Developing And Maintaining A Thriving Company Culture

Is Your Company Culture Thriving?

Every organization worth its salt knows the value of purposefully stating its company culture. A strong culture leads to engaged employees who are proud of their contributions to the greater good of the company.

Here are a few of the benefits to creating a thriving culture in your company:

1. A well stated company culture sets your team up for improved creativity and more impactful innovation. When your team’s new ideas are supported rather than stifled they feel more comfortable offering suggestions. When out-of-the-box thinking is celebrated not criticized, newness abounds.
2. Your employees will feel a greater sense of belonging when the culture of the company is palpable. And when employees feel they belong, they’re more likely to stick around.
3. When employees feel appreciated and valued they pass those feelings along to your customers in the work that they do. When your employees stick around, your customers like it and they’ll stick around.
4. Now that your customers have found a home where they feel heard and valued, they’re not motivated to jump ship. Plus they’ll be motivated to refer you to their friends. When that happens your client base expands.
5. With more customers company profitability improves.
6. As profitability increases expansion is possible. When your palpable company culture is at the forefront of everything you do, say, and demonstrate to the outside world, you look more attractive to top-tier candidates.
7. Top tier candidates bring new ideas and set you up for innovation.
8. (see #1 above)

…And round and round it goes.

You can draw a direct line between a robust company culture and bottom line results. It creates an operational flywheel that enlarges as it spins.

Is your company culture performing like this?

Here we’ll define a solid culture and list some ways you can ensure your culture is driving your operational flywheel.

We’ll start with a basic definition.

What Is A Company Culture

You can define company culture in about as many ways as there are registered companies in the US. Based on figures from the Census Bureau, in 2019 there were over 6.1M registered companies in the United States. And if you ask 1 person from each of those 6.1M companies to define their company culture you’d get 6.1M different answers.

Here are some examples:

• The agreed upon values, beliefs, and behaviors that an organization’s managers and teams operate under.
• The shared goals, attitudes, and values that define an organization and impact the behavior of its people.
• The living, breathing persona of your organization.
• The set of standards that define what team members value and the way people are expected to behave in an organization.
• The attitudes, values, and behaviors of a team of people working together to achieve their mission.
• The core values of an organization govern how its people behave.

So, which one is right? Short answer… all of them! They were created by teams of people trying to accomplish different things in different ways. For that reason what works for one won’t work for all.

Note, however, that there is a critical common thread: every culture statement centers around people. When a company culture is driven by the values of the people working there, it has a greater chance of fulfilling its purpose of being a north star or guiding light for the entire team.

For that reason when specifying your company culture gather the input of your ENTIRE TEAM and determine what they value. Then you can create your unique definition. This shouldn’t be an exercise left to the People/HR team, nor should it be left to the C-suite or marketing.

Since a company culture impacts ALL team members, ALL team members should be involved in its creation. Once created HR can become the stewards of the culture.

Cultures That Thrive

Here’s where HR can make a significant impact. Keep your teams engaged by making culture a regular topic of conversation instead of just something thrown into the annual review process.

Here’s a game plan so the People team can ensure company culture success:

• HR and Team should be the top model and keeper of the culture. All other teams look to HR so it’s up to them to be the shining stars.
• Send company surveys on a consistent schedule. An organizational health checkup keeps HR in tune to culture shifts whether small or significant. When a change in the force is sensed, be ready to step in to quiet the storm, right the ship, or suggest a change in strategic direction as needed.
• Create diverse and inclusive focus groups that discuss culture and values regularly. Your HR team members are the stewards of the culture. Focus groups are a great way to stay in tune with your teams.
• Culture is driven from the top to every layer within the company. HR should ensure consistent messaging is getting to all levels.
• Encourage managers and team leads to talk about culture and values during team meetings and 1 on 1’s. Provide sample questions to prompt these discussions.
• Recruit and hire with an eye to culture enhancement. Note we didn’t say culture ‘fit’. At times it’s best to seek new team members who will not only embrace your current culture but take your culture to new heights.
• Company culture can be interpreted differently by members of a diverse workforce. HR should ensure consistent messages are inclusive and being received properly keeping an eye to international cultures and traditions, global perceptions, and team diversity.

Don’t set it and forget it. An ongoing culture creation process enhanced by HR can rally your people together and fuel your company’s flywheel to organizational success.