Transparency, values, and traditions are three keys to use when trying to understand your company culture.
Transparency is Key Element
When you go through a change, it’s bound to be a bit of a whirlwind. Start-ups might be used to move at a fast pace, but that gets amplified as your business grows. With so much going on– and so quickly– it’s important that upper management be as transparent with everyone as possible so that everyone says on the same page.
Empower trust in your co workers that they make the right decisions. The benefits of trust and empowering others far outweighs the fear that mistakes will be made. Pick two or three of the top things for you to get done that day and leave the rest to your team. It’s very important that your entire company knows they are integral part of the company’s success.
You can’t lose sight of your company’s core values
This is a big one. No matter how big your company gets, your culture will always be defined by your people — not by perks like casual dress and free snacks. If you want to preserve your company’s culture, you need to continue to hire people who uphold your company’s core values, whatever those may be. Culture is never stagnant–it’s either strengthened or weakened by those who you bring aboard.
A big core part of this is also listening. Listen to those who are a part of it. Whether its submitting a survey with a few questions or asking someone how their day is going, it’s important to those who are a part of your company’s culture. Foster a type of environment that co-workers feel comfortable enough and reach out to them, no matter what their status in the company.
Hold onto your company’s traditions
Naturally as your company may grow, some perks of being in a small business will go away — but that doesn’t mean you let go of traditions that your employees have grown to love. As explained in “5 Building Blocks of Culture” Rituals (aka traditions) are an important part of your culture and needs special attention.
Those who work for you don’t have to love every aspect of your company, but they should share the passion and fully support what your company stands for.
Share something, have a potluck every Friday, create a place where everyone can have a good conversation. Food usually can bring everyone into a relaxing conversation.
Growth is a learning process, and one that we are in the middle of here at PlanPlus Online. From a small start-up to the dream of becoming the leading provider of Culture-Centric Productivity CRM provider for clients, our evolving company culture has been a cornerstone of what makes this company so great– and one that we are proud to be apart of.
