What Is Company Culture?
Upon starting my work at TimeCamp, one of the first things I was supposed to do was to get familiar with the company culture, vision, and values. This is the secret to a successful product, happy employees, and, above all, satisfied customers.
So what exactly is a company culture? It is how employees act within the organization and its structures. Also, it involves three aspects: employee, work, and customer. It’s extremely vital to mention the fact that company culture has a significant influence on every aspect of the company.
If not taken care of, it may lead to the disintegration of the integrity which is understood as a company culture. A study shows that,
“64% of all employees do not feel they have a strong work culture.”
Which is followed by another result, “There’s 2.5x more revenue for companies with engaged employees versus competitors with low engagement levels.” The statistics show how important the culture is for an organization.
The 3 Key Elements That Make a Great Company Culture
Every good company cares about its employees and want them to feel comfortable in the workplace. There are many factors necessary to create a successful company and a product or service people will love. But the first and the basic step every organization should begin with is creating a solid company culture.
What is the secret behind that? In fact, there is none! However, there are 4 key elements which you should consider when you want to create a great company culture:
1. Hiring the right people
Before you decide to hire a person, you should make sure the candidate has all the traits you are looking for. If someone wants to work for you just because the salary is good but he or she doesn’t really add any value to the organization, hiring such a person may be destructive. These are vampires who prey on time and productivity.
Look only for creatives, people passionate about what they do, and you can be sure their work will be meaningful and profitable!
2. All employees should know the values and the mission of the company
As simple as that! When everyone knows how the organization operates and what standards it is based on, everything is crystal clear and employees are engaged in their work.
3. You’re a team, not a bunch of strangers working together
Of course, it’s important to keep a certain hierarchy. There should be people who are responsible for particular tasks, processes, and projects. But it’s also important to remember that the best work is done when people collaborate and communicate.
At TimeCamp, we believe that transparency and openness are crucial to creating a strong team. It helps to provide each other with constructive feedback which, in turn, increases people’s ability to learn and self-develop.
👉 Read more about creating transparency in the workplace.
In general, the basis of every organization’s company culture are people, because they are its center and driving force. They bring in new ideas, purpose, and values.
What’s The CEO Role in Company Culture?
The CEO, leader, founder, whatever the name, it’s the boss who should be the core value of the company. He is the person everybody follows and he represents his team and organization. He is the fundament of the company. Of course, his role is much bigger than just being a boss.
The CEO influences the company even unconsciously. His actions, responses, and rules dictate the way people approach problems, their own work, and other employees. If a boss creates a friendly atmosphere, people are more willing to work. It is shown that “Companies with engaged employees outperform those without them by up to 202%”
Moreover, there are 3 ways in which boss impacts company culture. Those ways are the cornerstones of everything that’s behind the product or service delivered by an organization:
- Leadership strategies he uses towards his subordinates – the leader should inspire people, help them, and implement new changes. His role is not to wait for profits but to motivate the team and work together on the progress.
- Creating the organization’s atmosphere – the leader shows how the structure should be built in terms of goals, rules, division of power or internal communication channels.
- The leader’s approach toward subordinates – are employees only employees or is the entire organization a team? A good leader should make people feel valued and appreciated.
Thus, the CEO role in company culture is not only to focus on the statistics, measuring effectiveness, and increasing the profit. His role is to be for other people.
How to Change Organizational Culture?
Sometimes an organization requires a change in the culture. That may happen for many reasons. The first step to take is analyzing what causes the culture to crumble. Once you determine that and see the mistakes, you’ll know what to work on.
In order to change the organizational culture, you need to do three simple things:
- communicate to your employees what you want to change, why you want to change it, what are your expectations, and what are you planning to achieve by that change;
- consistently pursue your goals;
- have the right attitude and act.
Changing the company’s culture is not a simple thing. It requires lots of time, strength, and engagement, both from leaders and employees.
If it’s necessary, you may need to think about replacing this part of the crew who poses a threat to your organization. It’s better if you hire somebody new, with fresh ideas and a positive approach, rather than keep feeding the vampire with your own blood.