By John Rampton, founder of Palo Alto, California-based Calendar, a company helping your calendar be much more productive.

There are several strategies leaders can utilize to improve their company culture. Some techniques are more complex than others. But, the majority of these strategies are actually very simple when leaders have a people-first mentality.

Whether your team is virtual or in-person right now, these five strategies can help to enhance your company culture. 

Promote respect.

This should seem like a no-brainer, but company cultures with a lack of respect still exist in the modern workplace. Respect for each other’s time, space and work-life balance are essential to maintaining a good company culture. Encourage your team to use, and frequently check, a shared company calendar. It would be frustrating for someone to walk into your office while you were having a meeting when you had it on your calendar.

Respecting each other’s space and safety is equally as important. Now more than ever, standing too close to someone or not wearing a mask, even if by accident, can make people very uncomfortable. Just be sure your team is keeping their distance and wearing the proper PPE to help keep each other safe.

Lastly, promote a culture of work-life balance. Encourage time off, and don’t reach out to employees outside of work hours unless it’s absolutely necessary. 

Celebrate success.

Recognizing individual wins among your team is a surefire way to motivate your collective team to strive for success. Whether it’s a win for your company’s brand, sales or for a client, it’s important for leaders to always recognize the success among their team members. The employees that provide timeless value to your company are not there for a paycheck alone. They want to achieve company goals, grow their skill sets and do their best.

A company culture where success is not recognized is simply undesirable. Celebrating by having a small event dedicated to that big win, even if it’s virtual, is a great way to recognize success. A team lunch, a brief team meeting or even ordering pizza for everyone are all simple and effective ways to celebrate.

You can even make it fun and just ring a bell, blow a whistle or even get the team to do a big “Wooo!” The options are endless to get your team excited and engaged. 

Use failure as a learning opportunity.

You may consider your team the best there has ever been. However, just remember that they are going to make mistakes. While leaders shouldn’t reward employees for failure, they shouldn’t fire them over every small mistake they make either.

Instead, leaders can convert these failures into a learning opportunity by discussing with employees why that mistake was damaging to the company and its culture. Make sure you reiterate the clear directions they were given, get to the root of why the goal was missed and find out how the mistake can be avoided in the future.

Consistent mistakes, however, may require a more severe level of discussion. Mistakes are damaging to your company as well as other team members, so it’s extremely vital to keep the right people on your team. 

Encourage honesty.

Honesty and transparency go hand in hand. If you or your team do not value honesty, you can probably guarantee that your company won’t be successful. Additionally, you can kiss your company culture goodbye, because honesty is the cornerstone of company culture. Having a team that is honest and transparent with each other is essential. Miscommunication, lack of trust, higher turnover, poor company culture and company failure are all results of a lack of honesty. Building trust with your team through transparency is a great way to enhance your company culture. 

Express gratitude.

We’ve all been there — we do something awesome for someone and don’t get a “thank you” for it. How does that make you feel? Now, your employees aren’t expecting a gold star or a pat on the back for fulfilling their basic job duties, but they would definitely appreciate a simple expression of gratitude.

Thank-you notes, gift cards, small gifts or even just a verbal thank you can all be great ways to express your gratitude. Employees who do not feel appreciated do not see themselves as valuable to the company, and therefore may start looking for another job. Gratitude is contagious. If you’re a leader and you show your team gratitude, it’s very likely they are going to do the same to you as well as each other. 

Leaders have the greatest impact on their team in the workplace, whether it’s virtual or in person. Make the time your team spends at your company worthwhile by promoting respect, celebrating wins, giving learning opportunities, encouraging honesty and showing gratitude. Cohesive company culture and good leadership can be game-changers for potential new hires looking for a better place to work.