As your company grows, it gets harder and harder to maintain that startup energy. You lose the transparency, creative problem-solving, and open communication that were so essential when you were a smaller team.
Here are five things you can do to keep that vibe going, no matter how large your company becomes. And for great resources for energizing your team, head to WeWork’s Services Store.
1. Schedule team-building events
Team-building activities are great for cultivating teamwork, leadership skills, and communication among all levels of employees. Whether you schedule your team-building events monthly or yearly, employees always look forward to participating.
(Great tool for the job: Think Board. Make any surface a whiteboard and your space becomes even more collaborative.)
2. Create an open office environment
Open spaces are conducive to creativity, communication, and productivity, which is why open office layouts have become so popular with the startup culture. It’s giving employees fun, creative areas to express ideas and retire for a moment of socialization or quiet. While an open office layout isn’t for everyone, it’s essential to startup culture because fledgling businesses need everyone to work together.
(Great tool for the job: Delighted. It’s an easy way to get feedback from your team and your customers.)
3. Acknowledge contributions
Even though startup culture is about transparency and working as a team, it’s equally important to acknowledge the contributions made by individual staffers. When an employee has an idea acknowledged, she is more likely to take ownership of the process because she’s been told that her contributions have made a difference.
(Great tool for the job: Trinet. The perfect way to manage benefits, Trinet helps you acknowledge a job well done.)
4. Listen to new ideas
Startup culture is always open to new ideas, no matter which level they come from. The biggest enemy of larger corporations is becoming stuck in their ways, so much so that employees see no reason to contribute or make suggestions on how to improve. When you embrace startup culture, listen to advice from everyone, and acknowledge those ideas that have made a difference in the business.
(Great tool for the job: InVision. There’s not an easier way to create, share, and collaborate.)
5. Remain transparent
In today’s era of email, text, and social media communication, there’s simply no excuse for keeping employees in the dark. Improve your company’s communication by distributing a daily email to all employees. An online forum can also help. Setting up a private Facebook group, for example, allows you to post company news while keeping the communication lines open for employee responses and suggestions. When you maintain open communication, you’re more likely to have someone step forward with a solution.
(Great tool for the job: Hive. It provides all the info your team needs on one page.)
