Last year I wrote on the importance of culture and asked 7 key questions about your business. You can read the article here.
Culture defines your business. Culture is your business identity. It provides a framework for staff to operate within and assists them to understand what your business stands for. If your staff understand what your business stands for, and what it doesn’t stand for (equally important), they can identify with the business and ensure they operate within the guidelines. People need to identify with their place of work, it improves motivation. This is proven. They spend a long period of time in the business; they need to understand the why.
Culture is one of the key foundations to any successful business. You get the culture right, you live and breathe the culture, and you will have a motivated and dedicated workforce. So why is it that so many businesses large and small don’t take this seriously? It is treated like insurance. You know you should have it, it’s there as a contingency plan when things go wrong but you can’t be bothered ensuring you have the right level of cover because that would take time. So you tick the box. Yes, we have culture!
One thing I will bet my house on. Your business will suffer. If it’s not now, it will in the future. Only last week, I conducted an exit interview with a staff member leaving after 3 years of tenure. Key reason for leaving was that she had no idea what the culture of the current business they worked in was, and was attracted to a clear picture of the culture that was the new organization. This person had no idea of the vision, the values, how they fit in and why they were doing what they were doing. After three years, they were exhausted. Tired and over it. The new opportunity was too good to refuse. Funnily enough, I asked three other team members in the business if they understood the culture. The answer was no. It’s only a matter of time!
Business Leaders, not defining the culture of your business will hurt you. It does not provide a foundation for a sustainable workforce that is motivated. Put culture on top of your to do list and ensure it is defined, lived and breathed. The results will speak for themselves.