Building a company culture is not about having free soda and snacks in the lunch room, it is not giving excessive time off, and it is not about removing your shoes when you go to work. Building a company culture starts by focusing on the most important asset the company has, and this is the people, the employees of the company.
Building a company culture is about building a team of people who have the same purpose, the same passion, and the same principles.
Why All Companies Should Establish A Culture
Statistics show that organizations with an established culture have an employee turnover rate of roughly 14%, as compared to 48% for those who do not have one. Looking at these percentages alone should prompt any business leader to create an official culture. Secondly, having an established culture engages your employees more, studies show that productivity increases by 20-25% in organizations where the employees feel more connected.
Have A Clearly Defined Purpose Not Related To Profit
The first step to creating a winning culture is to define the purpose of your company, and have the purpose not tied to money. Many business owners will say that the purpose of a company is to generate a profit, however, this is a mistake. The purpose of any organization should be to create a product or service so amazing that customers love it. When customers love you, they become your advocates and will promote you. The profit will simply happen, but should never be the goal.
The Culture Must Be Intentionally Built
The company leaders must intentionally develop and follow the company culture. The leaders will generally be the owners or founders of the company, the culture must come from the top. If the leaders of the business do not create the culture, then the loudest voice in the company will create it for them. This can be seen often when the businesses leaders lock themselves in their offices and only communicate with the next level down management. The founders and owners need to get out on the work floor and talk, work with and learn from their team.
Passion Is Contagious
After the leaders of the company define and build the company culture, it is imperative that they also follow the culture. Defining the culture does not mean simply writing it down on paper, the leaders must execute the culture publicly on a daily basis and have a true passion for the culture and their business, as passion is contagious. The entire team needs to see the leaders following the culture. When the team sees its leaders following their own plan, wonderful things happen. The leaders are just that, leader, so when their team sees them doing something, they will naturally follow.
Your Employees Are Rockstars
In this blog post, I wrote about how to learn from 2 very successful companies, Chick-fil-a and Google. I wrote this back in 2016, however, it still is very popular and relevant today. Here you will learn a bit about these 2 companies and how to glean some insight into their culture.
In the fast food business, Chick-fil-a is the model chain, meaning that all other fast food chain follow what they do and take note. As the founder, Truett Cathy says it, “an enduring culture that values people above everything else”
Next, there is the tech giant Google. Google ditched the traditional departmental name of “Human Resources” for the more accurate “People Operations”. Google like to view its employees as people, not resources.
These 2 very different companies know the key to success is the people who work for them. It all starts and ends with your people, create a winning culture and your employees and customers will love you.
Where To Start
A great way to start is to develop a mantra. A mantra is a short sentence that clearly describes your company’s values and goals. Do not confuse a mantra with a mission statement, as a mission statement will typically be several sentences long, possibly several paragraphs. A mantra needs to be short, simple, and memorable. Here are a few popular companies and their mantras…
- Apple Computer - “Think Different”
- L’Oréal - “Because Your Worth It”
- Nike - “Just Do It”
- M&M - "Melts in Your Mouth, Not in Your Hands"
- BMW - “Designed For Driving Pleasure”
Next, you can think about your employees, what your company does, finally think about your customers. Your culture should encapsulate all of these facets, it should primarily be about your employees and customers. Your product or service is the glue that bonds employees to customers, so that need to be woven in also.
Latest posts by Dean Matthews (see all)
- How To Build A Winning Company Culture - February 18, 2018
