Developing a Corporate Culture That Breeds Success
By Randy Quarin
When it comes to attracting and retaining top talent, research shows that much more than the job itself comes into play when candidates begin weighing the pros and cons of staying with or joining a company. One of the biggest considerations for people is the corporate culture that exists within a company. The truth is very few of us work in silos and the atmosphere and environment in a place of work can play a big role in both performance and well as job satisfaction.
Having a great corporate culture also allows you to differentiate yourself to the talent market other than on salary and compensation. Companies that don’t do this are often forced into paying at the top of the spectrum in order to attract top performers. Finally, creating a great working environment for your employees will plain and simply make them happier, and most likely motivate them to work harder and be more productive. Here are a few tips for creating a great culture in your office.
Determine What You Stand For
Before you can set out to create a culture that will positively impact your employees and your business, you first need to determine what it is your company stands for and what values and characteristics are inherent in the people you have, and those you want to employ in the future – the company DNA if you will.
Think of what you want your company to represent or what values and characteristics you want to serve as the backbone of your company. What words would you want other people to use to describe the company, what words would you want employees to use to describe the company?
Lead By Example
Once you’ve decided on the values and key characteristics that will make up the foundation of the company culture, it’s important to go beyond simply listing them on the wall or in an employee handbook. Ultimately the true culture of the company will be determined by the day-to-day attitudes and actions of the employees and the overall atmosphere that exists in the office or place of work. In order for the culture to flourish and receive buy-in from employees, it’s critical that senior people in the company set the standard and lead by example.
There is no better way to impact the direction of the office culture than to live and breathe it yourself, and demonstrate it to others every chance you get. If you want to create a culture of recognition, then ensure you’re doing it yourself….ideally over-doing it so that it’s obvious to everyone. If you really want to drive a message home, repetition is the best way to do it. Act on the company values every chance you get. It’s been said that “you’re not doing something enough until your employees are mocking you for it.” If you say you want to have a fun culture yet walk around with a scowl on your face and never have any fun yourself, how can you expect your employees to?
Live Your Culture
To further instill your desired culture in your employees, try and come up with fun and interesting ways of communicating and showcasing it. If you’re looking to create a young, fun culture that values a strong work-life balance, then be liberal in granting time off for those who go above and beyond or produce at a high level. If you’re looking to be a tech-savvy company that prides itself on being on the cusp of the latest media trends, then maybe it’s a case of everyone in the office having Twitter accounts or creating a company wiki.
Make it a Reflection of Your People
While the senior people will probably hold the greatest responsibility of shaping the culture initially, that doesn’t mean they should be the only people who influence what the culture will be. The culture of your company should be a reflection of the people that work there. Play on the strengths of the people you have and create a culture that compliments the characteristics and values that most people already have.
As the people in the company change, so too will the culture. As long as the core values remain intact however, let people guide and shape the culture. Some aspects of it will remain the same, but others will evolve over time depending on the type of people you have. Keep an eye on it, but by letting your employees embrace it and own it, chances are you’ll see it thrive and grow organically.
Hire For ‘Fit’
In order for a culture to remain strong, and thrive in the long run, it’s important to make it an ongoing priority, especially when hiring on new employees. Hiring Managers often focus too much on skill sets and not enough on cultural fit when hiring, though that trend has slowly begun to shift as people begin to realize the impact proper (and improper) fit can have. Research shows that cultural fit can have an equal or even larger impact on performance, as well as turnover.
Of course it’s important that a candidate can actually perform the job, but if they have the skills but don’t fit with the culture of the company then there’s a good chance they won’t perform in the role as well as someone who possesses both the right skill set and cultural fit. For tips on hiring for cultural fit, please refer to our previous article Culture Shock: Why 'Fit' Is Edging Out 'Skill' in Assessing Candidates.
Like Attracts Like – Create a Snowball Effect
As time goes by and you acquire more and more great people that align with your company vision, values, and culture, a funny thing will happen. You’ll find that with seemingly little effort, you’ll attract an increasing number of great people who are a great fit for your company and embody what you stand for.
This happens for a few reasons. The first is that people who love their job and the environment they work in are naturally more likely to tell others about it, share stories, and basically act as an ambassador for the company. As word continues to spread, often times other institutions, publications, and the like will take notice and recognize your company for what it’s doing in the form of industry awards. This in turn leads to more attention for the company and an influx of even more great applicants. When this happens, embrace it – it shows you’ve done a great job creating a special culture and that others have recognized it as well.
Culture Doesn’t Only Impact Employees
Creating a winning corporate culture isn’t just for the benefit of the people working for the company. A rewarding culture fosters employees that are happier, more productive, and ultimately provide a better product or service to the customer. This in turn produces better financial performance for shareholders and investors.
By creating a great culture for your employees, you’ll also make their “jobs” feel more like “callings”, making them far more motivated to go above and beyond – a situation where everyone benefits in the end.
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Randy Quarin, Senior Partner, has an intuitive sense of how to solve a client's business issues with the best resources.
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