culture Archives - American Quilt Retailer

Posted on December 7, 2022December 5, 2022 by AQR Piece by Piece — Leave a comment

Positive Company Culture

A negative company culture can have a devastating impact on your business. Read on to learn how to create a positive company culture by knowing the employee archetypes and how to manage them.

The Impact of Company Culture

There are a couple ways to manage workplace negativity. The first is to set clear expectations in your company handbook and follow them. The second is to have quarterly performance reviews. This provides both parties with an outlet for constructive criticism on how the other party can improve.

Another factor to consider is yourself. What sort of example do you set? Do you make your employees feel appreciated? After some soul searching, be ready to confront negativity head on. The following tips will be a good place to start managing the negativity.

Employee Categories

The Emotional Employee: Emotional employees are easily provoked which can be distracting to business. Set up a weekly sync to be used as a vent session as an outlet.
The Social Butterfly: This employee has a poor gauge of time and enjoys chatting. Fortunately this is easy to manage. Put social butterflies in a social role like planning workshops and employee or customer recognition events.
The Bully: Workplace bullies use power to manipulate others. For this conversation you’ll want to listen to both sides of the story and have your facts ready.
The Complainer: More often than not, this isn’t a bad thing, especially if the employee is bought into the company’s mission. Listen to what they have to say—they may bring up a point you haven’t thought of before.

Inspiration for this post comes from “Positive Culture Produces Satisfied Employees” by HR expert and former quilt shop owner Melisa Morrison published in the October 2022 issue of Creative Retailer.

If you’re looking for more information to guide you in owning a retail business, subscribe to Creative Retailer today. Already a subscriber? No worries—join our Facebook group for insights and dialogue from industry specialists like you. And don’t forget, you can always purchase single issues if you prefer that instead.

Posted on September 8, 2022September 7, 2022 by AQR Piece by Piece — Leave a comment

Creating Company Culture

Every business has company culture, whether they realize it or not. Creating a strong culture within your work environment is essential to your company’s success. Read on for the four components that create great culture.

Vision

The daily grind is difficult to get through but one thing always shines through—vision.

Creating and sharing the company’s purpose to your staff can help them share in that vision. Consider asking your employees how they can support the company’s vision and one thing they can do differently to achieve it.

Values

It’s important your company values align with your employee’s values. If your company doesn’t have values, here is an easy way to create them.

During your next all-hands meeting, set aside 15-30 minutes to brainstorm what values matter in the workplace. Write every value you hear down. Once you’ve exhausted options, have your employees write down their top 3-5 of the values. Tally the results on your own time, then share the values voted on by you and your employees during your next all-hands meeting!

(Note, some values may emerge in overarching themes. For example, teamwork could also be described as collaboration, unity, combined effort, and more.)

Practices

Establish sound practices and rid your business of inconsistencies. Keep the door open with your employees to share inconsistencies, and be prepared to determine better workflows.

People

Leverage your employees strengths to increase company culture. When your employees are happy, productivity increases, and is a win-win for both parties.

Inspiration for this post came from “Create a Winning Team” by Melisa Morrison published in the August 2022 issue of American Quilt Retailer. Morrison has over 30 years of experience in Human Resources and is a former quilt shop owner. Stay tuned next week on ways to communicate employee expectations.

If you’re looking for more information to guide you in owning a retail business, subscribe to American Quilt Retailer today. Already a subscriber? No worries—join our Facebook group for insights and dialogue from industry specialists like you. And don’t forget, you can always purchase single issues if you prefer that instead.

Posted on September 30, 2021September 30, 2021 by AQR Piece by Piece — Leave a comment

Company Culture: If you can’t find it; make it!

Culture. It may seem like a trendy word, but it is everything in the workplace. Read on to learn how you can improve yours.

What is culture?

Have you ever found yourself in a job you like, but the culture was holding you back? When you’re removed from the situation it can be hard to remember how horrible it was.

Before we jump into that however, what is it? Obviously, culture is about people, and company culture is how your work environment makes them feel. It goes without saying, but your business’s culture should make your employees feel welcome, secure, and optimized to succeed.

What benefits your employee benefits your company also. Recognizing and valuing your employee’s skill set, giving them opportunities to learn and grow, and leaving an open door for dialogue are all great ways to accomplish a positive work culture.

Pros and cons

The negatives of a poor culture are obvious. High turnover, struggling employee mental health (that ultimately impacts customer interactions), and feelings of defeat.

Being open to criticism on how you can improve is critical for improving your current work culture. It’s amazing that even in 2021 there are still books being written about things such as gender and strategizing around the workplace as it currently is. I’m just taking a stab in the dark here, but I think it may have something to do with the close-mindedness of managers in all industries.

Finally, keep in mind that the stress you feel about the direction your business is heading rubs off on your employees. It’s not easy to run a business, but it sure is rewarding. Make sure your employees can feel that too.