Conquering Corporate Culture-Building
The definition escapes many – what exactly is “corporate culture?” There is no doubt it exists and plays a crucial role in shaping the future of an organization, but how can both large and small business leaders use it to their advantage? Gently guide your existing passive culture into one of organized intent Royal Recognition’s ultimate guide to building a prolific corporate culture.
Leadership Consensus
It is inherently difficult to start at the top. If the leaders of an organization do not agree on what the desired culture should be, it will be impossible to spread. Ask questions such as:
- How does your organization perform our best from day to day?
- How would you describe your company in three words?
- What holds our organization together?
- To the average employee, what’s the best part about working here?
Find areas to improve, write it down and refer to it often. Everything leaders do from here on out should reflect this vision.
Learn from Past Mistakes
The best way to effectively teach the culture is through storytelling. Conversational tones set a relaxed mood and encourage dialog that would otherwise not happen. Focus on a mix of success stories and stories from difficult situations for best effect. These tales have all grown from your current culture and will provide the necessary means to evolve.
Hire Talented People with Different Business Backgrounds
This one is a no-brainer. Surround your business with talented, creative individuals with motivation to propel cultural goals farther. More importantly, hire those with backgrounds different from other key leaders. While it’s easy to click with people of similar experiences, you won’t gain the perspective needed to successfully spread your new direction and make it stick.
Believe in Yourself, and Convince Others to Believe
No, this isn’t Peter Pan–we’re talking about the backbone of your company. You can’t just clap your hands and expect employees to adopt the new direction leadership has prescribed. They need to live it. This can be presented on a large or smaller scale (think an all-inclusive training experience for employee ala Peerceive® vs. an internal buddy-training approach that emphasizes the organization’s mission). Convince employees to believe in your organization and they will stick around longer, work harder and produce more than they ever have before.
Align Goals with Rewards
Now that you’ve conquered items 1-4 on the list (you did, right?) it’s time to reward employees that contribute to the cause. Rewards come in a variety of different shapes and are situationally dependent. If one of your cultural goals is to promote teamwork and collaboration, consider a company outing or implement a Peer-to-Peer recognition system like Peerceive®. Focusing on personal improvement as a means to better business? Offer rewards that focus on individuals such as career milestone https://royalrec.com/solutions/milestone-recognition/ awards for furthering cultural goals. The worst damage any business can do is to not offer any reward at all.
In consciously guiding an organization’s culture, companies create a workplace that people are excited to be in and do their best work. Organizations with clear cultural vision are far more successful than those that exist by default. The good news is, if you already have a culture in play, you have the means to change it. Be patient, stick with it and you too will see the fruits of labor.
Royal Recognition provides a variety of career milestone programs, peer-to-peer recognition programs, company stores and much, much more. Please visit us at www.royalrec.com | www.peerceive.com or contact us at: sales@royalrec.com.
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