Yet, Deloitte’s Human Capital survey reported that less than 20% of companies believe they have the ‘right culture’. How do you ensure you and your business are creating the foundations for a positive workplace?

As an international HR manager, you can help shape a positive culture by encouraging:

 

Managing employees across several countries with varying workplace legislation can complicate the situation. At a minimum, ensure workplace policy is in line with the local laws. Clear expectations around respect in the workplace should be set in the employees’ induction programme.

All employees should be encouraged to demonstrate respect  for others by:

• Always communicating in a polite manner
• Controlling anger
• Not judging peers

Encouraging a positive work culture in this way will reduce workplace stress and increase productivity.

 

• In many businesses, a diversity and inclusion policy will focus on the need for:
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• Equal opportunities
• Recruitment
• Employment legislation compliance
  
  
• All of the above are important but inclusion needs to be viewed as something more holistic. There is a need to ensure the environment people are being hired in is inclusive. To understand where your business currently sits when it comes to inclusion, conduct an engagement survey and analyse existing processes. If you identify a problem, improve the situation by:
  
  
• Establishing an inclusive mission  
• Communicating it clearly to all employees
• Ensuring leadership team are role-modelling inclusive behaviour
  
   

Knowing about operational performance and future plans is important for building teams of engaged employees. Yet, many companies rely on one way communication in the form of newsletters, email and social media posts. However companies with great workplace environments  ensure communication works both ways.

Keep lines of communication open with regular team meetings and ‘town halls’. Employees at every level should be encouraged to share their thoughts, ideas or concerns.

 

In order to develop a positive company culture  it is important that employees feel at their best, physically and mentally. International HR managers must ensure employees have access to the resources they need to maintain their health and wellbeing. This may include access to an employee assistance programme and possibly medical care. If you have expat employees, there are expat assistance programmes and international health insurance plans that can help them to stay well while on assignment abroad.

In addition to putting policy and procedure in place, role modelling is essential to creating a positive work environment. The bottom line is there is no point in asking team members to follow best practice if it is not being modelled from the top.