Company Culture is something many small businesses “poo poo.” I hear things like, “I have five employees; what do I need to worry about Company Culture for?!” Unfortunately, those are the businesses we routinely get “complex” HR problems from and the ones that end up having the most problems with their staff.
Remember, a good employee is good until they’re not. When they switch to the “not” side, it usually is a messy situation. This is where Culture can help us.
When we talk about Company Culture, I am not speaking about “Corporate Responsibility” and other “Big Business” ideas. I am simply speaking of what makes your company YOUR company.
What ideology do you, the owner, believe in? What do you expect? What is a “good” employee? What would I notice about your team if I walked into your business? All of these come down to your Company Culture.
Establishing your Company Culture in the form of values or mission statements is a start, but true Culture is defined by what is actually happening in your company. Focus on the reality first, not the “wish list.”
Here at PeopleWorX, we boiled it down to two areas. Company Core Values and Character Values. Our Character Values are what everyone needs to have just to be employed here. You can be a “superstar,” but you can’t play on my team if you do not show these values.
One of these Character Values is to be open. We value open communication, and our Company is built on honest communication. (I have been told more than once I am brutally honest) Both from the employee to management and from management to the employee. Notice this value comes from me, the Owner. It’s how I conduct business. So naturally, it is an “embedded” cultural value.
Another example is to be willing to change. In our industry, everything changes rapidly. We want team members that can change and understand change is a fact of life.
Using these two examples allows us to engage in constructive conversations with our Team when communications shut down or someone doesn’t want to change. It also sets the expectation of what we expect.
The key here is this is natural for our organization. Company Culture is what is natural, not made up.
Once we know what we want in our organization, we can better align our teams to that Culture. Aligned teams bring success. When everyone is on a different page, success becomes hard to achieve.
Many of the HR problems we assist with are from team members not aligned with the Company Culture. This could be someone consistently late, someone that is closed to feedback, someone that isn’t a team player, etc.
A lot of these problems can be alleviated by establishing our Company Culture and then expecting our team to emulate these values. Sometimes, we find out that those that don’t like our Culture are actually a bad fit for our company. But it all starts with understanding what our Company Culture is and writing it down.
Would you like help with your Company Culture? Contact us today to speak with one of our expert HR members.
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