How do you define the right culture for your organisation? All organisations have some type of purpose. It doesn’t matter whether it is a business selling goods and services or a non-profit organisation supporting their community, purpose is what drives them forward.
However, there is often confusion surrounding how and where company culture comes into play. Is culture defined by the types of objectives an organisation has, or is it designed to be something else entirely? Some individuals assume that a company’s culture is managed directly by a small group of higher-level executives, with employees only playing a small part in its development.
The truth is, that company culture is something that involves everyone, and how it develops over time depends on the attitudes and perspectives of all members of the organisation.
What exactly makes up a company’s culture?
To break it down simply, company culture is a combination of core values and objectives as well as the attitudes of individuals that support them. If you think about different cultures in society around the world, it’s hard to just pinpoint one or two things that define them. It’s a much broader collection of different elements that uniquely define who those people are as individuals and members of society.
Likewise, company cultures are essentially an identity unique to only that organisation and the employees who work for them. While the company’s purpose has a bearing on how this culture is defined, it by no means is the only key element. Everything from to the priorities of the business to the way it operates and how it treats its employees and customers all play an important role.
Establishing your short and long-term vision
Defining a company culture all starts with clearly establishing both short and long-term goals. These goals should be a mix of high-level objectives and important milestones that need to be achieved to get there. However, while growth and profitability are typically high-priority items for most businesses, this isn’t where they should limit their focus.
Successfully achieving organisation goals isn’t more important than “how” those goals are achieved. Just like when planning a home renovation project, you need to have a blueprint in place and a plan for achieving each element of the remodel.
Another part of establishing a long-term company vision is deciding on the core values that will drive teams toward them. This involves deciding on how the business should be structured, the type of aptitude and attitude required by employees, and the various ways the organisation will support everyone’s efforts in achieving important milestones.
Important strategies for supporting cultural development in your organisation
Although defining your organisation’s culture may seem like a straightforward process, there is more to it than just providing your vision to employees and ensuring they support it. A company’s culture is a living, breathing component of an organisation. This means it needs constant attention and will adapt over time.
To encourage healthier development of this culture, there are some important strategies all businesses should follow:
Shared Accountability
There is a common misconception when it comes to company cultures that they are solely defined and managed by company executives. While it’s true that business leadership has an important role to play when helping to define core company values, cultural development isn’t only their responsibility to maintain.
Everyone in the organisation, regardless of the role they play or level of authority, should have shared accountability when it comes to ensuring a healthy business culture. Just like when completing home renovation projects, every contractor plays an important role to achieving the shared objective.
Remaining Transparent
An important element of every company’s culture is trust. Without this, it’s hard for all employees to feel like everyone has the best interests of the organisation as a whole in mind when they come to work.
Part of establishing this trust is increased transparency across all departments. Leadership teams should work together to avoid siloing important company information only to a select few.
Everyone should have a clear understanding of what’s taking place in the organisation, including what’s working well and what needs to be improved. This open flow of communication helps individuals to feel more connected with the role they play in the success of the business.
Empowering Employees
Another important element of a positive working culture is to be in an environment where individuals feel like they belong. This means having the confidence to carry out their responsibilities with certain levels of autonomy because an employee knows that they are trusted to make smart choices for themselves and the business.
Organisations can help to encourage this by working closely with each of their team members to develop their capabilities. This requires management teams to take a more active role in the performance of their employees while also helping them take advantage of new professional growth opportunities available to them.
Develop a company culture you can be proud of
The culture you help to establish and support is a critical part of ensuring your long-term business success. By carefully considering your company’s objectives and the core values required to achieve them, you’ll be able to set the stage for a healthy working culture that brings the best out of everyone in the organisation.
