*Superdream Managing Director Jason Manning describes why creating a positive culture and keeping morale high are among his top business priorities, using his experience of managing the agency to offer some advice to other business leaders…*
You’ll have heard this time and time again but it doesn’t stop it being true: in business, your team is everything. What use is a good idea without a good team behind it? Culture is also key – and not something any amount of money can buy. Creating and maintaining a positive culture certainly isn’t easy but it is worth the effort? Most definitely.
In the agency world, perhaps even more than most others, clients pick up on the vibe in a business and when it’s right, they buy into it and the relationship builds from there. We all know the old saying that ‘people buy from people’. And of course it’s true, but it’s truer still that no-one likes to buy something from someone they don’t like.
Happy people therefore make for great sales people. The smile is the most powerful of sales weapons. And this is why I believe that creating a positive culture, maintaining a high level of morale and looking after the wellbeing of your staff should be amongst the key concerns of the business leader or business owner.
And when it comes to communication, communicating effectively with your own people should be your first priority. In order to continue to grow, businesses should focus on continually improving their internal communications. Good team communications are an essential part of the healthy, but exciting, working culture we all want to enjoy.
**Measure satisfaction**
Staff satisfaction is a really good starting point. Measure it, track it and work to improve it. Listen to staff feedback and hear their ideas. If 3 people tell you the baby is ugly, then possibly the baby is ugly! Make the improvements your own people are suggesting. Show the team that it’s their business and their suggestions are acted upon. Satisfaction will improve, and so will the company’s fortunes.
**Share your vision**
Share your vision. Be open and honest about your plans for the future. Paint the picture of what success looks like and give everyone the ability to see where they could sit in that business in the future. Motivate, inspire and report back regularly on progress, regularly sharing good news big and small.
**Create champions**
Allocate champions to work on various initiatives that will move the business forward. Look at process improvement, marketing, IT, new business and identify those willing to participate in these and other key areas. The quality of output from these sub groups will always surprise you and it will also act to give team members a greater stake in the business and to influence outcomes which again will improve morale and performance.
**Let people in**
If you feel that your teams are engaged and motivated, pat yourself on the back but don’t keep it a secret! Think about how you can get this across externally. Perhaps by capturing your team on video, or by using your website and your social media to provide a window into life at your business. This works really well for us at Superdream and has helped us to attract a high calibre of new recruits. It also helps clients see that working at Superdream is a highly rewarding experience, hopefully helping them to see that working with us can be just as good.
**Communicate**
Another fairly obvious one – if you want your team to feel valued and respected, let them know what’s going on. When someone is leaving or joining, don’t keep your teams in the dark or there will be uncertainty or worry among staff members. Trust your team and let them know the truth of what’s going on, even if it’s not pretty. Talk to them, email them, and always be open to a chat.
**Reward your people**
Go the extra mile and reward your team with little extras that show they are valued. We hold a fun summer festival each year and let our hair down with a big party and overnight camp. It has become one of the highlights of the year and goes down a storm with Dreamers new and old. But we also stop early once a month for drinks and to say thanks for another month’s hard work and success.
Get all this right and you will have a team of advocates who will present your brand with passion and commitment. Surely that can only be good thing?