Workplaces all have a culture, whether deliberate or not. Creating a positive startup culture helps increase staff engagement and retention. During Lincoln Startup Week, check out these pointers from leaders in the startup community.

A session on “Building Culture” was hosted by Enterprise Legal Studio and Nebraska Angels during Lincoln Startup Week. The panelists were Brett Hoogeveen, co-founder of Better Culture, Lauren Conger of CompanyCam, Michael Struthers of Pet Friendly, and Jay Wilkinson, founder and CEO of Firespring.

Five things can be learned from the panelists:

Culture influences retention, which reduces expenses

Turnover is an expensive procedure. The hiring, onboarding, and training of new staff members costs money and time. When seasoned workers depart, the institution may also lose some of their knowledge. The panelists stated that the turnover rate in the tech business is relatively high, hovering around 13%. With an average tenure of two years, Generation Z is the group least likely to work for a company for an extended amount of time.

A robust corporate culture plays a pivotal role in keeping staff members on board. In addition to creating a happy workplace, investing in corporate culture also helps save money that can be used for other initiatives inside the organization.

Human-centered work practices are seen in the most productive cultures

Longer tenure is a result of personal interactions and encouraging individuals to bring their complete selves to work. According to surveys, employees who report having a close friend at work are more likely to remain with the company for a longer period of time. A more upbeat and effective culture arises from being surrounded by individuals who are living their full, real lives both inside and outside of the workplace.

Founder engagement and burnout are influenced by culture

The success of a business is seriously threatened by founder burnout. Founders can experience less risk of burnout and greater engagement when they are surrounded by wonderful people and a supportive culture. Putting money into education and training is essential to creating that encouraging environment.

Trust and accountability are essential

Keeping individuals accountable is a key component of developing a good corporate culture. You establish responsibility through openly outlining responsibilities and expectations. Since opportunities for team collaboration foster shared experiences, which are the foundation of trust, they also help to prevent siloed operations. Trust and accountability originate at the top. To prevent inconsistencies, leaders must match their deeds with their declared values.

Intentionality is needed while creating a culture

Every business, whether deliberately or not, has a culture. Businesses must deliberately select the culture they wish to have. A true business culture is developed by talking about both good and bad events that are connected to values. Values are important. Company culture should be regularly assessed and changed by leaders as the business expands and with every new employee.

It’s crucial to identify and deal with toxic conduct, especially when it comes from highly competent team members, in order to keep the team dynamic positive and optimism levels high.