You want a great company? Let me tell you a secret…Start with your culture!

Editor’s note this is part one of a two part series. 

As a consultant and as someone who hangs out with people everyday in various fields, I have to tell you, some people just don’t get it. Especially the people at the top, the ones who can actually make the difference in their companies.

You want a great company?

Let me tell you a secret…Start with your culture!

More than once, I’ve been called in to help an organization “fix” things in their business. I get the “these workers are lazy,” “the turnover here is horrible, we are a great family business, why is this happening,” and “I spend so much money hiring top talent and they leave before a year is up.”

Well, I’ve found that most times the problem is the culture. There are literally hundreds if not thousands of articles and books on Organizational Culture. So what exactly is culture? According to Frances Frei and Anne Morris at Harvard Business Review:

It’s important because so many have yet to get it through their heads that it’s the culture! A CEO, Founder, Director, whatever leadership role you have can spend thousands of dollars on many things but if culture is not communicated, addressed, evaluated and rewarded, the problems will continue.

The real problem could be you. Here are the real problems at the core:

• You don’t want to look at yourself.
• You don’t want to check yourself.
• You don’t want to have to change yourself.
• You want others to always be the problem but can never entertain that you could be the problem.

If your business matters to you, culture should matter to you.

Not the lip service “I care” but the “ I will do whatever is necessary to bring self-awareness to my life” so that what you say and do enhances how people feel working for you and your company.

So maybe you are grasping the importance of having a strong company culture, but even with the desire to build one, it’s not always obvious what steps to take. There are five steps you can take today to improve company culture, both in the short and long term.

In part two we’ll cover the Five Steps to Improve Your Company Culture and key takeaways.

Below are three additional Latin Business Today company culture article abstracts including links to the full article: 

Creating a High Trust Culture at Work 

Trust is built and maintained by many small actions over time. If you want to build trust you have to be intentional about it across the organization. A trusting workplace affords employees a comfortable environment for open communication, risk-taking, innovation, and achievement. If your people don’t have trust inside your company, then they can’t transfer it to your customers.

Creating a high trust culture at work will be one the best things you do for your business! It’s a new year…get to it!

Branding Doesn’t Matter When Culture Doesn’t Work

4 steps a small business owner can take to correct a culture issue.

In just a few short years in the business world, it has become all about “the brand” of the company. Even the person behind the brand.

I find the latter to be most important. In working with organizational clients to help their “employees” understand culture, I’ve learned that the toughest ones to understand “culture” are the ones that are partly responsible for the culture they currently have…the CEO!

Maintaining Control of the Small Business Workplace Culture

It’s important to stay on top of who is having the dominant influence on the workplace culture

Your culture can benefit as a result of positive relationships and even friendships among co-workers.

People need emotional support and a feeling that someone has their back and workplace friendships can contribute to this culture. Encouraging healthy workplace collaboration can increase engagement and productivity and benefit your workplace culture. As the leader of a business it is important to stay on top of who is having the dominant influence on the workplace culture you want to establish and grow.

If you want to set the tone or cultivate a certain culture then be certain you are paying attention.

Related content:

What Your Company Culture Says About Your Brand In a Time of Crisis

Maintaining Control of the Small Business Workplace Culture

Small Business Owners Take Note: Employees Value Values