How to Create a Caring Culture

The culture of caring is a happy practice that makes and retains happy employees and customers. [Know that how you treat your people and why you do what you do affects your processes, operations, and everything else.]

There’s more than just a salary to consider when hiring new talent. If you factor in recruiting and training, the costs will quickly add up (not to mention other aspects of the hiring process).

According to the “Human Capital Benchmarking Report” by the Society for Human Resource Management, companies spend at least 42 days to hire at a cost of $4,129 per hire.

This is why when you find the right people, you must maintain the effort to keep them. That’s where the culture of care plays a huge role. This culture is ingrained in the DNA of standout companies.

You might have heard of this philosophy at certain points in your career, as you’re leading your people and managing your business.

Not only in the workplace but also in schools, this culture creates a harmonious and effective environment, according to Dr. Tom Cavanagh’s research “Creating peaceful and effective schools through a culture of care.” It allows people to contribute, engage, belong, and feel confident in their cultural identities.

The same study, which garnered a Walden faculty research grant, states that the culture of care, either in the workplace or schools, should focus on building relationships rather than curriculum when discovering purpose.

A caring culture encourages one-on-one relationships that increase one’s chances of meeting their potential.

In the business world, some leaders might raise eyebrows and find it hard to accept this philosophy, doubting its return on investment or the company’s bottom line.

Little do they know that creating a culture of care in the workplace benefits the organization in the long haul because it leads to lower onboarding costs and higher employee retention.

Why? Employees that feel they’re appreciated and cared for take pride in their work – and that makes a world of difference as opposed to hiring new talents every month. Think about it.

Your company’s culture of caring will cover everything:

You care about your employees’ health and wellbeing, satisfaction, emotional state, etc.

In turn, your employees will care for and support each other. They serve customers well and, as a result, increase happiness and loyalty in your customers.
Everyone in your organization has the common goal of serving the company’s purpose.

Imagine. Your company prioritizes a caring culture. What will it look like?

You are a caring leader–leading by example–because the culture of care starts from the top executives who, with the gene of care, can increase employee engagement. Caring leaders make care visible for everyone.
Your company benefits from a caring culture. It is your competitive advantage. Your business’s DNA is ingrained with a strong human emotion practiced in every aspect of your organization.
Your strategies, including a customer service plan, are serving customers intimately, resulting in a memorable customer experience (CX).
Your recruitment process looks for the caring attribute when recruiting new talents, and HR finds people born with the caring gene. It is because you cannot teach people to care: they either do or don’t care at all.

Forging a culture of care

This culture stems from the deliberate behaviors of executives and everyone on the team. Eventually, it becomes visible and multiplies over time in daily team and individual action, interaction and reaction. Here’s how to get started:

Determine what drives and motivates your people

What keeps employees engaged, excited, and motivated? What do they love about their jobs? If you’re unsure, you can ask them through a survey or during meetings. Use their feedback to improve current processes, allowing employees to improve and have a say in their work experiences.

Be transparent.

Trust is built on transparency and openness. Whenever possible, share information and ask for feedback. Doing so makes employees feel that they belong and are appreciated. Hold regular check-in meetings and answer questions.

Show empathy and offer a meaningful work

What is good for employees is also good for your business. Demonstrate that your organization cares for employees as people. Focus on creating a caring culture that shows your organization cares.

Why? Employees are now evolving and searching for a workplace offering meaningful work, operating responsibly and having a fair work environment (Moore, 2014).

According to Businesssolver, empathy promotes employee engagement and retention. In fact, 93% of employees responded that they’re staying with an empathetic employer and 78% would work longer hours when they feel more valued at work (2019).

Be vigilant in the recruitment process and hire with care

When hiring, find people that believe in and are ready to help you create a caring culture. Use a strict screening process to check if new hires meet your expectations and requirements. Clarify your purpose with new hires. What do you believe in as an organization? Why do you do what you do? How do you do it? In short, make them understand and believe in your purpose when finding new talents that can support this culture.

Focus on building personal relationships

As your business is growing, you might be finding it hard to establish relationships with every employee, but it must still be a goal. For example, you might want to do virtual face-to-face sessions with your teams or online meetings instead of sending emails.

Creating a culture of caring isn’t only about delivering a superior product or customer service, but about bringing employees, customers and the community together around a specific goal or purpose. You can benefit from success internally and externally when you forge a caring culture in your organization.

A culture of care comes in many forms, but at the end of the day, it all boils down to #humanity.

May this serve as a message of hope that being human may very well be the best silver lining to all of our current vicissitudes.

In love and respect,