Company culture is a growing concern for employees, customers, and employers. It’s proven to be a key element in the age of remote work and the “Great Resignation”. It’s time to ask yourself, “What is our culture?” Is it in inline with the goals and values of your company? Is it being demonstrated by the leaders in your firm? Ask yourself the following questions to evaluate your firm’s culture.
Environment:
How have you created an environment that helps structure the values of the company?
-
How are the company policies being demonstrated?
Are there policies in place that support the values and ideals of your company? Do your employees respect these policies? Is there room for new policies that enable employees to live the work life balance they desire? A firm can claim to support its employees, but without a structure in place there is no way for support to flow freely and staff will not feel as though you’ve got their backs. Placing values into action through policies creates a culture that helps move the company towards its goals and values.
-
What does the physical space say about the company priorities?
Is the physical space set up for team success or individual success? How is the safety of the workers being implemented into the space? Do employees feel welcome and have the physical space to share and celebrate one another? Without the physical ability to live out the company values, there is no way to make sure that the values of the company are in line with the culture. While being in the same room has taken a back seat to virtual meetings, creating a sense of “together” is still of the utmost importance.
Relationships:
If your company culture is in line with your company values the relationships surrounding it will resemble the value.
-
Relationships between your employees
Are they open and friendly? Do they trust their team members and team leaders? Do they feel supported or burnt out? Are their leaders transparent and respected? The way your teams interact reflect the values the company wants to emphasize. If you company values are being lived out in the culture, it will be reflected in these relationships.
-
Relationship with the customers
What are your customer relationships like? If your customers have very minimal and business focused interactions with your company, your customers might gather that business or quality of work are high priorities for you, but they can be left to wonder about how much you care for them. If your customers have close and long-lasting relationships with your company, then they will be able to experience the value your company places on customer relationships. The way you interact with your customers is a reflection of your values and your culture. Are these interactions in line with where you want your company to go next? Changing how you interact with customers can help
-
Relationship with the community
How does the local community see you? How do you relate to them and serve them? By asking this question you can get insight into the nature of your reputation. If you have a less than stellar reputation in the community this might be a great area to grow in. By refreshing your reputation with your community your upgrade, the way people interact with you, and therefore upgrade the priorities and culture of the company.
Cohesion between the culture of your firm and the values of your firm are necessary for success. If you can change your culture to align with the values your employees, customers, and employers will have an overall better experience.
Want to learn more about company culture?
Read more here: How to build culture staff will stay for
