Top tips to maintain company culture by Mariel Norton, myHermes on 02-Sep-2014

It's a shared belief that when beginning a particular task, this is usually the easiest part – it's the maintenance that often proves the most difficult. And in the instance of businesses, this rings true; with many an organisation failing due to not sustaining enough momentum to continue the company's operations, says Mariel Norton of myHermes.

However, the boom of startups has seen company value evolve – with the focus shifting from professional attributes to personal culture. Take the likes of Google and Red Bull, for instance: how many have heard of the giant slide installed at Google's headquarters? Or the quirky floating staircase at Red Bull's London office? In a marketplace where businesses are becoming more competitive than ever in order to attract the best talent, company culture is now a top priority for employers – as well as employees.

Recognising and rewarding individual team members

Instead of people sticking to their designated job descriptions, there's been a significant increase in cross-collaboration – with employees regularly lending their skills to other departments and adding more responsibilities to their role. This movement has resulted in companies recognising key strengths and rewarding their workforce appropriately – with the incentives paying off, thanks to employees feeling valued by their business.

By encouraging employee morale, this in turn inspires the rest of the workforce to hit targets – meeting deadlines earlier than expected, going that extra mile to deliver customer satisfaction, or even simplifying a particular method that results in a more time and cost-efficient workplace. With employees showing they care enough about their work, in turn, employers should show that same care to their employees – with higher employee satisfaction resulting in better employee retention.

Communication and engagement

Businesses are constantly preaching about the importance of transparency, but all too often, industry terminology makes it difficult to practise clear communication. Hiding behind aspects such as statistics and legal jargon cuts off relationships between certain teams and staff members, meaning potential working partnerships are dismissed due to lack of communication.

Additionally, with companies adopting a number of approaches and offering a vast selection of services, this often confuses employees – as they are unsure what the company's goals and values are. By publishing a set of guidelines, this reinforces company engagement; with employees communicating these principles with one another, as well as to their customers.

Another important element to good communication is real-time interaction – not just in emails, but face-to-face. This helps create a feeling of openness, and encourages people to talk to one another instead of hiding behind a screen – and by boosting self-confidence, in turn, boosts staff morale. It also eliminates any miscommunication, with employees able to express themselves clearer; preventing any troublesome circumstances building up in the future when resolving them in person at the outset.

Maintaining momentum

Having long-term goals are essential for any company to succeed – as this provides a long-term service for its customers, as well as career progression for its workforce. So if there's a business model that currently works, why not set greater challenges? Offer additional products, or tap into a different demographic – not only does this create more opportunities, but also instils inspiration into staff. While it's important to practise the same types of jobs, it can be stifling sticking to the same routine; so by presenting more options, this reenergises staff members and gives them something to look forward to.

But it's not just looking to the future, it's also learning from previous experience. Finding what works and what hasn't creates character, and allows a company to see which employees work in which division. Of course it's great to see company profits and how the business has grown as a whole, but don’t neglect individual efforts. Without their passion, they wouldn't have got company momentum going – which essentially, got the business to where it is today.

While there is no one-size-fits-all to maintaining company culture, the old adage of 'variety being the spice of life' definitely applies in this instance. Are there any other factors you believe contribute to sustaining successful company culture? Share your suggestions with us today.

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