The concept of Business Culture for many companies tends to draw up more questions than solutions. What is our culture? How do we set our business culture?
In any business, the style or model of business operations in a company is determined to be that company’s “culture.” It’s this culture that is vital to a company’s identity and philosophy of how to run itself each day. How staff communicate with each other, how communications work between staff and customers, and how businesses handle every day issues and transactions all tie into a business culture. So how do you improve your business culture? Companies big and small can shift and mold their business culture and set the tone for their company the way they want by implementing the following five practices. Lets review and get started!
-
Encourage open communication
For many companies the idea of staff and employee open communication is frightening. What if staff say something we don’t like? What if staff say they are unhappy? What if a customer doesn’t like our product? Well what if through open communication your company fosters honesty, identifies areas to improve, and delivers an even more customer-focused product? By developing an open communication system, companies can develop a trusting environment for all parties to thrive. Culture starts with knowing the truth about a company.
-
Value contributions
One way to find out what kind of “culture” your company has is to embrace and value employee contributions. What does each person bring to the table? What are ways in which employees feel appreciated? If a company can identify ways to value contributions from its employees, it can create an environment that draws out more contributions from the employees as well as give employers a good sense of who they have on the team and if that team fits into the culture the company is wanting to develop.
-
Develop employee engagement activities
Every company faces similar challenges with staff retention. Many companies lose good staff because they do not engage the employees that work hard for the company each day. Create activities that engage employees. This doesn’t have to be a huge event or costly outing. These activities can simply be round table “get to know you” discussions, after work gatherings, and small communications such as group emails or messages. By engaging employees, employers begin to look at drawing out the similarities and differences that will shape the culture as the team gets to know each other more.
-
Deliver the culture
Deliver the culture? Sounds funky, but hear us out. Companies big and small can be the spearheads of the culture they want the company to adopt. If the owner enjoys humor, companies can embrace professional light-hearted banter. If a company wants people to value work life balance, they can set a tone that everyone clocks out at the same time to be with their families. Whatever the owner or company wants the culture to be, start implementing that into the daily practice and the rest will follow.
-
Promote the team
Small businesses know the value of the team. To shape and develop a culture the company wants to take on, employers should look at encouraging the team to be leaders in developing such culture. If employees feel empowered, they take ownership of the company’s mission, values, and culture. By promoting the team, small businesses will see the values of the company through its employees.
Setting a business culture may not happen overnight. By implementing the concepts and ideas mentioned above, small businesses can begin to shift and mold their company’s culture and set the stage for fostering a strong business philosophy. No business culture is alike, but for many businesses starting with a plan and engaging ways to develop culture can happen sooner than one would thi