Participants 8
Corporate Culture
Introduction: the power of the corporate culture.
Corporate culture describes the beliefs, practices, and values that make up your organization. It is fundamental to any business’ growth—or lack of it. A strong corporate culture not only has the power to impact employee retention and satisfaction, it also has a significant influence on the customer experience.
One of the things I value the most about my past business experiences is that I had a chance to work with people from different backgrounds and cultures. I realize how important it is to have people from different cultures on your team, helping you to improve your organization’s productivity, performance and efficiency.
That’s why many companies strive to engage and retain top talent, by investing heavily in their corporate culture. No matter how much you improve the corporate website, improve its conversion rate, or use expensive copywriting tactics when optimizing your landing pages, your efforts will ultimately be in vain if your business culture is hostile towards customers.
Think about it: there are few things that are more discouraging for a customer who just landed on your website than to make a purchase and realize that your company doesn’t appreciate their business. In some cases, this could even result in the customer being offended or refusing to buy altogether.
We are living in an era that is probably one of the most disruptive times in history. Technology has reached a point where any business can reach customers all over the world, but that’s no simple challenge. All companies, big and small, need to work smarter and more efficiently. When your customers are from other countries, offices all over the world, or only buy from you online — you have to try even harder.
US culture: work/life balance, goals
There are several factors that affect how a company’s culture manifests, but in order to set the general tone for your company, it’s important to first figure out who your workers are and why they work for you. Once you understand this, it becomes easy to lay down the ground rules that dictate what your business’s corporate culture is going to be, as well as any activities or practices that employees should avoid while on the job.
American corporate culture is much different than corporate culture in other countries, and you’d be wrong if you assumed it was just a small difference. There are vast differences in the ways that US companies operate when compared to others around the world.
Corporate culture should be not only a primary focus of management, but the primary focus of employees too. But perhaps the major aspect of culture is not which food is offered at day’s end or whether you can wear jeans on Fridays. Instead, it’s how the organization values its people in terms of pay, benefits, and training.
The answer to this all-important question can be found in the central values at the heart of your company. To that end, be clear—communicate these values to employees, and don’t compromise on them. Just like employee satisfaction, if your corporate culture is honest with employees about what’s important in an organization, they’ll respond accordingly when their values align with those of the company.
Corporate Culture: Pros and cons
Culture is a reflection of how an organization sees itself. It includes how leaders think and the values they believe in. Culture has been created by individuals over years, even decades of work. Imagine the different kinds of cultures you would find interacting with each other: a small family owned business, an engineering company, a marketing firm and a medical supply company. Each one has a specific culture that grows from their backgrounds.
Corporate culture can be hard to define, but it is usually developed through the values that are upheld in the company. Typically, companies will value factors such as diversity and inclusion, innovation, fun, work/life balance, flexibility, and goals. Companies also typically have a mission and vision statement. This statement says where they see themselves going in the future as they would like to be perceived by current and future customers. It also takes into account their goals for 20 years from now.
The USA’s corporate culture is generally more relaxed and friendly than Asian counterparts. In Asia, work becomes work and everything else becomes secondary. Because the US culture promotes work/life balance and dedication to goals, employees are happier with their careers as a result.
From a work/life balance standpoint, corporate culture is a bit different than in the UK. While the UK, and Europe in general, are working towards more flexible schedules and modes of operation to prevent burnout, the US has been average in this regard. According to a 2006 study sponsored by Cisco Systems that compares U.S. corporate culture to other countries’ corporate cultures, US workers spend an average of 49 hours at their office (compared with 41 hours for Germany and 32 hours for France). Even so, there are still companies who are making strides towards improving work/life balance for their employees.
Overall corporate culture can be a benefit and a detriment to most employees. It is up to the employee and their manager to create or maintain a positive environment in the workplace. Employees are responsible for how they act and react on the job. A company policy of diversity may be helpful, but a diverse workforce does not mean that there will no longer be negative behavior among employees. While it is difficult for companies to monitor all employee’s performance, it is important that all efforts are made, including policies and other suggestions to foster a productive corporate culture.
Conclusion:
Now the question remains on how to enact a corporate culture and how to maintain one. There are many different methods that may work for your business, but what is implemented ultimately varies on the personality of the people involved. Not everyone will get along or will be comfortable and it is crucial that people know what to expect when they come on board with your company. You should also find employees who have a similar outlook when it comes to management. An environment where there are multiple cultures, or personalities, can be very detrimental to an organization.
There are many things that need to be considered when trying to build and maintain a positive corporate culture. A relaxed atmosphere may be a necessity if you work with younger people or creative employees that you want to keep creative and innovative. An experienced and knowledgeable staff can often curve the direction of a new hire and impact their overall career with the firm. Corporate culture is more than happy hours at the bar for employee’s or Friday afternoon drinks. These things can create camaraderie among colleagues, but are not directly related to the corporate culture. Corporate culture needs to be implemented by management and leadership from the top down.
Ultimately, corporate culture is a powerful motivator of workplace productivity. With the fragmented nature of today’s workplace and the fact that there are very few third-party entities that are involved in day-to-day business, corporate culture has become extremely important. At the heart of any corporate culture is its employees. Every business must ask itself important questions about how to create a positive environment that encourages optimal performance among its employees. The answers to those questions will be different for every worker and every company, but without taking an active role in planning and governing your corporate culture, you risk having it imposed on you by one or two people who would not make the best decision on how your company should be structured.