engaged in the company’s efforts to promote best practices.

Encourage your managers to regularly spend a day in the field with employees. Managers can see what is happening on a daily basis and take immediate action if an employee has an idea or solution to an ongoing problem.

Managers have the opportunity to learn something new, and this approach shows that the management team is open to hearing suggestions or concerns while being committed to making improvements.

2. Recognize your employees on a regular basis

Rewarding employee achievements helps replicate good behavior, and adding a personal touch to the recognition can make all the difference.

One example is using positive customer surveys to recognize excellent service.

A companywide email can be sent each time an employee receives a positive customer review. While email praise could seem like adequate recognition, take an extra step and make sure that a member of the executive team personally replies to the email congratulating the employee.

In many cases, specific recognition from a member of the leadership team can be as powerful a reward as a bonus.

3. Practice excellent customer service

Every organization provides some type of service, and one of the best ways to succeed is to ensure that it’s consistently excellent.

Develop a specific set of standards for quality customer service, and communicate those expectations to your employees so they know what is expected of them.

Use case studies to review scenarios that involved unhappy customers and work with employees to find ways that the situation could have been handled better.

4. Communicate, then communicate some more

Constant communication is vital in teaching new employees your company’s goals and values, and to reinforce those concepts with all your employees.

The executive team and managers should have regular meetings to recognize employee achievements, discuss strategies and facilitate face-to-face communication. Discussions in these meetings should address how business practices and decisions relate to core values and impact the company’s goals.

Meetings should also focus on discussing company financials and best practices, addressing any concerns, and include collaborative group discussions to brainstorm innovative solutions.

Employees who know that the company’s leaders value their opinions are motivated to constantly find new ways to improve the company. To maximize your chances for continued success, every employee should be dedicated to living your company’s goals and values. And if you can get this buy-in, it will pay off for you every day.