Company Culture Issues Take a Front Row Seat
The Alternative Board (TAB) of Central New Jersey recently hosted a CEO Roundtable with local business owners to discuss the issues and opportunities they currently face.
Company culture quickly rose to the top of the list with many of the business owners reporting they feel challenged to create, re-create or find new ways to promote and maintain their company culture in this fluctuating and challenging workplace environment.
Here are just a few of the concerns that were shared by meeting participants:
“My employees are now fully remote and I don’t think that will change. We communicate all day through technology, but that’s not a culture – it’s just good workflow communication.”
“We are growing rapidly and adding new employees….we are so busy and often remote. Training on our company culture is definitely lacking.”
“We need to change and develop our culture to get the company to the next level. But there is one key employee who, while great at her job, just doesn’t buy-in and is holding us back.“
In TAB meetings business owners provide each other with unbiased feedback and input to help each other grow and develop their businesses. We are pleased to share some of the ideas, thoughts and suggestions that business owners shared in this discussion about promoting company culture in a small business.
Define It
Do you want a culture that is “creative, fun-loving, and hard-working” or are you striving for a “passionate and collaborative culture”? Whatever your description is, clearly define it and paint a concise and easy-to-understand picture that tells your company story.
Do you need to tweak the culture you have in place now to remain relevant in your current market?
Does your culture resonate with the type of employees and clients you are trying to attract and retain? Do you know?
Define it. What does your culture need to look like?
Gather your team together and brainstorm ideas. Ask them to tell you what they think the company culture is today and what could be tweaked to help the company be successful.
Write it Down
Many participants noted that they have a company culture and they believe most employees and a few clients know and understand it, but it isn’t written down and it hasn’t been institutionalized into everything they do.
The business owners with the deepest company cultures advised, “Commit your culture (along with your mission and vision) to paper. Write it down. Challenge it. Hone it.” Have discussions with your team to understand what is meant by the culture statement, how they can implement it, what it looks like in day-to-day life, and what needs to change.
Communicate It
One business owner challenged the others to think of their culture as a part of their brand and a selling point to prospects and job seekers. “Brand your culture constantly and ‘bring’ it to all your stakeholders.”
Think about all the ways you can brand your culture and communicate it, daily, to truly embed it with your employees, clients, and vendors. Is it on your website? Is it in the hallways of the office? Is it in your newsletters, blogs and company material? Is it discussed in company meetings and in one-on-one meetings? Is it part of an employee’s performance review? Is modelling and teaching the behavior a part of your managers’ leadership goals?
Leadership Matters…Model it!
The general consensus among the business owners at the table was, “As leaders we need to walk the walk and really challenge ourselves to do the things that are going to create the culture that we want….to be what we want to see.” Be a culture warrior and reward the people on your team that do the same.
Many of the owners agreed that sometimes this may mean weeding out employees, clients and vendors that do not fit with the culture they have carefully defined and nurtured, no matter how painful that choice may be. All of the participants agreed that “Culture Busters” are a stumbling block to growth. Just like any other business issue, culture busters need to be dealt with to move the company forward.
Make it a Team Effort
Engage your team in the journey and make it a part of what you do at your company; how you engage in business. Let them participate in the process and share ideas to help communicate and spread your culture in the various ways that resonate with them.