Do you ever wonder why so many startups are unable to proceed forward? Well, there are certainly some reasons for it. Among them, failing to build a company culture is one of the key points of this failure.
A study shows that there were 543,000 new businesses started per month in 2018.
So, do you think every company was able to continue its journey in the long run? Definitely not. It’s certain that very few of them are running successfully till date.
Many of the owners take building company culture very lightly. As a result, it destroys team bonding, company mission, vision, goals, and, eventually, makes a successfully failed startup. But with a guide of creating company culture can really rescue from this situation.
So, if you are a small business owner and looking for ideas for building company culture, keep reading this article. Today we will make full anatomy of a company culture that can help you to lead your company smoothly.
How Can Building Company Culture Affect Your Final Outputs
An organization’s culture defines the proper way to behave within the organization. When building a company culture, make sure it is formed with positive energy, goal setup, and proper planning. When you, along with your team know about the mission and vision of your company, it becomes easy to reach the milestone.
A Columbia University study discovered that the likelihood of turnover at companies with rich cultures is a mere 13.9 percent. At companies with poor company cultures? It’s a whopping 48.4 percent.
Job satisfaction is another key component. Understandably, employees who believe their workplaces have a positive culture are much happier in their careers—which is beneficial for everyone when you consider that happy employees are 12 percent more productive than the average worker.
8 Proven Ideas for Creating Company Culture In Your Business Corporation
Company culture is defined as the shared set of values, ideals, and attitudes that characterize an organization. We can call it the personality of your company. It describes the way your team members feel about the work they do, as well as how they interact with their peers and service your customers. It’s a guiding force behind your organization, so it’s important to get it right.
And to get it right, here is our recommendation.
- Create a Culture that Aligns with Your Core Values
- Always Plan Ahead
- Communicate to Your Team
- Avoid Spreading Negativity
- Hire Someone Who Respects Your Company
- Set Individual and Team Goals
- Don’t Overlook Social Needs
- Remember to Have Fun
It seems easy to achieve, right? Actually, it is quite easy to establish these few steps. But the problem starts when we forget to nurture these steps. Every startup begins its journey with this guide, but a few days later, they somehow do not practice these points and eventually get doomed for it. So it is always better to establish and practice these steps to run your company with a rich culture.
1. Create a Culture that Aligns with Your Core Values
This is your business & you’re driving it, and you need to infuse who you are & what you do. Otherwise, it won’t work. Think about your personality and, more importantly, your core values. Do you foster a work hard, play hard mentality? Are you relaxed but also expect the best of people? If so, create that balance of work and play.
Do you expect the Google level of customer service from everyone at every level? Then hire people who display that spark, smile, and personality. Take time to reflect on who you are, the vibe you want to radiate, and, ultimately, the kind of culture that fits both you and your brand.
2. Always Plan Ahead
One of the common mistakes often noticed is that people just dive into ‘let’s create a great culture’ mode, without planning ahead at all. You need to take a look at the culture you currently have (face it, there’s company culture, regardless if you planned one or not) and find the areas of improvement.
You need to decide on the direction of the business for the next few years and revisit your mission and vision statements. That means keep revising your company culture and make improvements if there is anything missing. Most importantly make your employees aware of these changes.
3. Communicate to Your Team
Proper communication is the base of a company. A true leader is he who can leave his ego behind being a leader and take decisions discussing it with everyone every time.
Before you do anything else, talk to your team. Let them know how you’re feeling or seeing whole the matter, whether that’s an undesirable shift in the culture, structural pain points, or anticipated challenges as your company scales. Then, explain why you want to make a change and what you hope to achieve.
Don’t worry about being hyper-specific with your observations and data. The point of this step is to bring your team into the fold. Use this opportunity to collect employee feedback. As the boots on the ground, their input is invaluable. While building company culture, make sure everyone feels free to communicate with anyone and everyone within the company.
4. Avoid Spreading Negativity
If you are a leader then you have a big role to play in setting the tone of the company. Be watchful of your mood and what type of energy or vibe you are spreading among your team members. If you believe there are negative elements to the current culture, walking around moaning about them won’t help solve this.
If you want to be known as a friendly person or colleague who brings positive energy to the office, start with proactive suggestions on fixing the problems, rather than complaining or spreading negativity.
5. Hire Someone Who Respects Your Company
Hiring is a crucial phase for any company. Poor hiring can give you bitter experiences. The old adage ‘Hire slow, fire fast’ comes to mind – if you have team members who are constantly undermining their managers, or spreading negativity, it may be time to let them go.
William Shakespeare once said in Hamlet,
I must be cruel only to be kind
So yeah, prepare your mind setup like this way while letting go of anyone from your company. Because it’s good for your company and the fired employee as well.
During your hiring process, you may feel you have found a brilliant candidate with the right skill set to move your company forward, however you should also assess these candidates for cultural fit. Thus you can get someone who respects your company values and skills too.
6. Set Individual and Team Goals
Without a proper goal setup, nothing is achievable. Setting goals and chasing it is the utmost priority of a company. Goals motivate all of us to be focused and work toward shared results.
However, you need to learn how to prioritize your goals properly as it is an important skill that will help you and your company succeed. Take note that great leaders balance short-term thinking with long-term planning and thinking. So whenever you set up a long term goal, distribute it to your fellow team members so that they can set their individual goals too.
7. Don’t Overlook Social Needs
Another common mistake to avoid is not being concerned about the teams’ social needs when you are building your company culture. Great leaders encourage friendships at work as it helps to build a family-style culture. Give them believe that no one is the competitor of anyone. Instead, everyone should be ready for anyone’s help within the company as a family.
Employees do not want to just show up at work and leave – they want a meaningful work experience that includes them being actively involved. So try to pick a few effective employee engagement ideas that would work for your team, and run with them.
8. Remember to Have Fun
It’s simple: a little fun with your colleague at the workplace goes a long way. Granted this looks different for every business. A tech company can get away with more fun than perhaps a law firm or hospital. But there are ways to engage employees in activities that feel less like work.
For example, declare half-day Fridays during the summer, take your team indoor gaming festival, go to restaurants after work hours or hold a contest. Just do something out of context and give people the freedom to relax, show up in a different way, and have fun.
Choose an ERP Solution As a Complementary of Building Company Culture
While you are building company culture then team communication, setting up goals, and project planning are the most compulsory points to consider. Surprisingly, you can manage these points with help from an effective ERP solution. An ERP solution comes with several features like:
- Defined and focused information technology costs.
- Strong communication facility to team members.
- Planning, automation, and reporting of organizational data and processes.
- Customization through the implementation of individual applications attached to central software.
- Improved customer services and organizational efficiency.
- Enhanced collaboration.
Among them planning, team collaboration, and communication are notable. So, pick an ERP solution and enable yourself to build a solid company culture with ease.
But picking the best ERP solution according to your team requirements is something confusing as there are several options out there. But no worries! We are here to recommend one such comprehensive ERP solution that will not only help you to create your company culture but would also enable you to manage all the essential departments. Its features include:
- 44+ Currency Support
- Full control over all business activities
- Complete ERP system having 3 core modules: HR, CRM, and Accounting
- Manage all company information from WordPress dashboard
- Generate productive reports and get a quick overview of the company
- Powerful extensions are available in premium plans
Could you guess which ERP solution we are talking about? Yes, you are right! we are talking about none other than WP ERP.
WP ERP is the first full-fledged ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning) system. It enables you to operate the business right from your WordPress dashboard. So that you can simultaneously manage your WordPress site and business from one place smoothly. WP ERP optimizes your small to medium-sized businesses with powerful HR Manager, CRM & Accounting tools.
Build a Good Quality Company Culture & Stay As a Family
Many of us think building a company culture is just following a checklist. Talking about the points that are missing right now and forget.
That is far from reality. Positive company culture needs constant tending, and direction. You should make it a regular occurrence to review how things are going, and what areas you should focus on for the next quarter, six months, or a whole year.
Only then you can expect a rich culture for your company and eventually, that will lead you to a family-type relationship among employees.
