Company Culture
According to Frances Frei and Anne Morriss at Harvard Business Review..
“Culture guides discretionary behavior and it picks up where the employee handbook left off. It tells us whether to risk telling our bosses about our new ideas, and whether to surface or hide problems. Employees make hundreds of decisions on their own every day, and culture is our guide. Culture tells us what to do when the CEO isn’t in the room, which is of course most of the time.”
The workplace should not be something that people dread every day. Employees should look forward to going to their jobs. In fact, they should have a hard time leaving because they enjoy the challenges, their co-workers, and the atmosphere. Jobs shouldn’t provoke stress in employees. While the work may be difficult, the culture shouldn’t add to the stress of the work. On the contrary, the culture should be designed to alleviate the work related stress.
This is why culture matters. Culture sustains employee enthusiasm.
You want happy employees because happiness means more productivity. And when a business is more productive, that means it is working faster; and when it works faster, it can get a leg up on the competition. So it’s worth the investment for companies to build and nourish their culture.
When you put a focus on culture, you’ll have guiding principles. People will know you for this. Employees will live by it. It’ll help get you through difficult times. You’ll base hiring and firing decisions on the principles. It’ll help get all employees working on the same company mission. It can be the glue that keeps the company together.
A company culture that facilitates employee happiness means lower turnover and better company performance. Employees are loyal and companies perform better.
Some elements that make great company culture…
Hiring People Who Fit Your Culture
If you meet someone and they tell you where they work, your perception of that place will change based on your opinion of the person. If they’re nice, you’ll view the company in a positive light. If they’re a jerk, you won’t view the company favorably. This effect can be even greater when it’s a company you’ve never heard of and didn’t previously have any opinion of. If the person is helpful, you’ll view the company as helpful. This is why it’s important to hire people who share your company values.
Employees Who Know the Values and Mission of the Company
A question often asked in job interviews is ‘Why do you want to work here?’
The purpose of the question is to provide the interviewer with a sense of what the interviewee knows about the company. If the interviewee can provide a specific, pointed reason for why they want to join that company, it shows the interviewer they’ve done research on the company and may be a fit for the position.
When employees are passionate about the values and mission, they are dedicated to accomplishing the goal.
If an employee isn’t committed to the mission, it just becomes another job. And when it’s just another job, it usually means the employee isn’t happy.
On the other hand, when the employee is on board with the mission, they’re engaged in the job and want to help the mission succeed, thus helping the company succeed.
Knowing Good Decisions Can Come from Anywhere
No one has all the answers. A company where only management makes decisions is a surefire way to send non-management staff away to other companies.
As some companies get bigger, they tend to limit employee freedom. The employees are less and less involved in key decisions and their impact on the business is drowned out. It becomes a part of the culture. Employees go to work, do what they’re told, and just help someone else achieve their dream. The worker’s impact on the business is minimal and they become “just another employee at just another company.” And for some people, it’s all they want: go into work, take orders, do the job, and wait for the clock to hit 5:00 P.M.
But this is not what the best employees want.
They want to have a voice and a meaningful impact on the company and its direction. They know that anyone can win a debate with the most senior person at a company. They also know they can create tools for the company without the need for management approval.
Companies have greater success when employees are given this type of freedom that isn’t ruled by a hierarchy, assuming they’re talented employees who fit the culture. Knowing that good decisions can come from anywhere and expanding employee freedom are cornerstones of attracting talented individuals who will fit into the culture if you let them.
~Realizing You’re a Team and Not a Bunch of Individuals~
