Learning from employees to strengthen Utah business culture

It’s not a bad idea to ask yourself this question at varying points in your career: How do you measure success?

For some, it’s strictly a financial metric — profits, losses, stock prices, investments, etc. For others, it can be more about who is at the top, with respect to its leaders and/or with how influential the business may be in its community.

However, there are some for which success comes from fulfillment in general, and that ties directly to the culture in which a business may grow and thrive. It’s also been shown that a strong employee culture can even be an indicator of long-term success.

In his article for Utah Business, author Derek Miller talks about the employee’s role in determining a culture’s success in the workplace. It also takes an effort to actually capture and measure that perception in order to truly understand how the culture plays into success.

As for other aspects of your business, First Utah Bank can help take at least one off your mind, as we offer online banking options that offer convenience as well as security.

Finding ways to make sure employees are heard

Although customer satisfaction is something that most businesses chase, Miller notes that employee satisfaction is just as important, if not more. He sees it as “the pivot point where magic can happen,” between the customer and the leadership to deliver meaningful results.

“The counterpart is also true, where poor company culture can lead to reduced employee morale and performance, and eventually market erosion,” Miller writes.

With the many changes and transformations that companies have undergone in recent years — from increases in tech adoption, to market disruption, to the COVID-19 response — ensuring employees feel valued is more important than ever. Miller believes the answer to this uncertainty is to focus on employee culture so it can weather any storm.

“Some conceptualize this as the design of work experience,” he continues. “Others call it the culture code. No matter the name, its centrality cannot be overstated.”

Miller talks about some crucial questions to ask employees that can get at the heart of culture at a workplace. They are:

• How are you treated by senior leadership?
• Are you able to talk about concerns with your direct leaders?
• It is fun to work here and do you have a great time when you are at work?
• What are some activities that you believe express and solidify your company culture?
• When you talk about your workplace to friends, how do you describe the culture?

Fostering unity can bring great rewards

Having these questions in the form of a simple, anonymous survey that’s distributed often, perhaps every year, can go a long way in taking the proverbial temperature and setting a baseline. Miller writes that a culture audit can be one method to ensure a business is healthy beyond just performance.

“While high-pressure or ‘boiler room’ environments can succeed, this likely is not sustainable typically due to high employee turnover and dysfunctional organizational trust,” Miller notes. “he people we employ trust that leadership will create an atmosphere for them to thrive individually and together as a team. Unity is one outgrowth of a healthy workforce culture where factions and silos are replaced with communication and common commitment to the shared mission.”

While it’s important that leaders lay a framework to better measure workplace culture and its impact, Miller believes that everyone plays a part in it, from participating in a survey to making sure its results are shared and feedback taken into account.

“A magnetic culture will draw in wins and multiply organizational successes internally and in the community,” Miller concludes. “The dust is starting to settle as we live and work through a global pandemic, now is the time to measure and reassess the strength of your culture before the next battle arrives.”

Online banking creates more ease for Utah businesses

One concern that often weights heavenly on leaders is finding the best and most efficient way to manage funds. Whether you are now operating the same as before the coronavirus restrictions, or have made modifications, First Utah Bank has online banking options that are convenient and easy.

The bank’s website features an easy log-in for Internet Banking. If you are part of our Treasury Management program, you also can use the online portal to access your services any time of the day or night. The log-in process is streamlined and offers a high level of security.

Whether it’s a remote deposit or checking your financial status from a phone app, we make it easy to take care of business. To learn more about what we have to offer, go to our website or call First Utah Bank at 801-308-2265.