Google the words “company culture” and you’ll find nearly ¾ billion results. Yet ask business leaders to define their company’s culture or to discuss ways their culture was created or changed, and the results are minimal. Company culture it seems, is a bit of an enigma.
On the surface, it’s often characterized as a product of the
company’s values, beliefs, and behaviors.
But when the stated values, beliefs, and behaviors take a detour from
the reality of daily business activities, the culture isn’t living up to the
mission of the organization. And most
certainly the employees know it, further destabilizing the potential of that
purported culture to ever take hold. As
an added concern, the opportunity for the company culture to positively impact
clients, customers, and consumers is lost as well.
So where does the declared culture separate from
reality? The divide occurs through daily
interactions, and decisions, through policies and practices. Look to the following to determine where your
culture is truly defined:
1.
Rewards. Who and what is promoted in your
company? Are the hardest and most
competent workers rewarded in kind? Do
employee attitude or workplace relations factor into opportunities and pay
raises? How are requests for paid time
off granted? Also looks at areas of
nepotism, loyalty (regardless of competency), and highest sales performance
(regardless of attitude). How each of
these is rewarded will also impact your company culture.
2.
Punishment. Who is terminated and why? Does poor behavior, insubordination,
dishonesty, or other problem behavior get addressed – and punished – in a swift
and decisive manner? Are problem people
allowed to move about seemingly untouched?
How many opportunities is staff given to change/improve before
consequences set in?
3.
Communication. How open are the channels of
communication? Do staff have a voice in
discussing things that impact them – like a new computer program or a recent
update to how work-load is to be calculated?
Or are they blind-sided or surprised by things that are occurring or
changes that are implemented? Can staff
adequately rely on the chain of command for getting information to or from
where it needs to be? Is communication
one-way (ie: top-down) or reciprocal?
4.
Teamwork. How do people work together? Are teams thoughtfully created with competent
leaders put in charge? Is blame or finger-pointing
a problem? Are accountability and
personal responsibility being reinforced?
Are collaboration and operational reciprocity a reality or are people or
divisions siloed and disconnected?
5.
Conflict
Management. How are tensions or
conflicts managed? Are people encouraged
to seek help or left to deal with issues themselves? Are people in leadership roles trained in
basic conflict management? When help is
offered, is it legitimate and multi-tiered or superficial and temporary? Do managers and leaders receive training in
employee relations or conflict management?
The above questions offer just the start for examining the
factors which determine your company's true culture. We hope they pose a healthy challenge to all
companies looking to create or improve their own company culture.
