Importance of a Strong Team Culture

It truly is rewarding coming into the office on a daily basis excited and looking forward to your day! A positive and strong organizational culture can make this a reality. The culture of your organization is essentially its DNA.

Thankfully, there has been a rise in focusing on organizational behaviour to make the workplace a pleasant experience that in the long run increases the success of the company as a whole. With my career recently starting I have heard horror stories of individuals who hated coming into work everyday because they found no value in the work they were doing or they were being mistreated. I’m very grateful to have started my career in an organization that is the opposite.

At Intrigue we are lucky to have grown, developed and implemented a team culture that is unique in a sense that our team members look forward to coming into work and hanging out as a team inside AND outside the work walls.

Inc. explains this perfectly, “When you take a group of independently talented people and create a team in which they can merge their talents, not only will a remarkable amount of energy and creativity be released, but their performance, loyalty and engagement will be greatly improved.”

Here are some steps you can take to build a positive and outstanding organizational culture:

Focus on ‘Team Members’ not ‘Employees’

At Intrigue we see the word ‘employee’ as a swear word. Focusing on using the term ‘team member’ can create anincreased feeling of value in an individual and the team. The word ‘team member’ focuses on the group as a unity working together to create something great!

Establish values and goals with the team

Sitting down with your team to establish values and goals creates a sense of trust and responsibility. If someone has a say in the way things are done they will feel more reluctant to see it through. Creating team goals and values creates a strong organizational culture because everyone is involved in the decision making process. By collaborating, amazing team goals can be created to push the status quo.

At Intrigue we have Operations Team Goals, Sales Team Goals and Organizational Goals we set for the next 6 - 12 months. When we accomplish them we celebrate as a whole (example: a few months ago we went Axe Throwing)!

Do activities together inside and outside of work hours

When developing a strong team culture it is important to do activities together inside and outside of work hours. I’m not saying you should only ever hang out with your team but this can create an increased sense of value and trust. Implement monthly team lunches where everyone gets to sit down, relax and enjoy an hour with the team without having to worry about work. Or do a quarterly team event! Recently we went to Strom's Farm in Guelph to enjoy some downtime and team building.

Cross training team members

Giving your team members a chance to learn and grow outside of their given field and position creates a sense of excitement, interest and trust. By educating your team and allowing them to explore different skills it creates variety within their role which keeps it interesting. Having a team that’s cross functional is a major asset to the individual and the company!

Know how to work hard but have fun

Lastly, it’s important to work hard but we’re humans and sometimes we need to have some fun. At Intrigue we all work very hard and know when to put our heads down. We also know that with hard work we deserve to have some fun! Finding a balance between both in your organization will encourage team members to work hard because they know they can celebrate by enjoying themselves. By encouraging a positive work environment, team members will want to come to work which in the end increases productivity and quality of work.

Happy Team Members = Quality Work = Increased Success = GREAT DNA

Organizational dynamics and team cultures are changing! As we continue to explore psychology and learn about the benefits of a positive work environment I encourage you to adapt the above in your company culture and see what a difference it can make! If you want to learn more about our culture you can call us at (519) 265-4933.