With large tech companies like Google, Apple and Amazon making decisions to get their workforce back into the office after extensive periods of WFH and other businesses following suit. It is now more important than ever to build a company culture that comes out on top. Company culture is so important as it helps mould the success and well-being of a business and helps foster a sense of belonging!
Now, how would you define company culture?
To me, culture needs to be the ‘unwritten’ rules of a business that shape the working environment, how employees engage with each other and an employee’s overall experience within a company. It then influences the way a team will work together, and how they will engage with their work and buy into the company’s mission and vision.
What key areas help build company culture?
Vision & Mission:
Communicate your Vision and Mission regularly in the business. Ensure the purpose is clear. It’s important the leadership team understands and embraces the company’s vision, and they are helping to consistently install the mission across the wider team.
Discuss the mission in depth with the team so they can align their own career goals with the business goals. Communication around the vision and mission statement here at C4S Search is like daily vocabulary, we discuss the mission in every meeting almost like a mantra!
Leadership:
Invest in the leadership team, and offer them training and development opportunities for both current and aspiring leaders within the business. Set clear expectations and well-defined roles. The business culture will feed down from leaders within the business, so leaders need to be aligned with the vision of the business as they play such a central role.
Employee Development:
All the employees in the business should have clear development plans with set goals to achieve. Recognise growth and reward employees for their achievements. Allow employees to know the path or route they can take within a business so they can see a long-term goal for themselves within the business.
I find this really supports the culture within our company as every consultant within the team have clearly set goals for their next promotion and what they need to achieve to get there, it’s transparent and discussed with the team as early as the interview stage.
Recognition & Rewards:
It’s important to recognise achievements and success within the team promptly. Implement a system that rewards employees across milestones that might be anniversaries and successes. Tailor these rewards to the individual, when possible, make them unique to the employee.
Rewards and incentives act as motivation drivers and will help employees perform at their best if they know this could result in a promotion, pay rise, commission earnings etc. When employees are rewarded, it creates a sense of contributing to the mission and vision of the business and reinforces the importance of these goals.
Communication:
Use feedback channels for employees to be able to give constructive feedback on all areas. Be transparent with all layers of the business and keep employees up to date with company news, any changes within the business and set goals. Communication across the wider business will help set expectations for performance and overall helps build trust across the team.
The leaders within the business here at C4S Search will always deliver updates on the business every month meaning the team feel as one and all part of the same journey – clear communication throughout the business goes hand in hand with the team clear on business goals and the companies mission!
A culture within a business is pivotal for so many reasons, it will impact the overall performance and success of a business, support recruitment and retention and most importantly support the well-being of its employees. With these being a few bullet points from many, there are many ways as leaders and employees we can make an impact on company culture to help the business thrive.
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