---
title: How to Build a Company Culture that Empowers Employees
description: A successful business firing on all cylinders represents a large number of moving parts. Therefore, it makes sense to assume that when that firm fails to meet sales or performance expectations, some o
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---

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# How to Build a Company Culture that Empowers Employees

[ by ![BBB Staff](https://www.trust-bbb.org/hubfs/BBB%20Staff%20Avatar%20Image.png) BBB Staff](https://www.trust-bbb.org/torchtalk/author/bbb-staff) | Dec 18, 2019 9:14:28 PM

A successful business firing on all cylinders  
 represents a large number of moving parts. Therefore, it makes sense to assume  
 that when that firm fails to meet sales or performance expectations, some of  
 those moving parts have become gummed up and are not performing at capacity.  
 Whether the supply chain has kinks or advertising isn't being properly  
 targeted, your job is to discover, isolate, and fix those nonfiring cylinders.  
 Knowledgeable managers understand that the most important moving parts in their  
 organization are their employees.

Accordingly, fostering a company culture that boosts  
 employee empowerment is critical to getting that engine of commerce moving back  
 up to full speed. In addition to boosting ongoing productivity and focus, it  
 also serves to lower recruitment costs through increased employee loyalty.

**Building People to Build Business**

Positive company culture is your passport to positive  
 personnel development. Ongoing recruitment efforts are expensive and a drag on  
 company resources. As such, if you are looking for talented, loyal employees,  
 it’s important to instill a company culture that has applicants clamoring for a  
 position with your team. More importantly, once employees are a part of that  
 team, you’ll find that your positive culture will keep them working  
 enthusiastically behind their desk.

Over the course of the past 20 years, human resources departments have noted emerging trends in this area. Indeed, employers are noticing that new staff hires are unlikely to hold their positions for longer than a couple of years, and according to the [United States Department of Labor](https://www.bls.gov/spotlight/2013/tenure/home.htm), more than 25% of American workers have held their current position for less than a year.

Owing to the costs associated with hiring new  
 employees, many businesses have leaned into a more productive process that  
 introduces the new worker to their new environment in the hopes that a stronger  
 bond will be formed between employees and companies.

**How to Start Building a Culture That  
 Builds Your Team**

Most employees know whether they will be willing to  
 make a long-term commitment to a firm within the first six months of employment.  
 As such, a carefully planned onboarding program takes advantage of this time to  
 connect with new employees on an ongoing basis, with the goal that within that  
 six-month timeframe, the new employee will feel fully "onboard" in  
 terms of the company's culture, goals, and ambitions.

[Recent studies](https://www.aberdeen.com/solution/research/talent-performance-management/) conducted by the Aberdeen Group show a correlation between high retention rates and well-implemented onboarding programs. In short, companies that buy into efficient onboarding programs have employees who buy into the company. Indeed, the study noted that a successful program led to successful employees, with 62% showing higher ratios between time spent and productivity, while 54% of managers reported higher levels of engagement among their team members.

Some of those advantages include:

- Reduced turnover
- Accelerated performance
- Established team trust
- Shortened time to productivity

Onboarding is more than a tactical solution to  
 stemming employee turnover; it is a strategic decision to utilize the full  
 range of an employee's talents over the long term, and forward-thinking  
 companies are quickly adopting it as a solution to a mobile and restive  
 workforce.

**Trust, Push, and Support Your  
 Employees**

For some reason, hiring managers have a tendency to  
 suborn their employees' career path to the dictates of the firm's needs, and so  
 the notion of developing a cogent employee development plan often falls by the  
 wayside as soon as employees' W-2s and I-9s have been filed away.

This is a mistake. According to a 2013 article in [*Forbes*](https://www.forbes.com/sites/alankohll/2018/08/14/how-to-build-a-positive-company-culture/#662d742949b5)*,* "Helping your employees shape the future direction of their careers is a critical component to your company's overall success."

The failure to put together a professional development  
 plan and empower company culture may alienate a talented workforce that is not  
 fully devoted to the concept of lifelong employment with a single company.  
 Employees demonstrate this fact by following their own development plan, even  
 if that means hopping from job to job in search of that fulfillment.

**Empowering Employees Shows Results**

According to the *Forbes *article,  
 staff development — and building a positive and empowering company culture —  
 offers an array of advantages to the forward-thinking management team:

*•           Building Loyalty *— when an employee feels that they have "skin in the game," they come to understand that the company's success begets their own success. Building a company culture that encourages loyalty in your employees results in thriving employees. As such, devoting professional development resources to their success is an excellent way of building company loyalty.

*•           The Personal Touch *— people respond well when someone takes a genuine interest in their future and trusts their judgment. Extending this fact of human nature into the workplace is a great way to establish a mutual sense of loyalty and respect.

*•           Employee  
 Retention *— talented people rarely like to  
 rest on their laurels; they tend to pursue meaningful opportunities for career  
 advancement when they arise. Employees who are likely to shine are attracted to  
 a firm with a strong sense of company culture that works on the premise that a  
 rising tide raises all ships. Fostering a culture that ensures that all voices  
 are heard in a way that benefits both the employee and the company is crucial  
 to employee retention.

In short, empowering your employees begins by  
 understanding their worth, respecting their expertise, and giving them the  
 broadest possible field to develop their talents.

[Building Better Businesses](https://www.trust-bbb.org/torchtalk/tag/building-better-businesses), [Hiring & Company Culture](https://www.trust-bbb.org/torchtalk/tag/hiring-and-company-culture)

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## Additional Reading

### [How to Build a Company Culture that Empowers (and Keeps) Its Employees Successful businesses fire on all cylinders often using a large number of moving parts. So, when...](https://www.trust-bbb.org/torchtalk/how-to-build-a-company-culture-that-empowers-and-keeps-its-employees)

### [Why Putting Employees First Can Help With Business Growth As technology starts overtaking today's business setting, the engagement of the human factor at the...](https://www.trust-bbb.org/torchtalk/why-putting-employees-first-can-help-with-business-growth)

### [10 Creative Ways to Increase Employee Engagement As an employer, it is your responsibility to make sure your employees are passionate about their...](https://www.trust-bbb.org/torchtalk/10-creative-ways-to-increase-employee-engagement)

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