What is Company Culture?

WHAT IS COMPANY CULTURE

What is company culture? It’s a buzzword that’s being talked about a lot. ERC defines it by saying that “culture is the character and personality of your organization. It’s what makes your organization unique, and is the sum of its values, traditions, beliefs, interactions, behaviors and attitudes”.

I love how they say that culture is the character and personality of the organization, because I think that sums it up very well. Often times, organizations think that in order to have good company culture, they need to have sweet bean bags and a really neat office environment. 

Cultureiq.com 

Cultureiq.com says that your company culture doesn’t come from the monthly massages or kombucha on tap. Instead, it comes from conscious decisions based on your willingness to listen. That’s a big deal!

If the character and personality of your organization does not have a leader that listens, then the values, traditions, beliefs and interactions probably aren’t going to be quality.

Harvard Study 

So why is company culture important? According to a deep dive study done by Harvard, a strong company cultures creates 756% more revenue. Yes, you read that right- 756% more revenue! 

This was done with hundreds and thousands of companies across the United States that focus really well and know what culture means in their organization. They focus on it and it’s a huge part of what they do. However, there are also some companies that are just working on profit and business, and all the other traditional things that don’t necessarily have culture as something that’s important.

It was the ones that focused on culture, that saw the 756% more revenue!

POOR COMPANY CULTURE

You may still feel like your company culture is bad, even though you have some core values and a mission statement. 

There may be a reason why your company culture is bad. Your mission statement, vision, core values and so forth, are probably a biblically length document that is isn’t simple, isn’t easy to understand and isn’t repeatable. 

Can you repeat your mission statement and core values right this second? If you struggled right after I asked this question, then that’s your proof that it’s not simple and not repeatable.

Here’s the real test. If you stopped reading this and went up to your employees and asked them what your core values are, how many of them could respond quickly to it.

You might have gone up to a cabin with a bunch of the executive team and created all these mission statements and core values, but if it’s this long thing that nobody really understands, and it’s not simple and repeatable, then it’s not going to work!

Why is this important?

It has to be simple and it has to be repeatable. If your mission statements and core values are not repeated and practiced over and over again, and all you’ve done is put it in a document or put them in a really creative looking wall art, you’re going to have disconnect. If you haven’t done the work to connect your purpose and core values to everything that’s being done within the company, then how is it possible to create the goals for your team if you are not repeating these over and over again? 

When you are repeating them often, you are affirming your team by telling them why they’re doing it right or keeping them accountable when they are doing it wrong. If you’re not repeating these aspects because they are not simple enough, then it’s going to be a huge problem.  

INDIRECT COSTS

Another H.R. company did a nationwide study and estimated that $80-$100 billion dollars a year, are being spent by companies in the U.S. on indirect costs that stem from a result of employees not enjoying their office culture.

If you have a terrible office culture, the reason why a terrible office culture prevents you from profiting, is because you’re not going to get the best out of your team. They are not going to come to work excited to work. They don’t have a purpose that they can align with that they can just pursue on an everyday basis, and they are not making an impact on the world.  

They don't necessarily enjoy the environment, people or even the boss that they work with. All of these aspects are part of the company culture. The interactions, attitudes and the day to day tasks are all part of this. 

There are companies out there that are doing it right. They focus on company culture, and those are the ones that are 756% more profitable.

CALL TO ACTION: Create simple core values that are repeatable. Simple and repeatable. 

The purpose statement here at Stewardship, is that we love people through finances, and we say it over and over again. Everything that we do, we point to that. Even the administration staff who are doing stuff behind the scenes are pointing everything to our purpose. For example, when you do this it helps the sales staff do X, which allows us to love more people through finances.

We point everything to it. Simple, repeatable. Our core values are transparent, innovation, humility and love.

We don’t have to have a declaration of independence with thousands of signatures on it. We just need simple one-word stuff that can be repeated over and over again. 

“Hey, you did a great job, that was humble”. “Hey, you did a great job- that was innovative”. “Hey, thanks for being loving”.

Those are ways that we can affirm our team. Make a purpose and have core values that are simple and repeatable, and that will help you create a much better company culture, so that you can start profiting like some of these other companies. 

Comments or questions?

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