A
company’s culture is a blend of the vision, values and work environment, along with in-house behavior of the organization. It represents
how a company functions, the way employees feel about it, how it is perceived,
its reputation, and so on.
It is important to have clearly defined values,
beliefs, and attitudes that make up the culture of a company. Moreover, it
helps you to continue to prioritize those values, beliefs and attitudes as the
business grows. It also ensures that the culture remains consistent with the
number of employees you have just a handful, or over a 1,000. A strong company
culture fosters a set of beliefs and behaviors among a company’s employees.
This is not something your employees bring with them when they join you. It
exists through careful cultivation and evolution over the years and plays a big
role in the success of a company.
In a study of CEOs and CFOs in the US, more
than 50% said that corporate culture influenced productivity, creativity,
value, profitability and growth. And almost everyone believed improving their
company’s culture would improve their organization’s value. In another survey,
86% of the respondents considered company culture to be crucial to the success
of any business.
Ways to Maintain Company Culture
Start with Foundation
When launching a company, you start with
certain beliefs and experiences and build it the way you want to. But your
company’s values and vision will go beyond your personality. It is very
important that you build a foundation with these core principles. You also
realize that no matter how big your company grows, you will stick by the
culture you envisioned and work towards it. To have everyone aligned with the
goals and to support your employees, you must use proper leadership style and
values. If your core principle is to offer the best customer service or to be
loyal to your clients, make sure to support that and clearly communicate that
to your employees.
Vision for Culture
When you start building a company, you
visualize certain prospects for it. The very first thing is to create goals and
work towards them. Then, create a plan, hire people and work hard to achieve
those. Having the right vision is important while creating a strong company
culture. And, for that, you must make sure to create realistic and achievable
goals and not some mindless unrealistic ones just to make promises to your
employees which can never become reality.
Rigorous Hiring Practices
The best way to preserve your company’s
culture is to hire people carefully. Make sure that new people joining your
company are well-qualified and also fit your organization perfectly. You can
use a team approach while interviewing prospective candidates. They must also
fit with the people they would be working with every day.
Talk About Your Values
You should make sure that your hiring process
has your company culture and values at the centre. This will also help your
prospective candidates take decisions. So, keep talking about your company
values and culture during the interview process. Ensure that the on-boarding
practices have clear expectations so that those joining the team understand
your culture from the very beginning. You can even ask questions at the
interview based on your company values.
Maintain Traditions
When your company has just a handful of
people, small traditions tend to develop, but these may get lost as you grow.
But this should not happen. Make sure that your traditions continue no matter
how big your business grows—even when you have maybe multiple locations and
more than 1,000 employees.
Recognize Employee Achievements
This must be a part of a company’s culture
because it helps promote loyalty and work satisfaction in employees. You should
also celebrate special dates, like birthdays, anniversaries and important
achievements for your employees. It shows that you care. Doing these small
things help much more than holding big reward ceremonies. People need
recognition to feel appreciated more often than just at the rewards functions
once a year.
Keep Communication Channels Open
To promote a family feel and culture is to keep feedback channels from your employees open. Maintaining an open-door policy will surely help your business stay grounded. You should try to get out of your office once in a while. You can take a look at the production line or have a word with the delivery person and ensure you know the names of the people you interact with. This will help you learn invaluable things and keep you close to your employees and people will see how much you care.
About the Author
Mr. Harish Jagtani, a philanthropist, visionary, businessman of Indian origin, currently based in Democratic Republic of Congo for more than 20 years now, is one of the most reputed business owners in the Indian diaspora as well as the entire expat business community in DRC. The business house caters to multiple domains, including but not limited to Domestic as well as International Air Cargo, real Estate and infrastructure development, healthcare, hospitality as well as CSR.
Coming from humble beginnings from Jaipur, Rajasthan, Mr. Harish Jagtani has come a long way in building this conglomerate with a strong and clear vision, sheer dedication and grit. Starting with a small job in sales, Mr. Harish Jagtani today is a proud and righteous owner of a fleet of airplanes and multiple businesses that cater to the basic and advanced needs of the people of Dem. Rep. of Congo in different sector