What does company culture mean, actually?
We’re sure you’ve heard the term ‘company culture’ thrown around in your office, or on your LinkedIn page quite a lot in recent times - we know we have. You’re also probably aware of the importance of a good culture within your organisation, as everyone these days likes to mention it. Well...There is good reason for this. One of the biggest driving forces towards the implementation of good company culture, and one of the reasons that it gets mentioned so often, is because of the biggest paradigm shifts in the recruitment world. Yes, we are talking about the effects of the pandemic and the impact of more job openings (amongst other things), however, one of the key influencers of this is that we are now in a candidate-led market.
This shift in the way that jobseekers now view potential employers has created a need for organisations to take things like culture more seriously, with so many viable options available to candidates as a means for career development, ask yourself why they would want to join your company and not the one next door that offers the same things but is a better place to work?
In this post, we'll cover the details of company culture, show a few examples of things that contribute to having a good one, and provide three best practices for getting started with implementing the best culture you can in your company.
What is Company Culture?
Company culture can be described as the shared values, goals, attributes, characteristics, goals, direction, and vision of an organisation.
In a few words, that is a short description of what company culture means. But, company culture is rooted a lot deeper than that and consists of many elements and moving parts.
Company culture would be better described as the overall ethos of a brand, how the people feel about the work they do, what the vision of the organisation is, and how its mission to accomplish this vision will happen. It’s about how employees feel about the company, what values they believe in, and how they plan to get where they see themselves going.
A successful company culture is one that every person, from to bottom, within an organisation buys into. Creating a strong culture within your business comes through establishing what your vision is, how you plan to achieve it, what your core values are, and how you can work every day to ensure that every person shares these with you. The role of the company is to be transparent and be consistent with their communication to ensure that each employee understands the expectations and direction that the business is going in.
Why is Company Culture Important?
Think of company culture as the personality of a business; the way the office feels, the things that the people believe in, the level of compassion that the management team has, the vision that they share, and the alignment they have in the reasons they do the work that they do.
Culture within a company, as with personality in a person, is what sets two organisations apart - it’s what brings life to the beautiful individuality of a brand, through uniqueness.
If you are able to connect with your employees through a shared appreciation of values, and alignment of your vision, you will contribute massively to the success of your business. Having a workforce that believes in the same thing as the owner, that really understand and get behind the brand, is what sets apart the successful, sustainable companies from the rest.
The importance of company culture goes far beyond what it feels like to be in the office, and how much employees like each other. From hiring to employee retention to staff performance, company culture impacts every area of your business.
But the best salary and exclusive perks are the best ways to attract the top talent, right?
Not exactly.
Let’s dive into a few of the statistics that highlight how much of a priority culture is among job seekers.
Quote - 46% of job seekers cite company culture as very important when choosing to apply to a company.
Looking to attract the best talent to your business? Company culture has to be a priority.
Quote - 47% of active job seekers cite company culture as their driving reason for looking for work.
People want to work for companies where they feel they are making a difference, having an impact on the world. If you have a great culture in your company, you will turn your employees into advocates of your brand. If you don’t you will deter candidates from applying.
Quote - 91% of managers in the U.S. say a candidates alignment with the company culture is equal to or more important than skills or experience.
Teams work better when they all believe in the same thing, alignment with the culture is just as important as the ability to do the job because of how much long term success comes with having the right people in an organisation, not just the best.
Quote - 35% of American workers say they would pass on the perfect job if they felt the company culture wasn’t a good fit.
We spent a lot of time at work, employees want to love where they work.
(Source)
How can you improve your company culture?
Establish your core values
A company’s core values are the foundations that they build upon through their work. Determine what is important to you and your business and create core values that will guide you towards your goals. These values should be concrete and serve as a reminder of why you do what you do, and in which way you should operate. They should also serve to demonstrate to your audience and potential customers that you do what you say you do, think about how you can prove that you live by the values you have set for your company. Values don’t mean much if they are just words, but when practised daily they become the foundation for a great company culture.
Define what sort of company culture you want to have
Set company culture goals and work towards bringing them to fruition. Why does your business exist in the first place? What do you want to bring to the world with your product or service? What impact are you looking to have on the world? What you define to be the reason you exist and how you communicate it has a major impact on your company culture. Here are a few examples of company culture goals:
Apple - “Join us. Be you.”
Microsoft - “Come as you are, do what you love.”
Samsung - “Do what you can’t”
Each of these culture goals, the mission statements that the companies have, all serve to inspire the imagination. They highlight what the objective of their culture is and how they want their people to feel. You don’t have to be literal when setting your culture goal, just consider how you want your brand to make people feel.
Get busy investing in your team
Involve the entirety of your company. Aside from the meeting-room-based stuff that you and your management team come up with such as your values, the overall feeling towards your company by your employees has a significant impact on the company culture that you create. A massive part of getting this right comes from being compassionate as a leader, and being a people person first. Some tips for getting everyone involved and onboard with your vision:
Celebrate the achievements of every individual, and put in the effort to tell people when they have worked hard or done well. The smaller things are easily overlooked but these are typically the things that matter the post - a little appreciation always goes a long way.
Get to know your team. Take the time to really sit with each of your employees and find out what gets them out of bed in the morning, what drives them, and just as importantly what brings them down or makes them feel negative. People react well when listened to and will perform the best with the right incentives in place, this can only happen when you really take the time to show you care and listen.
Set the standard. Be the employee that you want others to be. Be positive in your approach to everyday life, listen to others and what they have to say. Create the atmosphere that you want to be in, it starts with you.
Be there for your employees. Respect and understand that everyone has a life outside of the office. Mental and physical wellbeing is more important than the work they produce for your company, and they have to be aware of that. If they feel respected enough to take time to look after themselves they will perform better and give you that respect back.
Offer support & training whenever it’s needed. Even the top performers in your business will struggle, you just may not notice. Ask questions, sure. But pay attention when you are in and around the office, you’ll be able to see if people are struggling. Be there for your people and they will be there for you.
To conclude, the importance of company culture cannot be stressed enough. It matters to employees, it matters to candidates, it matters to clients, and it should matter to you, too.
After you’ve finished reading this post, take five minutes to ask yourself if you and your team are clear on the culture you have and if you all align and share the same vision. If the answer is no, you may want to take some time to revise your strategy and look at where to improve - it will be the deciding factor between long term success or your business plateauing.