Company Culture
Company culture is a shared set of workplace beliefs, values, attitudes, standards, purposes and behaviors according to bamboorhr.com. Regardless of the size of your organization, customers and clients can be drawn to or pushed away from how they perceive the collective experience of working with your firm.
Have you ever had a truly rewarding experience with a company? It can be the attitude of the employee who answers your phone call or the smile and humor of the employee who cashed out your transaction or the conversation generated by the sales representative you interact with at a trade event. We all have had good experiences and bad experiences as part of our everyday work environment. We will often recall the very bad interactions as well as the very positive ones. Both are impactful ones our choices going forward.
In order to ensure your prospective clients or customer base have a positive experience with you and your company culture, take some time to identify what you wish that experience to be. Not everyone has the gift of conversation or humor so focus on simple aspects of which you are in control. Examples include returning emails on a timely basis, never longer than 24 hours and always returning them. Even if you do not have the answer they seek, let them know you have received the inquiry and will respond back as soon as you have the answer they seek. It is as simple as communicating. Not communicating on a timely basis can send a bad message and disrupt any attempt to set a positive company culture.
If you are a sole proprietor, consider how your consultants or business partnerships impact your perceived company culture. Do you bring in colleagues who are quiet or do not participate in project dialogue? If yes, make sure to consider the impact here. Their expertise may be critical to the project but any lack of communication can be harmful to your firm’s perceived company culture.
As the leader of your organization, set up your project colleagues to succeed. Make sure you have weekly or monthly project calls and give all participants an opportunity to discuss their part. Go around the room, virtual or in person, and ask each contributor about their respective work. This will always ensure that every party is heard. Be sure to think them for their input and praise their participation. Inclusion and acknowledgment of their efforts will be sure to set a positive tone.
Be positive, communicate on a timely basis, and encourage the conversation. We have found these elements to be critical in establishing a company culture you can be proud of, regardless of the size of your firm. When all else fails, just be kind, always a winning strategy.
Be well.
