People always ask me why is company culture so important? Company culture consists of the evolving sets of beliefs, values, and attitudes of an organization. Culture acts like glue for the company, aligning employees with company values. As the foundation of the culture, your corporate values help determine your path of success. These values set the standard that the leaders represent. Leaders should preach and practice those values, setting an example for their fellow staff members. However sometimes this message is lost and as a result could have negative consequences.
Culture is the single most important thing to an employee besides compensation. For some, especially millennials in the workforce, culture can prove paramount to salary. The power of culture is highly underestimated in organizations and is often overlooked. Every company has a different formula for company culture. Finding and identifying those pieces will lead to a successful culture. Creating a positive environment, reducing employee turnover, attracting top talent, and boosting morale are just some of the benefits of having a well-established culture.
Having a successful and award-winning company culture takes real hard work that is often neglected or misunderstood. If it were easy, all companies would have a great recognized culture. Like most things it needs attention, dedication, and most importantly, execution. We can’t always use the excuse, “we don’t have the budget right now”. There are cost effective ways to make your employees happy without breaking the bank. Simply put you have to try something, even if it’s something small like actually taking the time to speak with people about their day. You would be surprised just by talking to people and focusing on common interests how much of a difference it makes. Believe it or not you might make someone’s day.
Which brings me to my next point which is employee appreciation. Employees want to feel valued and cared for in their organization. Culture can help add value and sell your company to top talent. Think about it, do talented and skilled people really want to work for a company that doesn’t appreciate their employees? Showing appreciation can be as easy as simply just telling them they did a fantastic job and the company wouldn’t be where it is without them. I don’t know how many times I wanted a simple “Thank You” from my employers but most of the time just waited for something that never came. The power is in your hands, don’t let them slip away! It’s not rocket science believe it or not, invest in your employees and they will invest you!
I feel like my next topic is often undervalued: trust. Trusting your employees is the most important and necessary part of building relationships. Without trust you really have nothing! Let’s be honest, micromanagement is quickly crashing and burning and isn’t very sustainable. Nobody, likes to work with someone over their shoulder constantly! You’re truly limiting your employee’s potential by not giving them the keys to their own creative freedoms. You would be surprised what people can accomplish if you give them the freedom to truly do what you can’t. There is nothing more rewarding than watching people reach the heights they never even thought possible. I mean that’s why we hire employees in the first place, to handle things that we normally couldn’t or just do a better job in general. So why not give them a chance to succeed rather setting them up for failure which unfortunately is very common. They say trust is earned but that is simply not true, as it’s just an excuse. Trust should be given until it is broken then you will see the truth. We all make mistakes as its human nature, so let’s not focus on the negatives. Who knows, you might have a rock star on your staff just waiting to break out and shine, so why not give them a chance!
I founded and started Culture.Fun because I truly want to help companies realize their full potential for success by providing the building blocks of a successful culture. I want to help those people who have employees that are unhappy at their jobs. I once thought “work” was a four letter word that does not coexist with happiness. Instead, I realized it was the culture I was unhappy with, so I made a change. It takes hard work and unfortunately it won’t happen overnight but with persistence and attention to detail it will happen. There’s no clear answer or some magic 8 ball to guide you. You just have to execute, nothing will happen if you don’t try something. Don’t be afraid to fail, in fact please execute and fail, at least you will learn something. If something doesn’t work in your organization then keep trying until something does. I assure you something will stick eventually, patience is key! Just remember culture isn’t what you say, it’s what you do!
~Josh W. Dodson, Founder and CEO