What truly sets a thriving business apart in a world of shifting priorities and endless to-do lists? Spoiler: it’s not just snazzy logos or ping-pong tables. The real game-changers are purpose, clarity, and culture — all wrapped up in three powerful words: Vision, Mission, and Values.
These aren’t just corporate buzzwords. They’re the beating heart of every organisation that knows where it’s going, why it’s going there, and how it’s going to show up along the way.
Vision: Our Dream Destination
Think of your Vision as your business’s dream vacation destination. It’s that amazing place you’re all trying to get to — big, bold, and maybe a little scary (in a good way). Your Vision answers the question: “Where do we want to go?” It should be inspiring enough to light a fire under your team and clear enough to steer your long-term strategy. Bonus points if it makes people say, “Yes! I want to be part of that!”
Mission: Why We Get Out of Bed
Your Mission is the reason you show up every day (well, that and coffee!). It’s your “why,” your impact, your purpose. A solid Mission keeps everyone rowing in the same direction, even on the days when the waters get choppy. It tells your customers, your team, and even your dog (if you’re into that kind of thing) what you’re here to do and why it matters. It answers the question: “Why do we do what we do?”
Values: How We Roll
Your Values are the vibe, the glue, the unspoken rules of the road trip. They guide how you treat people, make decisions, and handle success (and setbacks). But let’s be real: Values don’t mean much unless they come off the wall and into real life. That’s where the fun (and the work) begins:
Run Values Workshops to get everyone involved in shaping the culture – bring your people on the journey with you.
Create a Team Charter to provide clear direction and alignment around expected behaviours – your Guiding Principles.
Put it all in a friendly Handbook, along with your policies – a good Handbook should clearly set your expectations, as well as guidance on ‘how you do things’, and (and here’s the tricky part) it shouldn’t put people to sleep!
Use tools like ExtendedDISC – to help your people understand the different personalities within the team, how to adapt to improve communication and boost collaboration.
Design a warm Welcome and Onboarding experience that helps newbies feel the love right away.
When Vision, Mission, and Values Click
When these three are singing in harmony, magic happens. Your team is engaged. Your customers feel it. Your culture gets stronger, not just shinier. Alignment here means fewer mixed messages and more moments of, “Yes, this feels right.”
Build Your Foundation with Intention (and a Bit of Fun)
Whether you’re starting fresh or doing a brand refresh, keep it human. Get curious. Involve your people. Laugh a little. Ask the real questions:
Vision: What do we want the future to look like (and what would make it awesome)?
Mission: Why do we get up and do this every day?
Values: What do we believe in enough to never compromise on?
Because, in the end, businesses that live their Vision, walk their Mission, and breathe their Values aren’t just doing business. They’re building something meaningful — and having a great time doing it.
At Spice, we’re all about bringing your culture to life in a way that actually works. Whether it’s shaping your Vision, giving your Values a refresh, rolling out a Team Charter (that people will actually use!), or helping your team understand each other better with Extended DISC – we’re here to help. We also make sure your onboarding hits the right notes from day one.
Whatever you need, we tailor practical, people-focused solutions that match your vibe and support your goals. Culture done right. Just add Spice.
So if you’re ready to build a workplace culture with both heart and direction, get in touch. Anything great could happen!
Workplace culture is instrumental to a successful business, so why not commit to fostering a culture of excellence at your workplace?
Last month, we began looking at what good workplace culture looks like and why it matters – if you missed that article, you can read it here.
This month, we are exploring practical strategies for how you can foster a thriving work environment at your workplace.
We like to think of workplace culture as your organisation’s signature dish—you need to add the right mix of ingredients, conduct ongoing taste tests, and add a little heat to bring out the best flavours!
So, here are our top tips for crafting a workplace environment that’s as satisfying as a perfectly seasoned meal!
7 Top Tips For Creating A Thriving Workplace Culture
1. Define Your Culture Clearly
If you don’t take the time to define your workplace culture, it will just go right ahead and define itself. Unfortunately, if that happens, it might not define itself in the way you want!
Your culture should align with your company’s mission, vision, and values. That way, it will represent your business effectively while also creating a consistent and inspiring workplace experience for your team members.
One of the easiest ways to clearly define your culture is to develop a culture statement or manifesto that outlines your company’s core values and mission. Once the statement is established (hopefully with team input!), make sure it’s communicated in everything you do. There are plenty of opportunities to do this – through team meetings, internal newsletters, reward and recognition, right through to visual reminders around the workplace.
Encourage your leaders to reinforce these values through their behaviours and decision-making, that way there is a flow-down effect from the top of your organisation to the team members below.
2. Leadership Sets the Tone
Just like a head chef in a bustling kitchen, leaders set the tone for a workplace environment. Let’s just get it out there, you don’t want to emulate a Gordon Ramsey-style, Hell’s Kitchen situation!
Rather, you want a positive environment that everyone enjoys working in. Remind your leaders that their behaviours, decisions, and communication style influence every aspect of the business. If they are able to model behaviours that align with your company values, it fosters trust in the business and creates a respectful work environment, all key elements for a strong culture.
The way to do this is to equip your leaders with the skills they need to lead with confidence. Leadership development programs are always a great investment for any organisation. They empower your key people with strategies to lead effectively.
That empowerment can filter throughout your whole workplace by having your leaders Role model ‘what good looks like’. Not only does this foster a good culture, but it also helps to reinforce a strong and trusted leadership presence. Build on that by having your leaders engage in regular one-on-one check-ins with their teams ideally quarterly or monthly to provide guidance, support, and feedback.
3. Focus On Employee Wellbeing
A supportive culture isn’t just nice to have—it’s essential! So, employee wellbeing should be a big priority for any business. Employees thrive in environments that prioritise mental health, reduce stress, and encourage work-life balance.
When your team feel valued and supported, they’re more engaged, motivated, and productive.
There are plenty of ways you can put the focus on team wellbeing. Some of the most popular methods are to offer a level of flexibility in your team’s work arrangements, utilise wellness programmes such as mindfulness sessions or fitness challenges, and create designated spaces for relaxation and fun in the office. Don’t forget to encourage regular breaks and ensure workloads are manageable.
4. The Power Of Diversity And Inclusion
A truly dynamic and resilient workplace environment embraces diversity and inclusion. Different perspectives spark innovation, enhance problem-solving, and strengthen team collaboration. When employees feel respected and valued for who they are, they bring their best selves to work.
Diversity comes in many forms – it might be generational where you can harness experience and youth, it might be gender, where you can gain different mindsets and perspectives, or it could be cultural where you benefit from multiple influences and backgrounds. Diversity can be a goldmine for your business development and innovation, but only if inclusion is celebrated.
Foster inclusivity by encouraging open communication channels, building an environment where everyone feels welcome, valued and heard, celebrating various cultural events where appropriate, and ensuring your recruitment practices encourage diverse talent.
5. Recruitment & Retention
High performers don’t just want to work for a paycheck. They want to work for a business and a workplace culture they believe in. A strong culture can help you attract top talent, reduce staff turnover, and create a true sense of belonging for your team members. People who feel connected to their workplace culture are more likely to stay and contribute meaningfully to the company’s success.
You can start displaying your culture from the very first interaction people have with your business. Highlight it during the recruitment process by providing a clear insight into your values, mission and team dynamics. But don’t just stop there – follow it up with an engaging onboarding experience that reinforces company values from day one.
6. Encourage Feedback and Collaboration
Great cultures are built on open communication. Your people need to feel heard, valued, and empowered to contribute ideas – some of the best ideas come from those on the ground! Creating a workplace where feedback flows freely is paramount. This communication should flow through all levels of the business so that even the most junior employees feel heard.
By involving each and every member of your team in open conversations, you will foster trust and encourage innovation.
Communication is a vast area of business. So, you want to make sure you cover all your bases. Some ways to do this would be to set up regular opportunities for feedback via meetings and catch-ups, anonymous employee engagement surveys, open-door policies, or even team brainstorming sessions.
You may even find it useful to draw on the power of technology and use collaboration tools like Slack, Trello, or Miro to encourage open communication and project transparency.
7. Commit To Continuous Improvement
Workplace culture isn’t a one-and-done project—it’s an ongoing journey. That’s why you need to commit to continuous tweaks and improvements. You can do this by regularly assessing, gathering feedback, and making adjustments to keep your culture strong and relevant. As your business evolves, your culture should too!
Conduct culture pulse checks by gathering insights from team members at different levels of your business to discover what’s working and what needs improvement. You can also use team meetings and discussions to ensure ongoing alignment with your company values and goals.
Invest In Your Workplace Environment
Investing in workplace culture is like perfecting a recipe—it takes time, effort, and the right ingredients. The good news? You don’t have to do it alone!
At Spice, we’re passionate about helping businesses create thriving workplace cultures with our Acentia-accredited workshops. These workshops are designed to give your workplace culture the perfect balance of personality and substance. Whether you need to refine your company’s vision, strengthen leadership skills, build high-performing teams, or enhance internal communication, we’ve got a workshop for you!
The interactive sessions provide practical strategies, real-world insights, and actionable steps to create a workplace culture that’s engaging, inclusive, and resilient. Think of them as the secret ingredient to making your business thrive!
Ready to create the ideal workplace environment? Give us a call today, and let’s start crafting the perfect blend for your business!
That New Year feeling infects and motivates everyone…
The promise of a new beginning.
A refreshed outlook after a summer break.
And ready to smash out some goals.
If you can get your team to harness and channel all that positive energy now, they will be set up for a successful year ahead.
So, how do you help your team form a productive and positive mindset? We’ve got 5 ways right here…
1: Setting Clear And Achievable Goals
With all that New Year’s resolution energy floating around, now is the perfect time to encourage your employees to set both personal and professional goals for the year. If they can define clear and achievable objectives now, it will provide them with direction and purpose once the glow of the new year begins to fade. Setting the tone for a successful year early can help to boost team motivation during busy times.
The key to achieving a goal is not pushing yourself as much as humanly possible. The secret is actually setting a good goal in the first place. It needs to be just hard enough to challenge you, but not so hard that you can’t balance it with your existing responsibilities. We love using the S.M.A.R.T.E.R. goal setting framework – specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, time-bound, evaluate, and re-adjust – to ensure success!
2: Promote Professional Development
Often, goal setting and professional development go hand in hand. So, once your employees have set their S.M.A.R.T.E.R. goals, it is helpful if they share them with their manager in case there are professional development opportunities that can help them achieve those goals.
Even if there is nothing goal-related for certain individuals, the new year can be a great time to learn new skills or refresh existing ones. As a proactive leader, it is important to explore any upcoming training opportunities that might benefit your team. You can look for physical workshops, encourage the use of online training, or even facilitate development sessions within your workplace.
By investing in the personal growth of each of your team members you add value to your business and encourage your employees to be the best they can be.
3: Reinforce A Positive Work Culture
The end of the year acts as a reset, as many employees will take time away on their summer holiday. That means you will need to ensure they are re-engaged when they return to the workplace in the new year.
The start of the year is the perfect time to recap your business values, mission and vision to ensure that your team members continue to work in alignment with them. It’s a great opportunity for leaders to communicate the company’s purpose and how each person’s role contributes to the bigger picture.
Fostering re-engagement of your positive workplace culture right from the first day of the year can keep your team motivated. That will help to build strong morale and a good level of productivity from the word go.
4: Encourage Healthy Work Habits
There is a reason that companies are always chasing the elusive work-life balance for their team members. When that balance is achieved, people are happier, healthier and more productive. Of course, this is great on both a personal and professional level for your employees and your operations.
The summer months are the perfect time to encourage your employees to find their balance and build healthy work habits. Promote the benefit of good practices like taking breaks, setting boundaries between work and home and prioritising wellbeing. This will help your team keep perspective and prevent things like burnout and excessive stress.
You may even want to introduce initiatives like wellness challenges or mindfulness sessions to get your team in the right frame of mind early on. This can help them to translate their refreshed and energised summer holiday feeling into the workplace.
If you would like some advice on how to set up wellbeing programs for your team, give us a call!
5: Celebrate The Wins
Positivity breeds more positivity, so celebrating wins of all sizes will boost team morale and keep everyone motivated. Making a commitment to recognise early accomplishments and incremental progress, no matter how small, will have amazing benefits for your team.
It creates a sense of achievement and reinforces a culture of continuous improvement. Celebrating wins helps maintain momentum and encourages your employees to stay engaged with their goals throughout the year. So, consider the ways you might be able to celebrate those wins. This can be privately or publicly with a weekly workplace-wide shoutout.
Incoming Positive Mindset!
By embracing these five strategies, you can set the tone for a productive, positive, and successful year ahead for your team. From clear goal setting to fostering a positive work culture and encouraging healthy habits, each step plays a vital role in helping your team stay motivated and engaged.
At Spice, we specialise in helping businesses implement these strategies effectively, tailoring our solutions to fit your unique culture. So, if you’re ready to start the year strong and ensure your team stays on track with a positive mindset, contact us now to discuss how we can support your journey to success this new year.
In the wake of last month’s Mental Health Awareness Week, it’s timely to turn your attention to the thing at the core of good mental health… wellbeing and wellness.
Are they a priority at your workplace?
If not, now is the time to change that!
Creating an environment that promotes good mental health and wellbeing not only benefits your individual team members but can also enhance the overall performance of your business.
So, let’s explore how you can create that environment now.
What Is Wellbeing?
According to the Mental Health Foundation website, ‘Wellbeing means we have the tools, support and environments we need to be who we are and to build and sustain lives worth living.’ And we couldn’t agree more!
Good wellbeing is all about creating an Aotearoa where we feel good and do well most of the time. It’s not about eliminating tough times, mental illness or distress – these will inevitably still occur. But it is about ensuring we are equipped with the tools, support and environment we need to work through any difficulties we encounter.
While a lot of that is down to the individual involved, a person’s workplace also has a huge role to play in achieving excellent wellbeing. So, let’s explore what that means in greater detail.
Supporting Good Mental Health
Before you can even begin to support mental health in your business, the people in key influencing roles need to understand what mental health actually is. There can be a perception that when we talk about mental health, we are actually talking about mental illness.
That is not what the focus should be at all.
Just like physical health, mental health is something we all have and need to look after. After all, there is no health without mental health! When our mental health is good, it translates to better physical health, greater resilience and the ability to feel happy, confident and secure.
Everyone can enjoy good mental health and wellbeing, regardless of what they have going on in their life. A big contributor to that will be a supportive and positive working environment.
Your Workplace Is A Community
A workplace is more than just a space where employees go to carry out their duties and meet deadlines. While work obviously goes on in a workplace (duh!), it should also be a space that ensures individuals feel supported, valued and connected.
It should be a community.
Communities are all about connection. That strong feeling of belonging, support and a shared purpose creates a sense of togetherness. When your team feel like they are part of a community, they experience all the elements that encourage good wellbeing. They are also more likely to experience job satisfaction and loyalty, along with greater productivity.
Building a workplace community is not just about good remuneration or creating a great office vibe. It’s also about creating an inclusive environment where everyone feels respected and heard, meaning that they are always able to contribute their best.
So, how can you build this community of wellbeing?
Build A Community Of Care
Community focused workplaces don’t happen by accident. Everyone from leadership to the most junior employee should consistently foster an environment where wellbeing is prioritised and mental health holds the same importance as physical health.
These are just some of the ways you can build a community at your workplace:
People At The Heart: When you are focused on your people, they know they are a valued asset to the business. Create regular opportunities for team interaction and connection so you are constantly building the bonds between your employees. While some scheduled team building events are helpful, you can also foster this connection through informal team catch-ups and morning teas, a walking lunch or a shared project. These moments are continual opportunities to feel connected and appreciated.
Wellbeing Initiatives: Initiatives that support wellness can be a big hit with employees and do double time on the wellbeing front by encouraging good mental health. These could be anything from wellness challenges to healthy office snacking or even mindfulness sessions and wellbeing benefits. The simple act of integrating wellbeing into a daily workplace routine reinforces the message that good health matters to your business.
Empathy and Leadership: One size certainly does not fit all when it comes to mental health. Your managers and leaders should lead with empathy, recognising that each team member will experience unique challenges. By offering support, showing understanding and maintaining regular communication, you can build trust, psychological safety and a positive work culture amongst your team.
Check Ins: You won’t know unless you ask! So, maintain regular check ins for your team, both at an individual level and as a collective. That way, you can always have a gauge of how your employees are feeling. Depending on the employee and their specific situation, check-ins can be formal one-on-one meetings or a casual chat – the objective is simply to identify any issues early and maintain a strong connection.
Valuing Wellbeing and Mental Health
A big part of building your community of care will be valuing wellbeing and mental health. Not only does it mean fostering the positive space we just discussed, but it also involves recognising everything can’t be sunshine and rainbows all the time!
Stress and anxiety are ever-present threats to your team’s mental health. That’s why it is more important than ever to take proactive steps to prioritise wellbeing.
Here are some ways you can do that:
Open Communication: When mental health is openly discussed in the workplace it helps to remove any associated stigma. Your team should feel comfortable speaking about wellbeing without fear of judgment. Management should take the lead in creating safe spaces for open conversations and getting some of your team trained in mental health first aid will also really help.
Provide External Support: Support within the workplace is essential, but sometimes people will feel more comfortable speaking with an experienced professional. Offering an Employee Assistance Program (EAP) or mental health workshops will give your employees access to strong support and demonstrate that their wellbeing is a priority. Here at Spice HR we are loving a new NZ start up’s approach to holistic wellbeing support for employees. Reach out if you’d like to find out more!
Encourage Work/Life Balance: A healthy work/life balance is essential for maintaining good mental health. So, encourage your team to create a balance that works for them. It could be flexible work hours or conditions, taking designated mental health days, or fully disconnecting outside of work hours.
True Inclusivity: Inclusivity is not just a buzzword, it is vital for wellbeing. A truly inclusive workplace will embrace diversity and ensure everyone feels valued regardless of their background, culture or personal circumstances. When people feel included, they are less likely to experience feelings of stress and isolation, preserving their wellbeing.
Prevention Is The Key
Is your workplace more than just a place of employment? Are your people active members in a community that helps them to thrive?
If not, now is the time to do something about it! When it comes to mental health concerns, you don’t want to be the ambulance at the bottom of the cliff! While mental health support is important, prevention of stress and burnout is the better avenue.
So, if you can work to build a great community, you’ll be taking proactive steps towards prevention and creating a great space for your team to work within.
If you are feeling stuck on how to ensure wellbeing is a big focus for your business, there are some great tools that can help make it happen. Firstly, it can be super beneficial to speak to an HR wellbeing expert. And you’re in luck, we Spice Gals are the experts you are looking for!
Backed with plenty of experience in this field, we can craft wellness solutions that make wellbeing a true priority. We can even help you implement a fantastic wellness platform that empowers your team to look after themselves in the ways that suit them best.
Every generation comes with a reputation for how they supposedly behave in the workplace. Fair to say that some of the traits are unfairly assigned!
But these stereotypes exist due to an evolution of attitudes and behaviours over the decades.
For example, if you compare the mindset of a Baby Boomer and a Gen Zer, you’ll incur vastly different opinions.
These different attitudes can sometimes cause conflict in the workplace.
So, it’s vital that your leaders and team understand each of the generations within your workforce and how you can foster multigenerational harmony.
Let’s explore the concept of a multigenerational workplace in greater detail so that you can avoid unnecessary conflict and maximise the varying skills you have within your team.
What Is A Multigenerational Workplace?
A multigenerational workplace is one where your team is made up of people from different generations, meaning varying age groups. As many people are choosing to work into their later years, it is becoming more and more common to have a wide range of generations throughout your workforce.
The 4 main generations in the workforce at present are:
Baby Boomers (born 1946-1964): Known for a strong work ethic and their loyalty, often prioritising job stability over career progression.
Generation X (born 1965-1980): With a strong element of self-reliance and resourcefulness, they prefer autonomy and a good work-life balance.
Millennials (1981-1996): Having grown up with technology they are very comfortable with digital tools, often drive technological innovation, and prefer collaborations.
Gen Z (born 1997-2012): Highly proficient in technology and social platforms they value diversity and inclusion and like to seek opportunities for innovation.
Some workplaces may even have a further diverse split and include the octogenarians of the Silent Generation and the younger teens of Generation Alpha. While there are many benefits to having all of these different skills and viewpoints in your business, it is important for everyone to remember that they will have different perspectives and communication styles. These differences can create waves if you are not careful.
A Multigenerational Workplace Looks Like…
There are a few common characteristics of a multigenerational workplace:
Diverse age groups: You could potentially have a large age range within your workforce. There may be those who are just starting out their careers and those with decades of experience. As we just mentioned, this diversity generally spans four generations, but could be up to six!
Varying Work Styles: The different generations often have varying approaches to how they work. These can range anywhere from the more traditional hierarchical manager and employee relationship to a flatter structure with a much more flexible and collaborative approach – and everything in between! These all need to be handled and managed in different ways.
Communication Preferences: The technological evolution has played a major part with how the different generations tend to communicate. Older generations may prefer face-to-face, telephone or email communication, while younger employees could prefer digital methods like instant messaging or video calls.
Diverse Expectations: Each generation will have expectations about how a workplace should operate, the balance they create between work and personal life, the amount of career progression they will strive for, and the values and culture of the organisation they choose to work for.
Navigating The Divide
In today’s diverse workplace, fostering collaboration among different generations can be challenging. That’s where a tool like Extended DISC can provide your team with valuable insights that can help bridge multi-generational gaps by enhancing teamwork and understanding. Here’s a taster…
Tailored Communication: Identifying individual communication styles allows team members to adapt their approach to suit colleagues from various age groups.
Identify Pressure Points: Extended DISC uncovers each person’s motivators and stressors, promoting understanding and a more empathetic and supportive work environment.
Healthy Debate: By revealing underlying behavioral patterns, Extended DISC aids in conflict resolution, making it easier for your team to address and resolve disagreements constructively and positively.
Leadership Style: The tool enhances leadership effectiveness, enabling leaders to understand their default style and to tailor their approach to meet the needs of a diverse team.
Build Community: Extended DISC fosters mutual respect and appreciation, as team members learn to value the unique strengths and perspectives each generation brings to the table.
By leveraging these insights and many more, organisations can create a more cohesive, productive, and harmonious multi-generational workforce.
The Benefits For Your Business
While there may be some bumps along the road to navigate when the culture collision of the varying generations occurs, there are a lot of advantages that a multigenerational workforce can bring.
Some of the most valuable benefits are:
Innovation: Different generational perspectives can lead to more innovation in your business and spawn creative solutions to problems that might arise. A diverse team will create a fascinating brainstorm and may even devise some out-of-the-box solutions. By combining traditional methods with newer ideas, you may create a new and efficient way of doing things.
Wider Skill Sets: Every generation will have skills that the others do not. So, when you combine all those strengths together, you create a more versatile and skilled team overall. Often, the older team members will bring experience and a depth of knowledge, while younger employees can bring a fresh perspective and digital flair.
More Opportunities To Learn: Professional development should always be a priority, but formal courses and workshops are not the only places to learn. Team mentorship can create just as many learning opportunities. And it doesn’t only have to be the more senior team members mentoring the youngsters. Think reverse mentoring everyone has something valuable to teach, so maximise the potential!
Better Decisions: Diverse teams make better decisions as they can consider a wider range of perspectives and experiences. This can lead to more effective and well-rounded strategies for your organisation.
Stronger Workplace Culture: By valuing the contributions of all generations, your team will feel respected and engaged in their work. This can lead to a positive workplace culture with higher job satisfaction and employee engagement – which means better talent retention and lower employee turnover.
Encouraging Intergenerational Harmony
While there may be certain instances where opinions may differ, there is no reason why there can’t be strong intergenerational teamwork within your business. Here’s how you can enhance collaboration:
Ditch the Stereotypes
People may come into the business with preconceived notions about how certain individuals may behave because of their age. It is important to squash those stereotypes by fostering inclusivity. Once people interact and get to know each other, they will realise that age is no barrier to connection.
It’s all about communication and encouraging discussions that reverse the misconceptions individuals might have about the people around them. Identify any assumptions and open the conversation surrounding them to remove barriers and create a positive and psychologically safe environment.
Shared Purpose
Uniting your team under one set of values and goals will show them that they aren’t all that different. When they are all working towards a common goal aligned under one vision, you will find there is a sense of unity that breaks down any generational divides.
Highlight the Benefits
As a leader you know the benefits that can come from a multigenerational team. But the team themselves may not realise the treasure trove of experience, innovation and ideas they collectively possess. So that they learn this valuable lesson, create opportunities for colleagues to work together and learn from each other. This could be in a mentorship arrangement or simply a collaboration of minds with complementary skills.
Build Community
Chats around the figurative water cooler are a good starting point. But you can take the social connections even further to build a strong community within your team. Informal team gatherings, communal work and community spaces or virtual meet ups will all encourage your team to connect casually and form friendly bonds.
Smooth The Way
Subtly navigating the challenge of connecting a multigenerational workforce can sometimes feel like you are walking on eggshells. But, as this is a challenge that almost every business will face, it is important to handle it well.
That’s where Extended DISC and the Spice Gals come in!
With Extended DISC we’ve helped numerous businesses navigate the unique challenges of creating a community and common understanding within a multigenerational workplace. And we’d love to do the same at yours.
Workplace culture is the not-so-secret ingredient for the success of any organisation.
When a business has a positive workplace culture, then everything just works better.
But creating this positive environment can be challenging.
Especially if you don’t quite have the right recipe for success – too much spice and there will be conflict, not enough and everything becomes bland and unengaged.
It’s about achieving the right balance of ingredients.
The Acentia framework can help you achieve that balance. It offers a new and integrated approach to culture development and provides a practical strategy for fostering continuous culture growth.
Sounds pretty good, right?
Let’s discover more about how you can create a strong workplace culture using all the tools at your disposal.
Why Workplace Culture Is A Priority
In today’s business landscape, positive workplace culture is more than just a nice thing to have! It’s actually a critical component of an organisation’s success and a drawcard for attracting and retaining talented employees. A company’s culture is a vital aspect of its brand identity. A positive culture can translate into being viewed more favourably by your team members, customers and community as a whole.
There are positives within the business too. When you have a good workplace culture, you generally have higher levels of team engagement. Your employees are more likely to feel valued and respected, making them want to stay and grow with the company. You’ll also open the door for creative thinking, innovation and a natural increase in productivity levels.
It’s not just about benefits for the organisation either. When your team feels supported by the workplace culture, their mental and physical health can improve. You’ll also find that job satisfaction significantly increases, especially if your team is able to formulate a strong work-life balance.
Creating The Positive Culture
So, how can you work to create this positive culture? Well, the road to a better culture starts with your leaders. “Culture cannot be developed, grown or improved by leaders that are not ready for it or properly aligned.” These wise words were spoken by the team at Acentia, specialists in developing a healthy workplace.
The Acentia framework is all about equipping leaders with the knowledge and skills to foster the right kind of workplace culture within their organisations. This is particularly important in today’s turbulent world. In 2024, the workplace landscape has evolved beyond the 5 days a week, 9 to 5 in the office structure. Now, leaders must build a cohesive culture while navigating economic uncertainty, fear of the unknown and a team that could be working flexible hours or remotely.
Safe to say, that can be a challenge!
That’s why The Spice Gals are excited to announce that the Acentia framework is now part of our extensive toolbelt of resources, enabling us to bring highly valuable leadership and culture workshops to your business!
Perfect for businesses of all sizes and stages, this unique leadership training helps to simplify the way your business can achieve continuous cultural growth.
The Importance Of Leadership In Workplace Culture
You will have heard the saying that change has to come from the top. That’s because it does! Your leaders are in a position to guide everyone towards a culture of excellence and deal with any behaviours that go against the success of that initiative.
Leadership is the foundation on which a positive workplace culture is built. When your leaders are not prepared or well equipped, then it is unlikely you will be able to maintain any positive change on the workplace culture front.
However, if they are empowered with the skills and confidence to lead the charge from the start, they will be far more likely to stay the course to nurture and preserve an amazing workplace culture. Without this leadership, your organisation will likely struggle to make positive, long-lasting change.
How Can You Prepare Your Leaders
There are three key steps to follow when preparing your leaders for cultural change. They are:
1: Create an Army of Leaders
When you have aligned leadership goals across your entire organisation, you create an army of leaders! Including ALL levels of leaders will create a shared responsibility for cultural change. Many businesses make the mistake of only focusing on the generals, but it is the sergeants that are on the ground working directly with the people of your organisation. That means they have the most direct influence for creating change.
Fill your army of leaders with all the people that lead teams, but also consider including suitable individuals like senior team members who may not formally lead people, but still have the respect of their peers and strong influence over them.
2: Get the Army into Formation
The right foundation of leadership is achieved when your army is aligned in formation. While the individual development of each leader is still important work, that’s not what we are looking to achieve in this instance.
This battle plan is all about getting everyone into formation with a shared goal and leadership approach. Each leader should know how important their contribution is to this mission and the critical role they play in creating the appropriate culture within your organisation.
3: Consider the Hierarchy
While you will need every leader on board to make the mission a success, the work always needs to start from the top. Getting the buy-in of your CEO and upper management team is essential. Often, this team will do extensive pre-work before rolling the blueprint down to the lower levels of leadership to ensure everything is planned well.
But, by doing this work and having your top team own and lead the development, you’ll have the ultimate role models for everyone else to follow. They can also support their direct reports in maximising the opportunities to lead as the mission rolls out to all levels of your team.
Time To Take Action?
If you are ready to align your leadership team to build a healthier culture within your business, then now is the time to do it.
With the modern workplace looking very different than it did even three years ago, workplace culture is suffering. Getting your leaders onto this important work will benefit your business immensely.
But it can be hard to do without support.
Luckily, the Spice Gals are here to help. Armed with the powerful Acentia framework, we can help transform the culture at your workplace so that you can reap the benefits long term.
You can literally feel the change of season in the air.
Yet somehow, the end of the year always has a habit of sneaking up on us.
We get so caught up in doing all the things throughout the year, that suddenly it comes as a surprise that we are going to stop for a bit.
The good news is that it is almost time to relax and celebrate the end of another year.
Keep reading to see how you can do that in a positive way and appreciate your team for all the hard work they have put in.
Let’s get into it.
How To Finish The Year On A High
Show Appreciation
Every day your team members ideally show up and work their hardest. The end of the year is the perfect time to show your appreciation for their dedication. The great thing is, there are plenty of ways that you can express your gratitude.
Here are a few ideas:
Gifts: Probably the most traditional form of showing gratitude is giving a gift. Choose something thoughtful that is both practical and appropriate. Gift cards, personalised choices, or something that aligns with their hobbies will show that you appreciate and respect what they do.
Personalised Notes: You don’t have to spend up large to show your appreciation. A handwritten, personalised note can be a lovely way to highlight the individual achievements or qualities you respect about each of your team members.
Gratitude Day: You could offer each of your team members a bonus day of paid leave as a special gesture of appreciation for all of their hard work throughout the year.
Appreciation Meal: Hosting a special meal simply to show thanks will give you a special space to highlight and acknowledge the individual contributions your team has made.
Gratitude Wall: Share the love around your workplace by setting up a physical Gratitude Wall where your team members can leave messages of appreciation for each other. Not only does this show your thanks, but it also helps to promote a positive team culture.
Awards Ceremony: Host a fun Awards evening or afternoon where everyone gets to dress up and receive their very own certificates for performance, innovation, teamwork, or being the one in the office who empties the kitchen bin the most!
Celebrate Successes
Celebrating the achievements that your team have made during the year is an awesome way to maintain a positive work culture. While you will (hopefully) have acknowledged the successes at the time they occurred, it can be fun and rewarding for the team to recap the greatest hits of the year.
You can do this in any way you feel is appropriate. It can be done at an end of year celebration, during a team meeting, or individual personalised messages to each team member.
You should also encourage everyone to share their own success stories, and give recognition to their peers and colleagues where appropriate. Using a holistic approach where everyone shares will really make it a meaningful experience for all.
End Of Year Celebration
The term “Office Christmas Party” can be a loaded one! So, let’s scrap the traditional terminology and bring everyone together for an end of year celebration instead. That way, you don’t have to worry about the cheesy connotations or potential bad behaviour!
Instead, you can focus on the main purpose of the event – to celebrate a job well done together.
This is particularly important in the post-Covid work environment where people might not all be in the workplace together at one time. Remote working, flexible hours, and multi-location working are all wonderful additions for your team, but it might mean that they don’t get to spend the same amount of time in each other’s company that they did previously.
An end of year celebration can be the perfect time to reconnect, interact, and generally enjoy a fun experience together.
Planning Your Celebration
While in the workplace, your team will be very conscious of displaying their professional persona. But, the great thing about an end of year celebration is that they get to relax and be themselves. Your team might even get to learn a bit more about themselves and see some personalities shine through.
In order for that to happen, you need to build a fun and interactive environment. Holding your celebration away from the workspace is a great way to encourage this as you can literally leave the work behind!
Choose something that all of your team can participate in and enjoy. You can choose anything! Here are some fun ideas:
Beach BBQ
Family Day Out
Spa Day
Canvas Painting Session
Cocktail Mixing
Cooking Classes
Go Karting
Bowling
Mini Golf
Escape Room
Arcade Afternoon
Ropes Course
Rock Climbing
Comedy Club, Show or Concert
Team Lunch or Dinner
The whole idea is to create a positive vibe that they can carry into their holidays and the new year.
Creating A Holiday Vibe
While it is exciting to close off for the end of the year, there is still the last of your year’s tasks to finish before that can happen. December can be an exceptionally stressful time as there are plenty of deadlines to meet, lots of jobs to tidy up before the holiday break not to mention the end of year family commitments to fit in!
Here are some ways you can keep the stress levels down and the productivity flowing:
Prioritise: help your team manage their workload by prioritising their tasks, setting realistic goals about what can be achieved and ditching the things that can wait for the new year.
Communication: open and clear communication about expectations, deadlines and priorities is essential in the busy season. Quickly advise of any changes in schedules or tasks too.
Flexibility: if possible, offer flexible working times and locations so that your team can balance their work and personal commitments.
Encourage Collaboration: emphasise the power of teamwork, collaboration and sharing responsibilities to get things done. Have your team support each other so that no one has to feel stressed and isolated.
Embrace Holiday Spirit: create a festive atmosphere and get people in the mood for the holidays by decorating for Christmas, playing holiday themed music, and organising a Secret Santa. These fun things can keep morale high and build a positive vibe.
Call For Help
If there is anything your team cannot manage, then make sure you call in the experts to help. Here at Spice HR, we want you to roll into the end of the year feeling accomplished, relaxed and productive. So, we are on hand to help with any of your HR related inquiries both now and into the new year.
Being an employer of choice can help you attract the best kind of candidates and turn them into loyal team members, and in the current market that’s got to be a business goal!
But, it isn’t something that happens by accident and there is one key strategy that will help you drive your approach – a rock solid, values focused Employee Value Proposition (EVP).
So, firstly what is an employer of choice, why is it important to be one and how can a well-crafted and thought through EVP help you achieve it? That’s what we are going to discuss right now.
What Is An Employer Of Choice?
When it comes to employment, there are many choices that a candidate can make. The most important choice is probably which company they will work for. Lots of things can drive that decision, but one thing will put your organisation at the front of the list before any others.
That is, being recognised as an Employer of Choice via your EVP.
An employer of choice is a business that has a reputation for being a preferred place to work. Basically, it means people want to work for your organisation as they perceive it to be a highly desirable employment opportunity.
A business can earn this title for many reasons, but the main ones that stand out in an EVP are having a positive workplace culture, offering attractive compensation and benefits, providing opportunities for career development, and displaying values of diversity, inclusion and a focus on employee wellbeing.
Why Is It Important?
Why is it important to be an employer of choice and have an enticing EVP? Well, put quite simply, it will make it easier for you to attract and retain top talent, helping your business thrive in any market.
Because your employees are fully focused on your business and not looking for other opportunities, they will be motivated and productive in their work. They will have your business’s best interests at heart, and because they also usually share your company values, they will work in alignment with your company mission.
Being an employer of choice does not only serve you on an employment front. A positive employer reputation will set you apart from your competitors. It can also be a key differentiator when potential clients, partners or investors are considering working with you.
Key Strategies To Creating a Rockstar EVP to Become An Employer Of Choice
Becoming an employer of choice should be your ultimate goal but the roadmap to get you there will be defined by your EVP. Here are some key strategies you can use in your EVP to position yourself in this space:
Work/Life Balance
This is the elusive balance that every worker is looking for! Achieving it is not simply about correctly splitting your time between home and the office. True balance is about far more than that.
Flexibility is a really important aspect of your EVP. Allowing your team to work from home is definitely part of it, but you’ll also want to consider flexibility in working hours and working location. Then, there could be the option for job sharing and flexitime.
Basically, it is about allowing your employees to have job control. That is, providing the autonomy to recognise an agreed output and empowering your people to focus on that, rather than clock watching the specific hours worked in a set location. And because you have this fantastic reputation as an employer of choice, your employees are not likely to abuse this privilege.
Defined Business Values
Values can help to shape your organisational culture and are an important inclusion in your EVP. When your employees understand, embrace and most importantly share your set of values, it fosters a sense of belonging and unity. A strong, shared culture can improve teamwork, morale, and overall job satisfaction.
Those values also serve as a compass for decision making, helping leaders and team members to make choices that align with the company’s core principles. A consistency in decision making can lead to better business practices – another reason that people will consider you to be an employer of choice. And you’ll attract customers who share the same values.
Valuable Employee Benefits
It makes sense that you need to offer competitive remuneration to be considered an employer of choice. But you don’t want to stop there when it comes to your EVP. Attractive employee benefits can help to support your company values and enhance your overall workplace culture and EVP.
Yes, you can offer traditional benefits like insurance, enhanced KiwiSaver contributions and performance bonuses, however, to really enhance your EVP it doesn’t need to cost the earth. Why not embrace and take advantage of new and relatively inexpensive trends like:
Digital recognition platforms where your team can interact with each other, you can celebrate key milestones and identify top performers.
Gamification which allows fun activities or training modules where employees can score points, participate in competitions and top leader boards.
Peer-to-peer recognition where colleagues and teammates can recognise each other, rather than managers simply handing out rewards.
Defined Career Pathways
Part of being happy in your work is knowing that there is a chance for progression or new challenges. Seeing potential for growth within a business from the outset via an EVP could also be extremely important to a potential team member when they’re making their employer decision . Clearly defining the career pathways within your organisation helps people recognise where they could move to next.
Offering internal advancement opportunities can only help the reputation of your business. It demonstrates that you value your existing team members because you are willing to promote from within.
As part of the pathway definition, you should also include the training and development opportunities for your employees to obtain the necessary skills or knowledge to progress along the pathway.
Support The Important Things
Your people are the lifeblood of your business and clearly showing this within your EVP will pay dividends in attracting high calibre team members. You can demonstrate that you acknowledge and understand their value by supporting the things that are important to them:
Wellbeing programmes show that you value good mental health and help your team members maintain a positive mindset.
Advocating for diversity and inclusive workplace practices demonstrates that every team member is valued equally.
Your local community will support your business, so show your social responsibility by supporting your community through involvement, participation and support.
We only have one planet, so adopting sustainable business practices where possible will help to show you care.
Become An Employer Of Choice
Is it time to give your business brand a boost and really become an employer of choice? Then, you’ll want to make sure you are backed by a skilled and knowledgeable HR team.
That means you need the Spice Gals on your side. If you wannabe an employer of choice with a strong and attractive EVP, then we can definitely help you make that happen. Chat with us to find out how we can help you create a team culture that attracts and retains THE best talent around.
It’s no secret that we are living in a world of developing technology.
And one of the biggest advancements in recent times is automation.
Incredibly helpful for streamlining processes and creating capabilities, automation is a useful tool that can aid with HR functions in your business.
However, it is important to remember that ‘Human’ is right there in the name when you are talking HR!
So, let’s explore what happens when Automation meets human leadership and how you can strike the right balance in your workplace.
When Automation Meets Human Leadership
What Is HR Automation?
HR automation refers to the use of technology and software to streamline and automate various Human Resource processes. This can include tasks such as record management, employee onboarding, performance management, payroll, and other administrative tasks.
There are a variety of HR automation tools available, with the most popular being an HR Information System (HRIS). These tools can help businesses save time and reduce errors by automating routine HR tasks, enabling employees to self-serve certain HR functions, and providing managers with better insights into employee performance and engagement.
Some of the benefits of HR automation include improved efficiency, increased accuracy, reduced administrative burdens, and better compliance with employment laws and regulations. Additionally, by automating certain processes, businesses can free up their HR team to focus on more strategic initiatives, such as employee development and engagement.
How To Use HR Automation
HRIS can help enhance engagement and productivity when it comes to the HR functions in your organisation. An HRIS can offer transparency and real-time data to allow for better feedback and reward and recognition.
Here are some of the benefits of using an HRIS in your business:
Easier onboarding
An HRIS can help to streamline your onboarding process as many of the manual tasks (like paperwork, orientation scheduling and sending welcome emails) can be automated. This can save your HR team time and creates an efficient process where nothing is missed. Onboarding progress can also be tracked, ensuring new team members are always fully onboarded and ready to start work.
By having a central platform that employees, managers and new hires can communicate through, it reduces confusion and ensures everyone is on the same page. Generally an HRIS also integrates with your other HR systems, such as payroll and recruitment platforms, so it makes it easy to have your new team member accurately set up in all the necessary systems and onboarded effectively.
Better training experiences
Even though automation is a big part of an HRIS, you are still able to personalise training programmes within the system, allowing managers to create tailored learning plans for individual team members based on their roles, skills and development needs. This is especially helpful as it means each training module is then relevant and useful to the individual employee, creating a more effective learning experience.
Having an HRIS that your team can log into means training material is easily accessible in one location, and everyone’s progress can be monitored.
Performance reviews
The automation capabilities of an HRIS can streamline your performance review process. Automate the tasks of scheduling review meetings, sending reminders to employees and managers, and collecting feedback from the right people to create an efficient, consistent and standardised review process.
Your system can also help you deep dive into performance data to identify high performing employees and areas of improvement. This helps with remuneration and creating plans for additional training and support where needed. Helpfully, this can also integrate with your payroll system too!
Having the review process standardised allows for timely feedback to be provided.
Staff engagement
You can use an HRIS platform for sharing employee appreciation and recognition. You can also track and monitor employee engagement outside formal review times via pulse surveys.
A wealth of data
Over time, an HRIS becomes a repository of HR documentation and employee history. It means you will always be able to lay your hands on specific HR detail when you need it.
It also allows for quick and easy reporting on HR data, creating the opportunity for analysis and prediction of trends that might influence your people strategy.
This data portal is not only of benefit to HR, it also has self-service elements to ensure leave requests and employee information remain up to date.
Keeps people connected
Workplaces have evolved in the last few years. While we used to all sit side by side in the office, things are quite different now. So, your HRIS can be used as an internal communication hub. This provides a seamless connection for all team members, whether they are in the office, working remotely, or a hybrid of the two.
Considering Human Leadership
Technology is clearly a massive part of our daily functions. But, we can’t rely solely on robots yet! There are simply some things that AI and automation systems cannot do. We still require strong human leadership to complement technological advancements.
Employees still want to be able to connect with their leaders on a human level. They don’t want leaders who are emotionally distant. They need connected, empathetic leaders who value investing in relationships with their team members.
Part of that is creating an environment of positive role models. It’s also about creating a great team vibe and leaders who provide personal and timely feedback on employee performance. Finally, today’s team members don’t simply want to work for managers, they want to collaborate on projects together and work for common business goals.
Leaders may need further training in soft skills to facilitate all of this. This will help them to develop trust and share accountability with their team. Remember that “Human Leadership” prioritises employee wellbeing and corporate culture. There is no longer a cookie-cutter approach to managing humans.
Balancing Humans And Automation
Creating the perfect working environment is about balance. You want to incorporate the benefits of automation that an HRIS offers, but ensure that your team is still backed by strong human leadership.
As an employer, what should be your biggest goal this year?
Bigger profits? More sales? Adopting AI?
While these things might be important, we strongly believe you should be putting your focus on another area of your business … staff retention.
Staff retention will be crucial for your organisation’s success as it helps to build continuity, reduce costs, increase productivity, improve customer service and SO much more.
So, how do you achieve good staff retention?
Let’s look into that concept now.
Staff Retention: Why It’s The Key To Your Business Success
The Importance Of Staff Retention
Good staff retention is excellent for your business, especially during the trying times we are currently living in. Here are just a few reasons why that is:
Saves Money: Recruiting and training new team members costs a lot in time, physical spend, and potential downtime for your business. That spend does not need to happen if you retain your current skilled staff.
Boosted Productivity: Experienced team members are more productive than brand new ones as they have a better understanding of your business goals and objectives. They are also more familiar with your culture and processes, allowing them to get on with their work quickly and effectively.
Great Customer Service: Being with an organisation for an extended period of time lets you get insight into the needs of the customers. This insight helps your experienced staff to deliver top level customer service; in turn, building customer trust and loyalty.
Knowledge Retention: By retaining your experienced employees, you also retain the knowledge they have developed while working with you. This knowledge is difficult to replace and can be critical to the ongoing success of your business.
Team Cohesion: High staff turnover is not good for team morale. It creates disruption and a situation where a continually changing set of personalities needs to find a way to work together harmoniously. Staff retention builds a more stable and cohesive team allowing for powerful collaboration.
These elements will be vital to the long-term success of your business.
Encouraging Good Staff Retention
With a potential recession looming, the last thing you want to be doing is replacing good employees because they are not feeling heard or valued. If your key employees walk out the door, then it will cost you a lot of time and money to replace them.
Retaining your key talent should be top of your priority list!
Here are just some of the ways you can do that:
Stay Interview
The Stay Interview is here to stay! But what is it? Well, a Stay Interview is when employees sit down with their managers to discuss their job satisfaction, goals and motivations. The purpose of the interview is to gather information about what is keeping them in their job and what factors might cause them to leave in the future.
The interview can be conducted at any time that the team member is working with an organisation. Its aim is to address any issues or concerns your employees might have and to set actions that will remedy those issues.
By taking the time to gain feedback from each of your employees, you can identify any areas of the business that might be problematic. Then, you can take steps to improve those areas and retain your vital team members. Those steps could be anything from training opportunities and providing more support to a change in job responsibilities or work environment.
Progression Pathways
With less time spent in the office, some skills are becoming obsolete and other roles are evolving. Employees are returning to the office after working remotely for some time. You will want to ensure that the role they were employed for still exists in the same capacity and whether their skills are still right for that job.
It’s time to take a deep dive into your business and the people you have working with you to create the right structure for everyone. You want to make sure each role is best suited for the employee undertaking it! So, talk with your team about valid career pathways so that everyone is in the best-fit role.
A really helpful tool for this is Extended DISC assessment. DISC is a form of psychometric testing that establishes each employee’s personality type. You can use the results to aid personal growth and to improve self-awareness, communication and teamwork. Here at Spice HR, we are Extended DISC Accredited Practitioners, so can help you get a true understanding of what makes your team tick.
Let Them Be Heard
Sometimes in an organisation, it can feel like there’s a disconnect between the team on the ground and the management team. Communication is the key to fixing any perceived divides.
You want your employees to feel heard, so the first step is to listen. This can be done in a range of ways. It can be as simple as a 10-minute one-to-one meeting where you give individual employees your undivided attention, or as complex as a companywide engagement survey.
Don’t forget that you actually need to do something with the feedback you receive from your team. Take steps to action any practical requests and look for ways to address issues.
Bring The Benefits
There are plenty of ways that you can implement initiatives that don’t cost a whole lot but can increase productivity and engagement hugely. Some of these are:
Recognise awesome work with a company shout out page, brag board, or ABCD (above the call of duty) card
Offer mentorships with complementary colleagues
Discussions about career pathways and leadership opportunities
Offer longer break times
Bring your Pet to Work Day
Regular virtual meetups with fun activities like games or quizzes
Increased autonomy
A feedback box for input and suggestions from team members
Lunch with the boss days
Offer a 4-day workweek if that’s a possibility for your business. While team members are in the office for fewer hours, research has shown that their productivity is usually higher with a whole day of downtime up their sleeves.
There are also further benefits you can offer, but these ones will carry a cost for your business:
Extra leave
Give them their birthdays off work
Subsidised childcare
Bonus schemes
Professional development and training plans
Health insurance
Increased superannuation contributions
Regular remuneration reviews
Regular team lunches or outings
Wellness initiatives like courses, vouchers or partner discounts
Tickets to shows or sports games
Personal house cleaning
Employee anniversary celebrations
Encouraging Staff Retention
As you can see, there’s a lot to like about staff retention. But there is an awful lot that goes into retaining your high performing staff members.
So, if you know you need to retain your team, but would like a little bit of help doing it, the Spice Gals are here to help! Experts in people management, DISC assessment and building successful team morale, we can help you introduce simple retention initiatives that work.
