Writer Annie Dillard once famously said, “How we spend our days is, of course, how we spend our lives.” For many of us, a large portion of our days is spent at work. Many employees find themselves living at the weekends, but it is also the weeks which must count.

Company culture can make or break the organization and is evident in how an organization’s employees interact with each other, their values, and their decisions. This culture lays the foundation on which rests many responsibilities like happiness, success and motivation. How can a company genuinely reap the benefits of a dedicated and motivated team? It is by engaging in a positive organizational culture.

Here are five ways in which a company can substantially improve its culture:

1. Efficiency in Communication

As cliche as that might sound, communication, when done efficiently, helps in removing multiple barriers amongst a team. As the saying goes, ‘communication is key.’ By effectively communicating your company’s culture, values and mission, you help your team come on the same page. It also helps in reaching a unified goal. According to Harvard Business Review, employees who say their organizational values are “known and understood” are 51 times more likely to be fully engaged than an employee who responds that their organization does not have values that are known and understood. Millennials today look forward to creating a positive impact in an organization. Effective communication shifts your employee’s mindset from a cog in a machine to a vital part of the team.

2. Socialize with New Employees

Getting new employees familiar with your company culture requires much more than a formal talk with a presentation. The heart and soul of company norms can’t be studied through formal learning. They are learned through informal exchanges between new employees and co-workers. This is where the importance of the socialization process comes into play. It highlights the influential role of co-workers and supervisors in effectively socializing newcomers. Employee retention is increased by 82% with a great employee onboarding programme

3. Make Feedback a Way of Life

A boss might be the leader, but even he could do with some feedback. With the work landscape changing, managers will need to be prepared to receive feedback from employees. With power distance reducing in companies, this will be the new norm.  What does this mean exactly? Millenials will now have to learn to give feedback, while seniors will have to learn to take feedback and improve their processes to become better leaders that serve their employees. According to statistics, 75% of employees would stay longer at an organization that listens to them and makes them feel a part of the team. Make critical feedback a way of life in the organization, where one grows along with the progress.

4. Recognize and Reward

Your employees are a part of an intimate setup that works for their betterment as much as they work for the organization. Every work well done needs to be appreciated. Positive reinforcement goes a long way in an organization where there is healthy competition. Rewarding your best performers motivates them further and helps others get inspired to perform well. These rewards and recognition programs don’t have to be extravagant. It could be a few words of recognition or a bonus to show appreciation.

5. Try Gamification

Renew the glory of your company culture by turning boring training materials into fun games for your employees. Gamification will keep employees’ motivated and learners coming back for more with high levels of enthusiasm. This makes for the perfect, fun environment to reinforce your organizational culture. Research by the Aberdeen Group discovered that organizations who deploy gamification improve engagement by 48%.

Business and its culture are both pieces of the same cloth. They work together to create a meaningful relationship between the employees and the organization while providing many positives along the way. A company does not work only for profits. After all, the ultimate goal of a company is not only to fulfil the organization’s mission and vision but also to keep its employees happy in a positive environment.