“Why should I have written rules and practices in my business? Shouldn’t every employee know not to smoke on the job site, be 5 minutes early to every shift, and know not to wear stained jeans and a ripped t-shirt when meeting with a customer?”
Sadly, no, that’s not always the case. Especially in the trades industry— let’s be real here.
Written rules and unspoken practices must be set in place within your business. You need to set order and structure within your walls so that every team member is on the same page and working well with one another.
As business owner, you have to determine the ‘personality’ of your business. Establish the values, beliefs, and habits you want your team to follow and be on board with. Every business owner will have a slightly different work culture— formed from their own interests, experience on the tools, and things they find important.
The two main reasons you want an established work culture are:
Because everything you and your team does determines how you come across to customers!
Because when everyone is following the same rules and practices, people work better together!
From day one, each new employee needs to be shown the work culture and told how things are run, so that everyone is operating on the same level. It’s important that you hire people that’ll be a good cultural fit with your company.
It’s a lot harder to start changing and implementing work culture 20 years in, but it can be done. Unfortunately some team members just might not make the cut— it’s a sacrifice you may have to make in order to maintain a strong team and professional image.
Some common examples of work culture rules could include:
Shaking hands when greeting people, and not interrupting others when they’re speaking
Being professional on all communication fronts: in-person, in emails, in written letters, etc.
Being punctual, dependable, and respectful
Being well-groomed and following the dress code
Not swearing or smoking on job sites
Following company procedures
One thing to keep in mind is that a positive work culture will always give the best results. As business owner, you too have to follow these rules and treat everyone with respect and realize that everyone is important to your business and has the potential to grow.
A work culture won’t be maintained if it’s unrealistic and you don’t follow the practices yourself, because team members will pick up on that quickly and soon go about their day in their own way—causing chaos, a lack of structure, and an unprofessional image.
If you need help defining your work culture, or have questions based on this subject, don’t hesitate to book in a quick chat with us by clicking here.
