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How to build a company culture can be more complicated than it sounds. First, we have to declare the culture that we want, and then we need to create it. This is especially important in a content performance culture where we want the content to perform and not just happen. Of course, once the culture exists, we want to ensure people know about it.
In this article, I discuss the following:
- Importance of company culture
- Defining company values
- Hiring the right people
- Creating the right culture
- Encouraging collaboration and open communication
Importance of company culture
Before we can wonder how to build a company culture, it’s essential to understand the importance of the right culture. Culture means how people interact with each other, how they work, and how they create content and strategies that have a chance to perform.
In short, the right company culture can help companies hire employees, keep them and drive long-term business results.
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Defining company values and mission statement
The first step in building a company culture is to consider and decide what the company wants to stand for and how its teams interact. That could include:
- Open and transparent communication at all levels of the organization.
- Innovative freedom is celebrated.
- Collaboration and teamwork matter
- Valuing diversity
- Team members support and empower each other
- Work-life balance and well-being matters
- Strive for outstanding performance and celebrate it
- Risk-taking is integral, and learning from mistakes
Hiring the right people
Hiring matters: Employees must have the right skills, mindset, and values. Wayne Mullins of Ugly Mug Marketing mentioned the importance of having the correct cultural values, communicating them, and hiring people with similar values.
When the values aren’t communicated, people might default to their own values, which may or may not align. That’s why it’s essential to be transparent and hire the right people.
Creating the right culture
It’s one thing to write down what the culture should be, but it’s another task to implement it. That takes modeling by leadership, hiring, and also accountability toward cultural values. For values to work in a company, they must be lived by everyone. For example, if a value is a work-life balance, praising the person who works longer days constantly makes no sense. If teamwork is a value, it makes no sense to constantly praise the person that goes at it on their own. The list goes on. Praise people for living the values and helping the company be successful.
Encouraging collaboration and open communication
Collaboration and open communication matter in any corporate culture trying to get things done. Encourage people to be open, honest, and work together. Plus, fostering a culture where employees can collaborate and communicate openly and honestly can help nurture their connection to the company.
Creating the right culture matters – especially when companies want to drive performance, but it goes way beyond just writing down what the culture should be. It also involves implementing it and ensuring the culture sticks around as the company grows.