The importance of company culture

By Laura Caton Partner at LeadShift

No Two Cultures Are Alike. Many people talk about the importance of a strong company culture, but what does that mean? When we talk about an organization’s culture, we refer to the shared values, beliefs, and practices that influence employees’ behavior. It includes things like the company’s goals and expectations, how employees act and think, and the overall vibe of the workplace.

A company with an enjoyable culture makes the workplace happy and fulfilling and employees are proud of what they do. It also helps reduce conflicts as everyone is committed to making the company successful. When recruiting new talent to your organization, your company culture becomes a crucial part of your employer brand and becomes the sticking point when hiring. Will this person align with corporate values and cultural fit? Every person we bring in must be a positive addition. If I get a sense their values don’t align with ours during the interview, I take a pass on moving ahead. I live and die by the motto, “Hire Slow, Fire Fast.” Culture naturally evolves and changes over time, regardless of whether an organization actively tries to shape it. Business growth, mergers, new product offerings, and new leadership can impact culture. However, having an unguided and unstructured culture can be detrimental to a company. No “one” person is solely responsible for creating or shaping culture, but leadership plays a crucial role in shaping it. When leaders consistently reinforce the desired behaviors, employees are more likely to follow suit. Therefore, strong and effective leadership is essential for building or improving company culture.

In larger companies, Human Resources may play a significant role in developing and building the company culture as part of their strategic work. But in smaller companies without an HR department, creating and maintaining a great company culture requires a collaborative effort from everyone in the organization. Executives lead in developing initiatives that shape the culture, while middle managers implement them.

Meanwhile, employees can contribute to the culture by supporting its values and ideals.

Defining Your Company Culture

If you are beginning this process, and want to determine your best company culture, there are two ways to get started:

Consider the core values you want to prioritize. Look at your mission statement, company goals, what your company stands for, and why it exists.

Conduct surveys or focus groups to get input from your team about their experiences and perceptions of your company culture. This can give you valuable insights into what is working and what needs improvement. It is how we started building our vision, mission, and culture statement. You might be surprised by the consistency.

At LeadShift, having a dynamic company culture is a key differentiator and allows us to do great work as a team. Our quarterly strategy meetings start with reviewing our values: are we living these? If not, what are the obstacles getting in the way?

INTEGRITY: Always do the right thing.

BALANCE: Respect for work/life balance and the needs of our people.

TEAMWORK: Collaboration drives success for our colleagues and our clients.

INFLUENCE: Everyone here has a voice, is heard, and impacts our success.

COMMITMENT: For personal growth, professional excellence, and client success.

It’s Not just Fancy Perks: Employee loyalty and commitment are not achieved by providing perks like games rooms or fancy snacks, although employees appreciate those. Leaders that live/model the cultural values and show up daily modeling those values.

Factors such as leadership style, workplace policies and practices, compensation and benefits, transparency and accountability, and work/life balance contribute to work culture. It’s giving your team agency in their career growth and providing tools and development for success. Actively addressing toxicity when it is an issue, communicating often and clearly about company objectives and the role each person plays in driving success for the company.

If you are a business leader or part of a culture team, it’s time to act and prioritize the creation of a positive company culture. Remember to consider the impact that a positive culture can have on employee satisfaction and commitment, productivity, and, ultimately, the success of your organization. Make this the year you take action to build a thriving workplace with a positive company culture. I