Company Culture + Level of Employee Engagement = Business Results
This week I am going to be talking about Company Culture and why it’s important for your business, regardless of whether you are a huge global conglomerate or a small business.
I’d like you to close your eyes for a minute and picture, if you will, your business without people …
Many thoughts may have gone through your mind. You may have had a huge smile on your face while visualising that scenario or you may have been scowling, albeit for a wide range of reasons.
Regardless of your thoughts and expressions though, it is key to realise that your business is where it is today because of people (employees, customers, suppliers and other stakeholders) and that, my friend, is why culture plays such a huge part in this game we call business and work.
You see, the culture that exists in your business is like its personality – its value systems, beliefs and behaviours – and this has an impact on how your employees behave at work and the effort they put into how they perform in their roles, which ultimately affects customer interactions and the success of your business.
Here’s the thing, you do have a company culture - whether you have purposely built it or not. This is because cultures evolve so, if you haven’t defined a company culture, it exists based on what employees and leaders have brought to the business over time. As the leader, you are influencing that very culture right now because the people in your organisation are looking at you for cues on how to behave. Are you influencing your company’s culture for the better?
If you’ve got the culture ‘right’ for your business, it’s likely that your employees are engaged and high performing and your business is doing well. By contrast, unhelpful cultures are limiting your chances of maximising business success and you may experience higher levels of employee turnover and employee relations issues.
Where can I buy a new Company Culture?
Alas, there are no shortcuts! You can’t go out and buy a culture or ‘cut ‘n paste’ another company’s culture. Netflix looks to have a great culture, but that won’t work for every company. Your company culture has to be unique to suit your business.
Fundamentals of a ‘good’ culture:
Not all good cultures are equal – what one person may love, another may hate. For example, highly creative people will dislike working in an organisation where free-thinking is discouraged and process-driven people are likely to thrive in cultures that are rule-bound (broad generalisations, I know, but hopefully illustrates the point). However, there are some ‘essentials’ in all great cultures:
trusting relationships and mutual respect
good communications at all levels
employees are productive and feel valued
employees feel inspired and look forward to coming to work
Important things to consider and remember:
What kind of culture would you like in your business?
How will this new culture fit in with your:
Strategic goals, vision and values (if you haven’t defined these, you should address this area first)
Products and service
Markets and Competitive environment
Ask employees in your business for their thoughts on the current culture and what changes they would like to see.
Different company cultures suit different people – you may have current employees who might not fit into the new culture
As the leader, are you ready to ‘walk the talk’?
Company Culture has a direct impact on the bottom line – can you afford to leave it to chance?
Business Sense HR works with companies to maximise business success through their people by offering sensible, practical and commercial HR services.