How to build a culture of respect in the workplace

The Covid-19 pandemic has undoubtedly affected the way we interact with our fellow human beings. Communication has become essential and thanks to technology, telework has become more democratic with the presence of efficient remote working tools.

Nevertheless, some employees find it more challenging to communicate with their colleagues, which indicates the importance of establishing a culture of respect within companies. A respectful work environment encourages employee engagement and facilitates internal communication, even at a distance.

What is a culture of respect?

To respect someone is to have a sense of consideration for them, to treat them with special care, and accept their opinions and differences even when you disagree with them or their ideas. In general, a culture of respect goes beyond the person; it also includes respect for rules, deadlines, politeness, punctuality, etc.

Fostering a culture of respect in the workplace is becoming increasingly important. It allows us to move away from the traditional hierarchical system based on authority and obedience principles and adopt a model based on listening, empathy, and collaboration. A sense of respect within the company improves employee motivation and productivity because employees feel like they belong to the organization.

6 tips to develop a culture of respect within your company

Organizational practices are constantly evolving as society moves forward and develops. Today, inclusiveness and diversity are key factors in business success. The collective consciousness highlights the importance of promoting and respecting human rights in all spheres of life, whether at a personal or professional level.

That’s why companies that want to thrive must cultivate an organizational culture based on respect and a set of values and behaviors shared by all organization members.

Here are a few tips to build a corporate culture based on respect:

Establish a recruitment process in accordance with the desired culture

During the recruitment process, it is essential to ensure that the potential candidate shares the company’s values and culture. In order to hire the right candidate, you must analyze his /her personality as rigorously as his/her career path.

Consider hiring candidates who are both competent and have a personality and vision that match your culture. Skills are acquired and developed over time, but values such as respect cannot be learned.

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1. Encourage communication between employees

A culture of respect within a company gets its strength from the collective. The more united your team is, the stronger your culture will be. Good internal communication is essential to strengthen professional and social relations between your employees. Since we are currently teleworking, you can organize a virtual after work and bring your employees together to disconnect from work and share a good time together.

2. Lead by example

Every good leader does what he says and says what he does. As an employer, you must set an example to follow!

Create a good atmosphere and behave respectfully towards your employees, and they will do the same for each other. As a leader, avoid the hierarchical system and instead use communication methods based on listening and respect.

3. Trust your employees

Transparency, loyalty, and trust are three universal and essential values for building a strong culture within a company. A shared trust between you and your employees will make them loyal employees.

4. Be transparent

Rely on transparency that goes through your communication but also through your offices. Keep all your teams informed of what is happening in the company, at all levels, and in all departments to create mutual respect between the different teams and a shared commitment.

This will help create an environment of trust where your employees will feel comfortable sharing their opinions and ideas. This open communication and collaboration will allow you to improve your work and increase your productivity.

5. Organize an awareness workshop on the culture of respect

You will certainly be recruiting people from different backgrounds with diverse personal and professional experiences. Therefore, you should consider organizing a training session or workshop on intercultural communication in the workplace, touching on important aspects such as respect, politeness, collaboration, good manners, etc.

This will allow you to openly discuss acceptable behaviours in the workplace that contribute to the common well-being and the achievement of your strategic goals.

Benefits of a culture of respect in the workplace

Respect fosters a harmonious climate within a company. Other key benefits of adopting a culture of respect in the workplace include the following:

Good brand image

The implementation of a culture of respect is necessarily linked to the general culture of the company. Relying on respect means reinforcing the values that make the company exist and prosper. It reinforces the identity and image of the brand and helps retain talent and attract new ones.

Employee well-being

Establishing a culture of respect within your company improves working conditions and employee productivity. It reduces conflicts and makes workers feel fulfilled in their work environment.

Abundant Creativity

Respecting someone is learning to accept their origins and their differences. Multicultural teams are more creative and analyze problems faster because they tend to look at them from different angles. This improves productivity!

HR Marketing

HR marketing digitizes the attraction and management of candidates with online tools and strategies that accelerate the achievement of business goals. It helps talented teams reach and manage candidates in the most effective way possible.

Corporate culture and human resources management go hand in hand. By building a strong identity, the human resources department more effectively manages the company’s talents and carries out its recruitment missions.

Respect in all its forms

What does it mean to respect? Here is a list of different forms of respect that we can adopt in our daily lives and at work:

• Active listening
• Be polite
• Keep your promises
• Punctuality and respect of schedules
• Accept different opinions
• Respect different sexual orientations or religious beliefs
• Do not speak ill of others
• Be open-minded and avoid unnecessary conflict
• Do not raise your voice
• Learn to be humble
• Keep the workplace clean
• Be considerate and caring towards others
• Respect privacy
• Self-respect

Corporate values are just as important as respect

The company must build its organizational culture on other values that will be essential to its growth. They can be classified into eight major categories:

1. Competence: Know-how, team spirit, excellence, quality, customer satisfaction
2. Conquest: Innovation, ambition, performance
3. Behavior: passion, responsibility, employee involvement
4. Societal: sustainability, health
5. Relational: trust, respect
6. Fulfillment: well-being, humanism, personal development
7. Social: communication, equity, improvement of quality of life
8. Moral: loyalty, integrity

Need help developing your corporate culture?

At Talinko, beyond recruitment, what excites us is to participate in the creation of company values by optimizing the recruitment processes and by simplifying the attraction of the best talents.

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