Company Culture

A culture is the values and practices shared by the members of the group. Company Culture, therefore, is the shared values and practices of the company's employees.

Company culture is important because it can make or break your company. Companies with an adaptive culture that is aligned to their business goals routinely outperform their competitors. Some studies report the difference at 200% or more. To achieve results like this for your organization, you have to figure out what your culture is, decide what it should be, and move everyone toward the desired culture.

Company cultures evolve and they change over time. As employee leave the company and replacements are hired the company culture will change. If it is a strong culture, it may not change much. However, since each new employee brings their own values and practices to the group the culture will change, at least a little. As the company matures from a startup to a more established company, the company culture will change. As the environment in which the company operates (the laws, regulations, business climate, etc.) changes, the company culture will also change.

These changes may be positive, or they may not. The changes in company culture may be intended, but often they are unintended. They may be major changes or minor ones. The company culture will change and it is important to be aware of the changes.

Assess The Company Culture

There are many ways to assess your company culture. There are consultants who will do it for you, for a fee. The easiest way to assess your company's culture is to look around. How do the employees act; what do they do? Look for common behaviors and visible symbols.

Listen. Listen to your employees, your suppliers, and your customers. Pay attention to what is written about your company, in print and online. These will also give you clues as to what your company's culture really is.

Determine The Desired Company Culture

Before you can change the company culture, you have to decide what you want the company culture to look like in the future. Different companies in different industries will have different cultures. Look at what kind of a culture will work best for your organization in its desired future state. Review your mission, vision and values and make sure the company culture you are designing supports them.

Here are some characteristics of company cultures that others have used successfully. Decide which work for your company and implement them.

Mission clarity
Employee commitment
Fully empowered employees
High integrity workplace
Strong trust relationships
Highly effective leadership
Effective systems and processes
Performance-based compensation and reward programs
Customer-focused
Effective 360-degree communications
Commitment to learning and skill development
Emphasis on recruiting and retaining outstanding employees
High degree of adaptability
High accountability standards
Demonstrated support for innovation

Align The Company Culture

You need to align your company culture with your strategic goals if it isn't already.

Develop a specific action plan that can leverage the good things in your current culture and correct the unaligned areas.
Brainstorm improvements in your formal policies and daily practices.
Develop models of the desired actions and behaviors.
Communicate the new culture to all employees and then
over-communicate the new culture and its actions to everyone.

Only a company culture that is aligned with your goals, one that helps you anticipate and adapt to change, will help you achieve superior performance over the long run.
(Source: management.about.com)

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