Building Your Corporate Culture

If you have been in business for any length of time, you understand that your corporate culture plays a key role in your success. Your staff takes its cues from you and your management on how to behave, including how they treat your customers. To build a positive culture that inspires your employees, gives your customers the best experience, and creates an atmosphere of innovation, you need to build a positive culture.

Set Corporate Goals

Your company’s culture is based on your goals, vision, values, and mission. When you started your company, you probably developed a mission and vision. You may have gone so far as to set values for your business. However, have you set short- and long-term goals? If you have, did you share them with your staff? Are they in locations where your employees can see them regularly?

Goals give your business and employees something to focus on and work towards. They motivate and inspire.

Encourage a Positive Work Environment

You have probably worked in an environment that drags you down. The bosses yell at the staff while the employees gossip and complain. These are not productive environments. To turn this around, take time every day to recognize and promote positivity. Say “thank you” to your staff for their hard work. Smile as you walk around the building. Look at challenges as opportunities. You and your management team need to lead by example, so take time to implement positive initiatives in your company. Speak with those who have negative reactions and show them how to have more positive reactions. Do not allow management to degrade, unnecessarily criticize, or berate your staff under any circumstances. Positivity starts at the top, so be an example.

Give Your Staff a Purpose

Most people do not want a job. They want a purpose, a reason to do the things they do at work every day. They need to know that their work matters and why before they feel satisfied with their jobs. Take your mission, vision, values, and goals and show your employees how their work contributes to these key concepts and your corporate strategies. Give them something to feel proud of.

Start Where You Are

Your corporate culture cannot change overnight, and you likely will not change everything you desire at once. Therefore, start where you are. Search for the most important changes you want to make first through staff surveys and observation. Take one initiative at a time and add the next as you start gaining progress on the first.

Although no corporate culture is perfect, none is totally abysmal either. Therefore, take steps to create a strong company culture and watch it change your business.