Culture is the shared values and beliefs of your organization also known as “the every day.” It is the setting for everything that happens at your company and the day-to-day experiences. It is important to establish your company vision, rhythms and processes, and have the right people to continue moving forward to your goals. If you want to get noticed and leave your mark, you want your company culture to stand-out. Here are some great tips on how to do this.

1. Practice What You Preach: Determine and live out your company’s core values.

These core values should have meaning to everyone at the company and they need to have action behind them. When put into practice, your core values become more than words. They become what company culture is built on. Core values are at the heart of any organization. They are the “how” and “why” to what you do, day in and day out. It’s about more than just words on a plague that make people feel good. Your core values determine the kind of people you hire and the way your people function, when times are easy or tough.

2. Put People First: Have a career growth plan for every position.

According to Gallup, the number 1 reason why people leave their job due to lack of development and career growth. If there is not a growth plan, then be upfront while hiring that there is no established growth plan. This way you do not waste anyone’s time interviewing candidates that want growth. However, the ideal in those scenarios is that you actually develop a trajectory for that role with your new hire. In positions and situations where it’s relevant, consider creative ways to encourage and foster continuing education. Would reimbursing for continuing education be an option? To many prospective employees this would be a huge perk. Top employees want to build up skills to continue to grow and master their craft. This is a win-win for both sides. Does your workplace currently make this easy?

3. Provide Clear Support: Establish a mentorship program.

We have a very successful mentorship program where new employees are paired up with a mentor for the first 90 days. This mentor is there to answer any questions the new employee has that they may not feel comfortable addressing with a supervisor or manager. They also serve as a guide and resource to ensure individual success and help on projects if the new hire becomes stuck or is needing someone to bounce ideas off of. In many ways, they function as a sort of “accountability partner” and trainer who walks through what the new hire needs to know and do in order to be successful. If your organization does not currently have a program in place to help set up new hires for success, it’s time to consider it.

Company culture is such a buzz word when hiring and writing job descriptions. It is important that you bring your company culture to life and take it from paper to process. When your culture becomes more than just words, but is actually tangible and visible, you will find it easier to attract top performers who align to your mission, vision, and values.