This post was originally published on the CareerPlug Blog

Happy Friday!

This Friday we wanted to share a few ideas for strengthening your company culture.  Over this last year CareerPlug has doubled its team, so communicating our values and implementing them into our daily culture has become a top priority for us.

Here are a few tips from us to you:

Communicate Your Core Values:  This starts on an employee’s first day; going over the company values should be an important part in their onboarding process, not just a page in a binder.  The next phase is finding ways to make those values apart of daily work.  Are your core values visible?  Consider printing your values on something your employees will see every day, like a magnet, mug, or mouse pad.  Present projects and ideas with your values in mind, communicating how everyone’s individual work contributes to these values.

A word mash-up of our values … on a coaster

Host a Weekly All Company Meeting:  At CareerPlug we have meeting every Friday where we essentially check-in to see how the week went for everyone and share what other people did well that week.  It’s short, positive, and a great way to bring the company together before the weekend.  At a larger company, this may only be possible on a smaller scale within departments, but it’s important to schedule in positive check-ins on all levels.

Have a Venue for Peer Recognition: Managers should make an effort to recognize and reward good work, but encouraging peers to recognize one another is the next step in strengthening a team and ultimately a company.  Here at CareerPlug we recently began compiling shout-outs coworkers give one another throughout the month.  At the end of the month, we send out a newsletter with all these recognitions, along with a few other fun things about employees.  We’ve found this helps different teams, who don’t usually interact, stay connected.

Plan Social Events:  Happy Hours are a staple, but what about Halloween Parties? Company retreats? How do you celebrate employee’s birthdays?  Social events give employees a chance to interact outside of work environment, often presenting the opportunity to form friendships or at least a better sense of comradery that can translate into a healthy work environment.  Volunteer days are another great idea to not only bring your office together, but to give back to the community.

Office Artwork:  A bulletin board sharing pictures of office of employees, a mural of employee handprints on the break room wall … the possibilities for collaborative office art are endless.  Personalizing the office décor is both a unifying project and an awesome way to create a healthy and inviting work space.

What do you do to maintain a healthy company culture at your office?