A workplace’s culture affects much more than where you and your employees go out on Friday night. It affects how much work gets done, how comfortable people feel at their desks, and whether your business will ultimately stand the test of time.
It’s utterly important to create a workplace culture of honesty so that:
- Your employees are as productive as possible
- Your employees feel valued and safe at work
- Your workplace draws in the best talent over time
Without a workplace culture that values honesty, no one will want to work at your company and you’ll lose money in the long run due to buddy punching, falsified reports, and more.
Let’s break down how you can create a workplace culture of honesty at your company starting today.
Discourage and Prevent Buddy Punching
“Buddy punching” occurs when one employee clocks in or out for another employee, either through a time tracking app or a traditional punching machine. Either way, buddy punching is technically illegal and costs you money you may not be able to afford to lose.
A great way to create an honest workplace is to discourage and prevent buddy punching overall. You can do this through time tracking apps that prevent employees from sharing ID numbers or other identifying information, and from quickly punishing any caught buddy punching that does occur.
Work as Hard as Your Team Members
Your team members, regardless of your industry, will only work as hard as they see you working. Therefore, you should always put in 110%, always striving for excellence. Employees look to their leaders for examples, and you’ll cultivate a workplace culture of honesty and integrity by showing your employees the effort you expect from them all.
After all, no one respects a boss that relaxes all day while the worker bees make all the profit for the company!
Have an Open Door Policy
You can only encourage your employees to be honest if you allow them to be honest with you in the first place. Have an open-door policy when it comes to problems or concerns and don’t dismiss any employee’s issues out of hand.
Furthermore, you should encourage employees to speak up if they see something going wrong or notice bad behavior. It’s not snitching – it’s improving your workplace for everyone. An open-door policy is the best way to practice what you preach.
Be Accountable and Admit Mistakes
Similarly, always hold yourself accountable and admit any mistakes you make immediately. Don’t try to excuse mistakes or blame them on your workers, as this will only foster a culture of deception and fear.
In being accountable and admitting your mistakes, you’ll also make your business more credible and trustworthy for your clients or customers. Everyone messes up from time to time, and customers are usually more than willing to forgive a minor mistake if you fess up to it immediately and offer a bonus, like a store credit or a free subscription for a month.
Hold Employees Accountable as Well
As you demonstrate what accountability looks like, you’ll be able to authentically hold your employees accountable for their actions as well. This is crucial for cultivating a culture of honesty, as your workers will be reluctant to do their jobs well or even bother trying to improve things if those who do make mistakes are allowed to keep up their bad behavior.
Act decisively, remove employees that are disrupting others, and above all: act as you want your employees to act.
