Your company culture is the personality of your company, it makes you unique and sets out how you do things – from how you hire, all the way through to how your customers are treated.
Having a great – and enviable – culture means you’ll have a happy, engaged team who look forward to coming to work each day – no Sunday night blues for them. Plus, an enviable culture will also help you attract new team members.
Discover how you can build enviable company culture from day 1.
Know your desired culture
Before you can build your culture, you need to work out what your ideal culture looks like. Workshop it with others, either fellow senior leaders or with your entire team. Think about how you like to work and what’s important to you and your company – are you after a Disney-style level of service, work-life balance, or about creating something fun and quirky? Once you’ve decided, put your culture into writing so you can easily refer to it and share it.
Create a strong team
You need to build a team that supports and believes in your company’s core values. This strong foundation will help build solidarity and comradery; without effective teamwork your culture won’t work. Be sure to question potential team members thoroughly throughout your recruitment process to understand their values and beliefs and ensure they align to yours.
Design a great environment
The best work environment is one that reflects your brand and culture and is appealing to team members, both current and future. It doesn’t have to be Google-style grand (think chef-prepared organic food). It could be a chill-out space that encourages your team to switch off and relax during the day. It could be onsite yoga classes or massages. It could even be a piece of artwork that encapsulates your culture, like a quote. In short, it’s whatever contributes to your team’s well-being.
Support open communication
The biggest way you can build enviable culture is also probably the simplest (and cheapest): let people have their say. Promote engagement at all levels of your company and make your team an active part of it – hold regular town hall meetings, have a suggestion box, or email your team inviting feedback. By fostering an open environment where your team can speak their minds (both the good and the not-so-good), you’ll create a comfortable culture where people feel valued and can thrive.
