What are you doing to foster a good company culture?

As a consultant, I get to see first-hand the cultures of many different companies. While every CEO likes to think they have a great company culture, in my experience, very few actually do. Most are OK, some are terrible, but only a few are really good.

If you’ve ever been fortunate enough to be part of a really good company culture, you can spot the difference immediately.

I spent about two years with a tech company that was well known for its great work culture. I must admit I joined the company somewhat skeptically, wondering if they would live up to everything I had heard. I was delighted to find they surpassed my expectations.

What did they do differently from the other companies that pay lip service to culture?

Firstly, they were intentional about the company culture. Culture became part of the brand and was an important factor, given consideration in everything from external tradeshows to weekly team meetings.

One of their core values was giving back – so every corporate event was also an opportunity to raise funds for a cause, with the company matching attendee donations for selected charities. And for things like Pink Shirt Day, work from home employees were encouraged to participate and take photos from their zoom meetings with everyone in a pink shirt. These were then posted in a slack channel for all to see!

They even used culture as a criterion in the interview process. Besides the typical screening interviews, there was also a ‘meet for breakfast’ stage where the goal was to get to know the candidates as people. In some cases, a candidate that was missing one of the desired qualifications might still make the shortlist if it was felt that they would be a good fit with the team.

Like all growing companies, they faced challenges as they grew, not the least of which was maintaining open communication. What was once a Monday morning stand up meeting for the whole team in the office grew to a Monday morning video from the CEO that could be played in any office around the world. In addition to the typical business updates, the video also highlighted celebrations for new hires, key milestones and anything else that was going on that mattered. It was a great way for remote employees to still feel part of the team.

The company went through an acquisition so unfortunately, my time at this company was all too short. However, the lessons I learned about culture I will take with me (and to all my clients) as I move forward.

The interesting thing about culture is that it doesn’t necessarily have to cost a lot of money – it just takes a commitment of time and energy to keep culture intentional. And the results are powerful. Imagine what your team could accomplish if each team member was truly engaged…company culture could be your secret weapon! Every company I work with now is facing a hiring challenge – good employees are hard to find and even harder to keep. Think about what you could do to enhance your company culture and the impact that would have on your teams!

To learn more about what Rikely Consulting can do for your business and your culture, contact us at jennifer.rikely@gmail.com.