How to successfully build a company culture

Building a company culture values and standards

Happy employees work at organisations with a strong corporate culture. They are also more productive and effective. It follows then, that building a successful company culture will benefit your bottom line. A Deloitte study found that 88% of employees agree.

Images of free breakfast and ping pong tables often come to mind whenever we talk about company culture. But building a company culture is about more than that. That fruit bowl will soon lose its appeal. Instead, if you focus on building a strong company culture that reflects your purpose, vision, and values, you’ll be rewarded with greater retention rates, effectiveness, and morale.

Join us as we explore the key components behind building a successful company culture.

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Start with a purpose, build a company culture that lasts

Before successfully building a company culture, you need to get clear on your company’s purpose (your big why) and vision (how you plan to get there).

Neglecting these two vital components will lead to disenchanted employees. They won’t know where they’re going or why they’re doing what they’re doing.

Think long-term: to have a positive impact, your purpose and vision should remain a constant over time.

Create a set of values and standards

Once you’ve defined your purpose, you can forge ahead with creating a set of values and standards. Use them to make decisions every day. Avoid just paying lip service to make it look like you care.

You can use your values to assess new hires. How closely are they aligned with your purpose, vision, and values? It’s easy to focus on skills and expertise. But hiring someone who’s not the right fit for the company can be a costly mistake. Skills and expertise can nearly always be learned and honed.

Building a company culture empower and encourage

Empower and encourage

Empower and encourage your team members by rewarding those who uphold company values. Peer nominated awards are an effective tool for this. Celebrate positive customer feedback, especially when directed at one individual or team.

Invest in your talent brand, in other words how your workers talk about working at your company. Encourage them to share their experiences and then shout about it. This will spread positive feelings within the company and make your company more desirable to potential talent.

Honest communication is key

Your grand plans for a company culture will fizzle out if they stay in your head – or the boardroom. Be clear and honest about what you expect from everyone.

Enshrining your values into a distinctive and memorable series will make them easier to communicate. Be as concrete as possible, giving examples if you think this will help.

Building a company culture honest communication

Lead from the front with a shining example

As we explored in a recent post, great leaders lead by example. Nowhere is this more important than when it comes to a company’s purpose, values, and mission. Make sure your behaviour and words are aligned with them. A positive attitude from the top will trickle down.

Infuse your daily work with your values. If one of the company values is honest communication, then get those company-wide updates in the diary now. If collaboration is key, then set up a series of knowledge-sharing sessions.

Focus on what’s going right

There’s no need to throw everything out and start from scratch. Begin with what you know.

Start by assessing your current company culture and decide what currently works well. Focus on strengthening those areas and weeding out the negatives – and once they’re out, don’t dwell on them. You can then slowly add initiatives to introduce the values you want to promote.

How have you built a successful company culture? Let us know how you did it in the comments below!

One way to encourage a positive company culture is to look for candidates who reflect your core values. If you’re in the automotive or industrial sector and looking for your next great hire, then get in touch with MasterSearch. We’re dedicated to making your job easier and supporting you across your entire business. Get in touch on +44 207 101 9623 or email rmasterson@mastersearch.co.uk.

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