How To Establish Or Adjust An Organizational Culture Amid A Fluid Workforce

Jessica Manucy, Senior Director Talent Acquisition, TruGreen

Work from home, hybrid working, the great resignation, quiet quitting, and loud layoffs. The impact of these movements on the post-pandemic work environment has fundamentally changed how human resources (HR) departments approach recruitment, retention, and their overall workplace. This shift has catalyzed re-prioritizing organizational culture and creating an environment where employees can find flexibility, appreciation, and share their voices. Without that fluid environment, recruiting and retaining could suffer.

Over the past year, TruGreen®, the nation’s leading lawn care provider, seized the opportunity to gauge their workforce’s perspective on company culture and adapt internal feedback to create a more engaged and satisfied workplace. Here are the learnings HR teams can apply when establishing or reassessing culture.

Root the Culture in Your Employees

Organizational culture is the shared beliefs, values and actions of members that create an organization’s environment; it’s what gives employees a sense of purpose and belonging and ultimately yields loyalty when the culture is a fit.

As such, it’s critically important that a culture be rooted in its employees. The best way to benchmark an employee’s sentiment toward a company, their engagement, and where they’d like to see improvement is through a survey and/or focus groups. Regardless of the tactic chosen, creating a safe environment for information sharing is necessary to yield honest feedback. Equally as important is communicating what the company heard from employees and the action(s) they will be taking as a direct result. TruGreen puts this very approach into practice, conducting an annual survey, reviewing feedback line-by-line, and communicating what leadership heard and what has been, or will be, implemented.

HR Needs a Seat at the Table and Leadership Must Buy In

Whether you’re a small business or a Fortune 500 company, each workplace has its own unique organizational culture; how it manifests, evolves, and endures depends upon two important factors: HR and leadership.

“With a strong organizational culture, businesses not only retain and attract quality talent but can also achieve their goals”

HR professionals are the conduit between leadership and employees and need a seat at the table when it comes to determining or right-sizing an organizational culture. They connect with employees to understand engagement, affinity, and areas of opportunity and help actualize leadership’s business goals.

Once an organizational culture has been established, it requires buy-in and embodiment from leadership so that change is realized from the top down.

Consider a Third-Party Culture Consultant

Surveys, focus groups and HR involvement are important pieces to the organizational culture puzzle; however, it may be beneficial to bring in a third-party consultant to help identify and roll out any changes. As an objective third party, they’re able to weigh both internal and external factors to help shape an authentic culture that’s current and aspirational.

Ensure Your Culture Pulls through When Working with outside Vendors

As part of the interviewing and onboarding process, ensure any temporary staffing agency or HR consultant can comprehend and articulate your organizational culture. There’s no one-size-fits-all approach to hiring. As an extension of your team, they’re looking to identify staff who are not only a fit from a skills perspective but also embody your organization’s culture.

Establishing, transforming, and maintaining a successful organizational culture takes time and requires a sustained effort from all. With a strong organizational culture, businesses not only retain and attract quality talent but can also achieve their goals