No tags yet.
When starting a business, “create company culture” is usually not on the checklist. Seriously, you are so busy with filing the right papers to make your business official, thinking of logos, opening a business account, creating your Facebook page, etc etc etc…who takes the time to think about company culture, right?
A company culture is the attitude or shared belief system that your employees will have about goals, values, vision, day-to-day work, interaction with fellow employees etc. A company culture is a like genetic code - the DNA of your company is what makes it run well or run poorly, hence why it is important to define this ‘genetic code’ from day one.
You are the head honcho - it is your job duty to envision how you want your company to run, from the way people dress, to the way people answer the phones, to way the traffic runs in your hallways. It is also your duty to create a culture where trust is key (i.e. no one should fear losing their lunch in the fridge), where everyone knows and feels that they are essential to company success (and don’t rush to punch out at exactly 4:59pm), and where collaboration is understood as essential for reaching mutually beneficial and understood goals.
Your company culture is your company’s genetic code, the internal identity. You must have a good internal identity because if your employees are not getting along, you can bet the customers can see it. Or if there is standing tension between employees, you can bet the customer can hear it in your employee’s voice etc. As the CEO, it is your job to make sure that you are creating a culture of trust, acceptance, tolerance, accountability, and positive behavior. Failure to do so could be detrimental to your company’s success.
Case in point: One of my associates has been in business for about 30 years. Recently, a new employee came in and caused all of the other employees, who had been there for years, to completely freak out. No, seriously, freak out. Everyone is now in hazing mode OR they are fearing for their own jobs. My associate really does nothing about it. He claims that the ‘new guy’ is the problem because no one can get along with him, but he sees potential in him, so he is keeping him around. Now this poor ‘new guy’ is a hazing victim…everyone is against him. All of his fellow employees say that he bullies people, makes fun of them, is lazy etc. Ok, I’m not in the office with them, so maybe he does these things and maybe he is indeed lazy…but the fact that the boss is not saying anything is creating an ugly stink in the office - perhaps unknowingly, the boss is cultivating a culture of mistrust, deception, and ugly behavior. The company’s genetic code is being harmed and it seems at this point, no anti-biotic or treatment exists. In fact, it seems that the other employees take the boss not saying anything as a sign that they can continue doing what they are doing to the poor new guy. And you won’t believe this: last week, one guy went to attack the new guy with a stick because he ‘keeps making fun’ of him. Oh yea, it is on camera. And yes, you guessed it, everyone was telling the customers about the company fight (and of course, they had no clue that they were hurting the company by telling the story).
My point here is that you MUST create a culture of acceptance, tolerance, trust, and positive behavior from day one. Poor “genetic coding” could kill your company!
Some suggestions:
1. Clarity is king. From the moment you hire someone, they should be given a company handbook to read and review often. As new things arise in your company, make sure to host meetings to discuss issues, new rule implementation etc. Encourage your employees to contribute to the meeting as well because if something is unclear to them, you are leaving room for misinterpretation, dissent, and failure.
2. Hire within your ‘genetic coding’ requirements. Do not hire someone who is clearly anti-culture! Do not unnecessarily bring tension to your team.
3. Sharing is caring. Ask for contributions to the company handbook and regulations. Make sure everyone understands what is going on at all times - misunderstanding leads to mistrust and mistrust leads to tension, rumors, and deception.
You can do your own company culture audit by opening your eyes and ears. Are there plenty of rumors? Is there an environment of mistrust, caddy behavior, and trickery? Do you see people working together nicely to achieve company goals? Are you constantly bombarded with complaints from employees or customers? Does it seem like your employees are happy and like their jobs? By opening your own eyes and ears, you can very quickly assess what your company culture is like (and what you want it to be like). If you’re already in business, you still have hope - don’t think you missed the timing with this one. You can always do an overhaul by increasing clarity with your employees on what you want and expect, by hiring within your coding requirements, and by sharing with your employees often.
Your employees are an integral part of your business as they are the ones who interact with customers, get your orders out in a timely fashion, conduct meetings etc. If a single person does not fit the culture or the code, things will get skewed and you will have an entire culture/code problem on your hands. Just like you spend hours plotting how you want your customers to perceive you, you must spend hours plotting how you will expect your employees to represent you, interact amongst themselves, and how they should conduct themselves. You must formulate the genetic code of your business before hiring a single employee to ensure that everyone sees the same vision you see, has the same mutually beneficial goals in mind, and works hard to achieve a company culture where trust, appreciation, happiness, and understanding are kings.
Ok, so get coding!
Image credit: http://www.digitalsparkmarketing.com/innovation/zappos-culture-2/
