Have you defined your company culture?
Some leaders believe that culture is comprised of elements such as dress code, work-from-home policies, communal working spaces, company lunches, and various recreational activities that employees can engage in during the workday. Although these play a role in the overall environment, they are not the core of a company culture.
Culture is the set of values or principles that are further defined to the expected behaviors of all the employees, from the CEO down. Culture is rooted in how people think, what they believe, and how they behave.
Companies spend a lot of time defining their brand, strategy, plans, budgets, and, if they are non-profit, bylaws and policy manuals. However, they often fail to define the behaviors of execution. Leaders often believe that establishing the business’s ‘why,’ ‘what,’ and ‘where’ will motivate and engage employees. The compass has been set, and people will ‘understand how’ to reach the destination.
Leaving Company Culture to Chance
Each individual hired to work for your company brings their unique self to the team. They are shaped by nature as well as their experiences, education, and values. Multiply these differences by the number of people in your company, and you will have a melting pot of behaviors and perspectives. This melting pot of individuals becomes your company culture unless you purposely define it.
Initially, the culture may seem aligned because the founders have set the tone. They hire the first employees, seeking individuals who share their values. The culture is conceptually identified but not defined. Without a clearly defined culture, it shifts as more people join the company, and hiring decisions are made based on skills and surface-level compatibility rather than cultural alignment. Over time, the company culture can drift away from its original intent.
This is where leaders often find themselves frustrated by what their people are doing or saying because it doesn’t align with the conceptual culture. The problem? Employees can’t follow a culture that was never explicitly defined and taught to them. This leads to unhappy employees who are disengaged and dissatisfied in the workplace. This year, Gallop reported that employee engagement is at a 10-year low, with only 31% of employees engaged.
Three Steps to Defining the Company Culture
To establish or regain control of your company culture and employee engagement, leaders must define it. Here are three steps to defining the culture.
1. Define Your Mission Statement
First, establish or dust off your mission statement. People need to know why they come to work every day and the true purpose of their work. And no, it’s not about making money for stakeholders or receiving a paycheck. Your mission statement should articulate the deeper purpose behind your company’s existence. Employees must feel emotionally connected to this mission and understand how their role contributes to it.
2. Establish Clear Values
Second, establish or dust off your value statements. Once people know why they come to work, they must know how the company wants business done. Your values define what the company stands for and the behaviors expected of everyone. They serve as a guide for how people should conduct themselves across all levels of the organization.
Values are often the point where loopholes are found in the expected behaviors. Values are typically written as abstract nouns that lack actionable clarity. For example, stating, “Serve—We put our customers and people first” is a broad concept. First, customers and employees have been lumped together, but their expectations differ. What does it mean to put customers first? Is this resolving problems, customizing products, showing empathy, or all of the above? Each person will interpret a meaning for themselves without a definition of what this means. This leads to the development of essential actions or behaviors related to values, ensuring understanding.
3. Develop Essential Actions
To bring your values to life, define the essential actions or behaviors that outline how tasks should be performed to execute the company’s strategy and brand identity. Behaviors are expressed in a verb format, describing actionable behaviors, such as “I own and immediately resolve customer problems” or “Own and resolve customer problems.” Writing purposeful and powerful behaviors related to your values in the first person or as statements of individual action encourages accountability.
Further, clarify the expectation of the action. Create a couple of sentences that clearly describe actionable behavior. Using the example of resolving customer problems, this might include listening to and confirming the customer’s concern. Inform them of your intended approach to addressing the matter and when you plan to follow up if it cannot be resolved immediately. You may need to engage others, but you own the matter and will ensure resolution.
This level of clarity reduces leaving the ideal behavior to chance or individual interpretation. Employees will be more satisfied and happier in their jobs because they know what is expected of them.
Five Ways to Sustain Your Company Culture
With your culture now defined, your mission, values, and essential actions or behaviors create a shared language that unites employees and shapes company culture. However, defining them is only the beginning. These principles must be instilled into each person. They must become second nature or a habit so ingrained that it is automatic.
To develop a habit or perform something routinely, you must practice it consistently. And even when you think you’ve mastered it, continue to practice. It is the only way to sustain a high level of execution. Here are five ways to practice your culture.
1. Meetings
Start by reviewing the mission, values, and one essential behavior as a team weekly. Have a standing weekly meeting or start your weekly huddles and daily stand-ups with a focus on the behavior of the week. Ask employees to share the definition of the behavior not only as written but as they perceive it. Ask employees to share how they demonstrated the behavior in the past week or yesterday with each other, customers, and in their work.
Include the mission, vision, and behavior of the week at the top of every meeting agenda to maintain focus and alignment. Start each meeting by reviewing why the company exists, how the purpose of this meeting advances the organization toward its vision, and one way the team executes its mission and vision through the behavior.
2. Displays
Consider displaying the defined behaviors prominently around the workplace along with the mission. Some companies like this idea to keep them visible at all times. Others believe they should not have to post them if they live them. If they are lived, they are visual, and people will know.
Another idea is a personal pocket card for each employee to carry. Maybe a reward could be offered if the employee presents the card upon request and an additional reward if they can also state the mission and the behavior of the week.
3. Coaching Conversations
Make the defined behaviors part of one-on-one conversations and performance evaluations. Immediate feedback on what someone is doing well and where they can improve is essential. Use specific examples, like when they shared an article about an alternative business process, it demonstrated the behavior of ‘Always Learning.’ When the conversation requires correctional feedback, having objective, defined behaviors for all parties makes the conversation easier because it’s not subjective. When the employee missed the project deadline and didn’t reach out for help, it not only put the project behind schedule but also failed to demonstrate the behavior of ‘Honoring Commitments.’ What can be done differently next time?
4. Hiring
Most importantly, hire only those who align with your principles. Ensure your hiring scorecard includes either all the behaviors or those most essential to the position. Failing to hire against the desired behaviors allows for an uncontrolled mix of behaviors to enter the culture, thereby diluting the culture you have worked so hard to define.
5. Training
Once hired, the employee must be trained on the mission, values, and expected behaviors. This is crucial not only for their success within the company but also for maintaining the company’s culture. The defined behaviors tell them what is expected regarding how the company executes its brand, mission, and strategy.
Often, it is assumed that leaders must teach and drive the culture and hold employees accountable for upholding the mission, values, and essential behaviors. Although this is true, it’s really everyone’s role. Leaders can’t be present in every situation. Employees must be empowered to hold themselves and others accountable for living the principles daily to sustain a strong company culture.
Eliminate frustration caused by what people are doing or saying in your organization that doesn’t align with the conceptual culture. Take control of your desired company culture by defining it and then maintaining it through continuous practice. A well-defined company culture drives positive engagement and happy employees.
If your culture needs refining or defining, reach out. Let me help you create your desired culture to execute your brand, mission, and vision and have happy employees.
