Attracting highly skilled and talented individuals to start-ups and even established companies are growing increasingly hard. With more competition and open opportunities, company culture has been a focus for almost everyone, especially those in the technology market.  With a great company culture, you can attract great talent and have a happy workforce, as well as have low employee turnover – resulting in saving you money. You may think you have a great company culture, but what if you don’t? Here are some signs you have a bad company culture. If you’re joining a new company and have questions surrounding company culture, question whether they may be culture washing.

1. New starters come and go quickly

New starters should excite existing employees because it’s a new member of the team. They have been handpicked to join the company by the management and hiring teams, so your employees should embrace them. New employees need to be introduced properly and have the chance to get to know their team and vice versa.

Not being made to feel welcome or part of the team won’t give your new starters a great impression, and without feeling comfortable and at home in their new job, they’re more likely to up and leave as soon as a new opportunity comes along. Make sure you give new starters time to settle into the culture. A workday isn’t just about work – it’s where an individual spends most of their time; they need to get to know the people.

2. High employee turnover rate

Do people come and go all the time? Employee turnover rates are a great indication of a bad company culture.  Why do people want to leave so quickly? – assess employee perks, contracts and development; if it’s none of these, your company culture is most likely the reason.

3. Small things outweigh the large

It’s important to stay positive in every situation. Are your meetings about how someone was late twice last week or about creating a better working environment?

How will discussing these points affect your company culture? If discussing small, pointless issues is always on the agenda, it may be time to have a discussion overhaul. Focus on the positive, and this positivity will be infectious throughout your whole company.

4. There is a lack of buzz and smiles

Working in an office where people are on the phones should mean there is some sort of buzz in the office.  Look around, are there smiles? People should be happy to be at work – they don’t need to be smiling all the time, but they need to be enjoying their day.

Sales offices should be buzzing, and they should rarely be silent. If you sense a lack of buzz in your office, it’s time to evaluate your culture.

5. Bad leaders

Leaders, whether they are good or bad, will have some impact on their team. They are culture influencers, and their moods can often be seen reflected in their teams.  Not every leader is going to bring sunshine to your office all day, every day, but they should be creating an environment for your employees which is motivating and welcoming. Take a look at your leaders – are they moody, sad and unmotivated?  It may be time to look for a new leader.

6. No one socialises outside of work

This is a warning sign for any company.  The likelihood of everyone in your company getting on is very small; however, there should be relationships in your office that are close. Not having internal relationships = no company culture.  Internal relationships can’t be forced either, so it’s important to think about this right at the beginning of the recruitment process – hire people who are going to fit in.

7. Ping ping provides all the fun

Ping Pong is great, and it does provide a welcome break to employees who spend a lot of time on screens. It also provides a chance for employees to bond with one another, however there is more to company culture than Ping Pong – it doesn’t have the ability to fix bad culture.  Think outside the box when it comes to group activities.

8. There is no praise or recognition

Great culture relies on positivity – and there cannot be positivity without praise or recognition. Awarding employees with praise and recognition keeps up morale and motivation – and it costs you nothing.