Culture is a make-or-break deal for organizations and a positive one could help drive efficiency and long-term financial growth. If you're a business owner, having a positive, well-defined company culture should be one of your top priorities because it will help to lure and retain talent.
As Todd McKinnon in a post on forbes.com points out, company culture is shaped mostly by how the leaders of a company act. If your business stresses the importance of having a 'teamwork culture,' McKinnon says that you must make sure that your executive team really works as a team. If 'transparency' is most important, company leaders must be transparent, no matter what.
It is essential that company values are communicated continuously, both internally and externally. It is crucial that your employees understand your culture and why it is so important.
Write your company's goals on a "dream map" that you post in public areas.
McKinnon advises business owners to reward employees who help advance company culture and be honest with those who don't. Pull employees who you think embody your company's culture aside and ask them questions like: what do you think about the current culture? What don't you like about it? Is culture even important? Hearing your employees' opinions can help you to realize where you're headed and how to get there.
Although just one person cannot be solely responsible for your company's culture, it is helpful to put one employee in charge of cultural concerns. According to McKinnon, the employee who is chosen to be directly responsible for your company's culture should push the rest of the employees in the right direction - whether they're hiring candidates or managing a team as it sets priorities.
Paul Alofs, in an excerpt from his 2012 book Passion Capital: The World's Most Valuable Asset, writes that you should hire for passion and commitment first, experience second and credentials third. It is important, Alofs writes, to try and find employees who are interested in the same things you are because you don't want your company to simply be a stepping stone on someone's journey to their real passion.
On inc.com, Alofs also writes that you should watch out for employees who habitually complain and criticize. While constructive criticism can be helpful, relentless complaining is toxic. Alofs says that whiners wreak havoc on a company as they sow doubt among fellow employees and gradually strangle the passion in an organization. Alofs advises that you identify these people and replace them.
© Zawya BusinessPulse 2014
As Todd McKinnon in a post on forbes.com points out, company culture is shaped mostly by how the leaders of a company act. If your business stresses the importance of having a 'teamwork culture,' McKinnon says that you must make sure that your executive team really works as a team. If 'transparency' is most important, company leaders must be transparent, no matter what.
It is essential that company values are communicated continuously, both internally and externally. It is crucial that your employees understand your culture and why it is so important.
Write your company's goals on a "dream map" that you post in public areas.
McKinnon advises business owners to reward employees who help advance company culture and be honest with those who don't. Pull employees who you think embody your company's culture aside and ask them questions like: what do you think about the current culture? What don't you like about it? Is culture even important? Hearing your employees' opinions can help you to realize where you're headed and how to get there.
Although just one person cannot be solely responsible for your company's culture, it is helpful to put one employee in charge of cultural concerns. According to McKinnon, the employee who is chosen to be directly responsible for your company's culture should push the rest of the employees in the right direction - whether they're hiring candidates or managing a team as it sets priorities.
Paul Alofs, in an excerpt from his 2012 book Passion Capital: The World's Most Valuable Asset, writes that you should hire for passion and commitment first, experience second and credentials third. It is important, Alofs writes, to try and find employees who are interested in the same things you are because you don't want your company to simply be a stepping stone on someone's journey to their real passion.
On inc.com, Alofs also writes that you should watch out for employees who habitually complain and criticize. While constructive criticism can be helpful, relentless complaining is toxic. Alofs says that whiners wreak havoc on a company as they sow doubt among fellow employees and gradually strangle the passion in an organization. Alofs advises that you identify these people and replace them.
© Zawya BusinessPulse 2014
