Building A Positive Work Culture: A #BufferChat Recap
This week on #bufferchat, our community talked all about building a positive work culture — covering everything from how positivity impacts productivity to preventing false harmony.
Read on to discover all of the awesome insights shared during the chat!
Catch our weekly Twitter chat, #bufferchat, at TWO times every Wednesday for valuable industry insights and to meet hundreds of other smart marketers and social media enthusiasts. Same topic, same place, just at different times – feel free to join in to whichever chat time works best for you!
4 pm AEDT (Sydney time)
9 am PT (San Francisco time)
This week’s stats:
Bufferchat #1 (4 pm AEDT): 23 participants; reach of 989,744
Bufferchat #2 (9 am PT): 79 participants; reach of 1,130,747
Q1: What are the benefits of building a positive work culture?
From the community:
A1: Increased loyalty and motivation, better quality work, better end results, happy customers #bufferchat
— Jessica Leeburg (@spacencashmere) November 1, 2017
A1: Your customers won’t ❤️ your company until your employees do. Strong culture creates communal word-of-mouth brand identity. #bufferchat
— Junction 32 (@JCT32Team) November 1, 2017
A1: Longevity of team members. Employees who feel supported+appreciated are productive+happy = less turnover. #bufferchat pic.twitter.com/qtufrkZoZE
— Anne Mercer (@Anne_E_Mercer) November 1, 2017
A1: Positivity spreads more positivity! In life and in work. #bufferchat
— the DRIVE (@theDRIVEblog) November 1, 2017
See all the great answers to question 1 here!
Q2: What is one of the first steps you would take to implement more positivity?
From the community:
A2: SO many companies fail to leverage the power of recognition. Public “micro-praise” can change the entire work environment and outlook. #bufferchat
— Andrew Roberts (@ARoberts021) November 1, 2017
A2: Appreciation! Recognizing even small accomplishments and praising can make a big impact. Make them feel that they are valued #bufferchat
— Disha Bhatia (@DishaBhatia12) November 1, 2017
A2: It starts at the top! Leaders must model the culture they want to create. We feed off of the energy around us too easily #BufferChat
— Kaitlyn Uy (@kaitlynuy_) November 1, 2017
A2: Establish clear rules of what is okay and what is not okay. Agreed-upon rules empower people to speak up against negativity. #bufferchat https://t.co/2xdh5EMcnu
— Kristeen Romero ? (@KristeenOnline) November 1, 2017
See all the great answers to question 2 here!
Q3: Do you think positive work cultures are more productive? Why or why not?
From the community:
A3. 100% you may be able to increase productivity with negative reinforcement: but only temporarily. #bufferchat pic.twitter.com/ERlkD7O5na
— Nick D (@novemberdelta87) November 1, 2017
A3.
Yes!
A POSITIVE
work culture
leads to
a greater commitment
to the work
&
the greater purpose/mission
of the business.#bufferchat pic.twitter.com/3uMpAhU9Qz
— Gabriela Cardoza (@CardozaGab) November 1, 2017
A3 #bufferchat: 100% yes! You need breaks and positivity to work hard. If your culture doesn’t support either, people are going to burn out.
— Laura Bauman (@laura_bauman) November 1, 2017
See all the great answers to question 3 here!
Q4: What can you do to promote or model positive and honest communication?
From the community:
A4: Mentor others, helps peers, support the boss. Let actions speak for you. Be part of the positive vibes.
#BufferChat pic.twitter.com/ii1CZkejya
— Raul Rovira ❄️ (@RaulARovira) November 1, 2017
A4:
1. Provide tools for better communication, perhaps @SlackHQ
2. Facilitate open dialogue
3. Be proactive rather than reactive#bufferchat
— Community Builders (@communi_build) November 1, 2017
A4: Smile or say hi to all EEs as you see them in the hallway, kitchen, etc – model your own positivity and openness #bufferchat
— Emily McFaul (@emmcfaul) November 1, 2017
A4 Own mistakes. Give praise where it’s due. Encourage questions. Listen to feedback. Don’t throw colleagues under the bus! #bufferchat
— Kula Partners (@kulapartners) November 1, 2017
See all the great answers to question 4 here!
Q5: How do you prevent “false harmony” when developing this kind of culture?
From the community:
A5: By sharing successes with each other and not taking all of the credit for good work if you’ve had help. Ask questions no matter what level you’re at, make everyone feel involved. #BufferChat
— Yelling Mule (@YellingMule) November 1, 2017
A5: Always be real about what’s going on at your company. Having a positive culture shouldn’t mean you don’t have hard talks. #BufferChat https://t.co/8gPAtjKevn
— Mad Fish Digital (@MadFishDigital) November 1, 2017
A5: Emphasize respect, but don’t force everyone to like each other. This can cause resentment #bufferchat https://t.co/grvFsU7IGG
— Sharleen Reyes (@YesSharleen) November 1, 2017
A5 Being honest & expressive helps but the way of expressing is way more important. Be open in a way that wont hurt any feelings #bufferchat
— Disha Bhatia (@DishaBhatia12) November 1, 2017
See all the great answers to question 5 here!
Q6: Are there goals or intentions you can set around positive work culture?
From the community:
A6: Accept people’s personalities. Some people might not want to socialize sometimes. That’s okay. #bufferchat
— Regina Walton (@ReginaWalton) November 1, 2017
A6: Goals can be set but intentions play better role…as a thumb of rule: be ambitious & focus on long-term growth #bufferchat
— MIQLAU (@miqlau) November 1, 2017
A6: Absolutely! Core values/team values or principles. Educating about them during the hiring process even sets the tone. #bufferchat
— the DRIVE (@theDRIVEblog) November 1, 2017
A6: You can set group goals, personal goals, and company goals.Making them cler and transparent gives ppl something to strive to #bufferchat
— April Twenty Five (@apriltwentyfive) November 1, 2017
See all the great answers to question 6 here!
Q7: Do you have any work culture resources or tools to share?
From the community:
A7: A good communication tool is essential, especially for remote teams. @SlackHQ is a great one! #bufferchat
— Express Writers (@ExpWriters) November 1, 2017
A7: I don’t -while resources can help, every team has a different dynamic. Cliché but “treat others how you want to be treated” #bufferchat
— blossm (@blossmweb) November 1, 2017
A7: Read blogs and join discussions like this! It helps you find new ideas and connect with like-minded people. #bufferchat pic.twitter.com/CiwqX6Cuf7
— Lendio (@Lendio) November 1, 2017
A7: It’s small, but we use rainymood to calm/focus. Also, we always have peanut butter on standby!#bufferchat
— Jessica Leeburg (@spacencashmere) November 1, 2017
See all the great answers to question 7 here!
Thank you so much to our awesome community for sharing such great insights in this chat!
Do you have any comments or answers to these questions? Leave your thoughts in the comments! We’d love to hear from you!
Image sources: UnSplash