How To Create a Company Culture - Part 1

Imagine this, your friend comes out to lunch with you and starts talking about their job. At first you thought he liked his job because he landed his dream job, but then everything starts coming out like word vomit. He starts talking about how much he hates where he works. He says that the office is very dysfunctional. There is so much office gossip, and everyone seems to “back stab” everyone else. There is no leadership - the managers always seem confused and out of place.

The turnover is crazy, every month someone is quitting or being fired, in addition to all the new hires who get almost no training. The owner is never in the office, and when he is, he doesn’t seem to care about the employees, or even the company. When you do something good, it is always over looked and he only is criticized by the things that he doesn’t do.

The really interesting thing about all of this is that your friend actually liked the job at one point, but it’s the work environment, the company culture that suffers. When the company culture suffers, everyone suffers.

Having a company culture is so important because it helps define where your company needs to be, where it is going, and how everyone should act. Having a culture in the office will set the tone for the environment for years to come as the company grows.

Here you are going to learn how to create a company culture for your company and why it really matters.

Decide On Your Values.

They can be just a few bullet points or even a couple of pages describing your values and standard. To create a company culture, you need to decide what is it that you really want in your work environment. Do you want it to be a place of happiness, creativity, or leadership? Do you need character and integrity? Decide if it is certain traits that you need, your specific standards, and core values that define your company culture.

Choose The Things That Mean The Most To Your Company Culture.

What matters most to you? Is it a culture where everyone is on time? Is it a culture of giving back? Once you figure out the direction your company needs to grow, make a list of what matters. Think about your company's struggles, weakness or strengths. Make this personal to you. If it’s personal to you, it will be to everyone else. If you care enough, everyone else will.

Teach Everyone About The New Company Culture.

Once you have defined your company culture, you need to teach it, express it, and live it. Get all of your employees together and teach them about the culture. Explain why it matters to you and why it should matter to them. Really express how you feel and how it needs to be implemented in the office. Then you need to live it. Maybe you have a theme for the month explaining it. Maybe you have office workshops expounding on it. Share videos or blogs with your staff about it.

Be Consistent with Your Company Culture.

Finally, you need to be consistent with your company culture. If you only have 1 company culture value, then live it. If you have a bullet point list of things, how are you going to implement it?

Decide if you need to do something weekly, monthly, or yearly. Be consistent so your staff will know you're serious. If you need to adapt and change, adjust your company culture so it grows with your company goals.

Having a company culture is so important to have. If everyone is living the positive aspects of a company culture, it will really improve everyone's happiness, work ethic, and company morale.

Your staff and employees will know what to expect of you and will want to stay with your company.