How to Improve Workplace Culture for Better Long-Term Employment

No one wants to be surrounded by miserable employees, right? Nor do you want to manage or lead a team that dreads coming to work every day.

When you improve workplace culture, you’re ultimately improving the work your company puts out. 

But for employees to not be miserable, they need to work in a space that’s healthy. 

By healthy work environment, we mean: 

• Cultivating positivity in the office 
• Listening to the concerns/complaints of employees
• Offering team-bonding activities (office parties, lunches, etc.)
• Allowing for in-person/remote flexibility

All of these strategies to improve workplace culture work together to create one big, happy office. However, it’s important to point out that company culture is unique to each company. As long as you’re prioritizing the wellness of employees, that’s the main goal. 

In addition to the list above, investing in market research can also help promote a happy workplace. How you ask? Keep reading! 

1. Invest in Voice of Employee (VoE) Surveys

Investing in market research, such as employee surveys, allow management to see where their team stands. 

A form of quantitative research, employee surveys are sent out to staff to answer, typically in the form of an email. This type of survey is easily customizable to gather specific feedback based on your company. 

For the sake of this blog post, say you want to see how your staff feels about the culture of the office. You’ll be able to center around that topic for the entire survey if you choose. 

While there are countless benefits to employee surveys (trust us), we’ll list some here: 

• Satisfaction level measurement
• Discovering areas of improvement 
• Back-end segmentation options
• Boosting communication efforts 

Again, these are just some of the many benefits of employee surveys. 

The most important anecdote to take away from surveying employees is to conduct these surveys with a third-party market research team to help you.

That's because, employees will feel far more comfortable knowing that the survey is coming through a third party source–not their own company.

Put yourself in their position–would you feel comfortable critiquing upper management? 

Probably not. 

By working with a third-party team, employees will not feel they have to hold back their opinion. After all, holding back doesn’t yield the best results! 

Additionally, working with an outside team will not only bring you helpful feedback–it will give you the chance to understand what to do with that feedback. Having suggestions as to how you can move forward with cultural goals is a key part of your survey. 

For more information, watch our quick video on why you should run employee surveys: 

Example of Improving Workplace Culture with Employee Surveys

Company growth can have big impacts. It’s easy to think about the impact growth has on a company’s bottom line, but it’s also important to remember how growth affects the employee experience. 

Risks may include concerns about growth, management communication, feeling connected to the company, risks of burnout, and more.

In this section, we will cover a real-world case study of assessing company culture with surveys.

Step 1. Defining the research objectives to assess company culture

A large organization that experienced rapid growth wanted to assess its culture. The goal of the organization was to gather insights from its all employees. 

The primary goals included:

• Understanding perceptions of the brand from employees
• Understanding the organization’s positioning 
• And measuring employee experiences 

The overall objectives of the project included:

• Identifying company culture 
• Understanding cultural intricacies between employee segments
• Explaining culture and communication expectations 
  

Step 2. Creating a survey to assess company culture

Safe to say custom survey writing is an art form! Here are a few example questions to consider when assessing company culture through an online survey:

1. What influenced you the most to join [insert organization]? Select up to 3.
2. What are your top reasons for staying with [insert organization]? Select up to 3.
3. When you think about [insert organization], what word/phrase comes to mind? Enter your response below. 
4. How does [insert organization] compare to employment at other organizations? Select a rating.
5. How likely are you to recommend [insert organization] as a place to work? Select a rating.
6. Please explain why you rated [insert organization] as [insert response] out of 10. Enter your response below.
7. How would you describe the rate/amount of communication you get from [insert organization]? Select a rating.
8. Who do you prefer to hear information/updates about [insert organization] from? Select one.
9. Which of the following values do you think [insert organization] is delivering on? Select all that apply.
10. Which of the following values are most important to you for a company to deliver on? Select up to 3.
11. As [insert organization] has grown and evolved, how would you rate the direction [insert organization] is headed? Select a rating.
12. If you could change one thing about [insert organization] to improve your experience as an employee, what would it be? Enter your response below.
13. What do you see as the future of [insert organization]? Enter your response below.

Step 3. Analyzing research questions to assess company culture

The report included a raw data file of results, an online portal of survey results, a summary report in PowerPoint, and a virtual presentation/debrief of results. 

The report answered the following research questions:

• How do employees identify with the organization today (i.e., role)?
• Why did employees join this organization and why do they stay?
• What do employees think of the organization as a parent company? 
• Do employees see the culture at their specific location and roles as similar or different?
• How does the organization show up at each specific location?
• What expectations do employees have? 
• What do employees want from the organization in the future?
• How can the culture at the organization improve to better support employees?

💡 The Key Takeaway: One way companies can improve workplace culture is through–you guessed it–employee surveys. These surveys are a wonderful way to see how staff feels about their experience in the office. 

Recommended Reading: Using a Third Party for Employee Surveys: Understanding the Cost, Benefits, & Process

2. Make Work Fun 

Activities to improve workplace culture are a must, we’re just going to put that out there. 

In fact, up to 94% of executives believe that positive workplace culture is key to a company’s success. 

It doesn’t mean every day at work has to be a party, but it does mean leaving time on a regular basis for employees to unwind and have a little fun. 

Here are some ideas for you: 

• Office parties 
• Team lunches
• Team hangouts/games

Allowing staff to take some time away from work can actually benefit production. Why? When they’re able to step away from work duties and relax, employees come back to their workload refreshed and (hopefully) a little less stressed. 

This, in turn, leads to better work output and helps with fighting the great resignation. 

💡 The Key Takeaway: Ways to improve workplace culture center around what makes an employee feel relaxed and at ease. Whether it’s regular coffee hours, team lunches, or setting aside for other fun activities, staff need to feel prioritized to put out the best work. 

Recommended Reading: Improving Job Satisfaction: 8 Examples of Why Company Culture Matters

3. Be Flexible 

Another “must” to improve workplace culture is location flexibility.

In the wake of the pandemic, many companies are making it an option to work from home full-time, if an employee chooses. However, this isn’t the case with all companies. 

Here’s the thing: many people enjoy working from home. It cuts down on commute time, can promote relaxation, and gives employees the freedom to do what they wish on lunch breaks. 

Again, all of this leads to staff happiness, which leads to high productivity.

Ways to improve workplace culture can be as simple as allowing for remote work options. If you’re not comfortable with allowing employees to work fully from home (if they choose), consider a hybrid work environment. 

Of course, there are many benefits to working in an office, which is why the hybrid schedule is well-liked. 

💡 The Key Takeaway: Allowing the option for remote/hybrid work can do wonders for employee morale. It gives them the freedom to work from where they feel most comfortable–and productive! 

4. Battling Burnout 

When brainstorming things to do to improve workplace culture, you should prioritize combating burnout. 

Research shows that 67% of employees believe COVID-19 triggered a worsening in workplace burnout. They’re not wrong. 

So, what can you do about reducing employee attrition from burnout?

Well, part of the answer is what we talked about in the previous section: allowing employees to unwind and have the opportunity to work from home. Along with those factors, implementing some kind of wellness initiative can also be fruitful. 

For example, perhaps holding semi-regular meetings or mini-fairs about different wellness/stress-management strategies can be a fun and engaging way to implement change in the workplace. 

Simply knowing that their workplace cares about employee wellness can be a fantastic boost to staff morale.  

💡 The Key Takeaway: Offering stress-management outreach can significantly improve workplace culture. With staff burnout rates high, employees need to feel their emotional wellness is considered. 

Improving Workplace Culture FAQs

How can a company improve company culture?

There are many ways to improve workplace culture from fostering open communication, to encouraging collaboration, to acting on feedback gathered from employee surveys. All of these strategies work to create a positive and inclusive environment that values and respects employees' efforts.

How do you fix bad culture in the workplace?

To fix a bad culture in the workplace, it is essential to address underlying issues, such as toxic behavior or poor leadership, by promoting transparency, accountability, and implementing proactive measures, such as training programs or regular feedback mechanisms, to foster a positive and supportive work environment.

Final Thoughts

Contact Our Employee Satisfaction Company

So, if you want to improve workplace culture, hopefully, we’ve given you some good ideas! 

Drive Research is a market research company based in New York. Our team of experts can tackle all your employee woes by creating a strong, solid research study. 

Want to learn more about our market research services? Reach out through any of the ways listed below.

1. Message us on our website
2. Email us at [email protected]
3. Call us at 888-725-DATA
4. Text us at 315-303-2040

Lark Allen

As a Content Marketing Specialist, Lark has a strong background and passion for creative, professional, and journalistic writing. She is also a self-proclaimed music freak and 90s enthusiast.

Learn more about Lark, here.