Company Culture – Small Business Development 6 of 6
Having a great company culture will improve your small business in every single way! In my opinion, it is one of the cornerstones of our business. We want to have a company where everyone wants to show up to work. And by “show up” we mean far more than clocking in. We cannot possibly go in depth on every aspect of company culture, but I will do the best I can!
What Is Company Culture
Here is a good definition from investopedia.com: “Corporate culture refers to the beliefs and behaviors that determine how a company’s employees and management interact and handle outside business transactions. Often, corporate culture is implied, not expressly defined, and develops organically over time from the cumulative traits of the people the company hires.” To put it simply, we define company culture as “the way we do things here.” How does our team expect us to react or interact? It boils down to trust, and keeping that trust with our team is principle in every situation.
What Are Your Shared Values
We believe that to have a great company culture, we need to have shared values first and foremost. What is the foundation, mission, and cornerstone of your business? If these are not clearly defined, now is the time to define them. When your team shares the value and mission of your company, those shared values become a guiding light. That guiding light leads all of us to make great decisions and have respectful interactions. When our team knows how we will address and handle things – both the successes and the challenges – they trust us.
Improving Company Culture
Once you have a set of shared values that everyone is on board with, you can move on to even greater things. Over the years we have done many things to build our team’s trust and increase the value of our culture. Here are just a few:
- Show gratitude often and catch team members doing the right thing
- Invest in contests and promotions that celebrate and highlight success at any level
- Go bowling, sledding or have a movie night with team members
- Follow through when you say you are going to do something
- Apologize first
- Put out fires and remain in control, be a leader they can rely on
- Present Team Members with opportunities as often as possible
It is important to remember that this takes some work, but many of these things are free. You don’t need to have a lot of money to utilize these ideas.
Always stick to your shared values and try not to compromise. There might be existing employees that aren’t on board with your shared values, but don’t be afraid to weed out anyone who is sucking the life out of your other team members (it sounds harsh, but it is often necessary!) We lead with our values during recruitment so someone isn’t hired unless they’re a good match.
