Establishing open communication channels for all members of the organization and periodically analyzing the results obtained are key to achieving sustainable growth and maintaining the proposed corporate culture.
Defining corporate culture as that system of values and beliefs on which relationships between the different members of an organization are built, and although true, reflects a partial idea of the current implication that corporate culture has in them.
Corporate culture is inherent to all organizations: It is the result of the actions that its members carry out when no one sees them and, consequently, it is also what the new additions learn without anyone having taught them, what is created from within the organization and is projected outside.
Building a strong and coherent corporate culture isn't easy or immediate. It is a dynamic process in which all members of the organization participate. from the first moment they are part of it and, therefore, they relate to the rest of the members. It is important to be aware that corporate culture is an intangible, that it is not planned and created in a conscious way does not imply that it does not exist. Therefore, when it is not the management of the company itself that clearly establishes priorities and lines of action, corporate culture will develop organically as a result of the interrelationship between its different members.
In today's article, we developed the different points that, based on our experience in entrepreneurship and investing, companies must take into account in order to maintain a solid corporate culture as they gain traction in the market and, consequently, increase the number of employees that make up their workforce.
Importance of communication
As in many other areas where human relationships take place, communication plays a fundamental role within any company or organization.
A leader who leads by example, places the purpose of the company at the forefront and is able to communicate it not only in words, but also through the way in which he behaves on a daily basis with other levels of the company, is essential for other employees to connect with why and for what. Corporate culture acts as an emotional anchor, aligning members of the organization with a common purpose. For this reason, big brands such as Apple or Microsoft base their success on a solid and well-communicated corporate culture.
On the other hand, being aware of the needs of employees will help to design the necessary strategies to prevent them from deviating from what was proposed and may continue to feel linked to the company's ultimate goal of generating value, for which they were initially attracted to the workplace and to the corporation itself. This process, which usually occurs spontaneously when the company has a relatively small number of employees, becomes increasingly complex as the entity grows and the number of employees increases, so it is important to establish processes and measures aimed at ensuring that employees feel heard, connected and valued.
To be able to maintain the proposed corporate culture, it is necessary have open communication channels for each and every one of the company's employees, regardless of the size of this one.
The importance of transversality
It is important that each of the strategies that affect the creation and maintenance of corporate culture be applied transversally to the entire organization. Achieve align the entire organization towards the same vision will facilitate teamwork towards common objectives.
Along the same lines, a leader with a clear vision and the ability to transmit it will prevent corporate culture from being created organically from the lower levels of the entity, affecting and modifying what is strategically proposed by the higher levels.
Creating an Enabling Environment that encourages the creation of the type of culture that is intended will help members at all levels of the organization to align themselves with the ultimate goal. It is not enough to say that you want to implement an innovative corporate culture, measures must be taken so that the different members that belong to the organization are dedicated to it. Following the example, setting up monthly meetings where anyone can present their ideas so that, later, those that are feasible and consistent with the business strategy are implemented in a real way; it will reinforce the perception of working in an open company predisposed to innovation. As the entity grows, the department of human resources must be able to adapt established processes to the new size of the organization. The same thing happens with traditions, the entity must find ways to adapt them as their size increases, since they represent the heart of it and give a sense of unity.
Establish middle managers
Not only when the entity grows, the establishment of teleworking and hybrid teams, as an obvious part of the new normal, require establishment of middle managers capable of organizing and understanding needs of the members of each and every one of the different levels that are part of the organization.
When you don't have well-defined dynamics, distance (whether physical or felt) makes communication difficult. Therefore, it is important to know how many middle managers are required so that the entity and its purpose are not depersonalized. According to a study conducted by Cisco, 74% of Spanish employees believe that the more dispersed the teams are, the more leaders need to reinforce communication.
The incorporation of new figures such as the Chief Happiness Officer or the Head of Remote, whose objective is, among others, to attract and retain talent and to facilitate, even in the distance, the creation of solid relationships between team members, respectively, will favor the maintenance of a corporate culture shared by all members of the organization.
Importance of hiring
The complexity of managing teams when they scale is exponential. Consequently, Be coherent during the hiring of new talent, it is essential to prevent the projected corporate culture from deviating from the strategically planned one as the entity grows.
Talk about values throughout the process It is just as essential as being clear about what is expected of the new employee or what the tasks to be performed will be. Making expectations clear from the start will prevent later conflicts. In addition, placing the purpose of the entity at the center of the hiring process will help the candidates themselves to eliminate themselves if they feel that they do not fit with it, which, in turn, will increase the chances of finding the right candidate in a short period of time, optimizing the process. To do this, the human resources department must design selection processes that facilitate the demonstration of both the values and the knowledge and technical skills that are sought in future employees. This process does not imply that companies should establish a closed profile as far as their workers are concerned, we must be aware of the importance of diversity in organizations, although always with a common shared focus.
Evaluate measurable competencies will prevent the final hiring manager from always prioritizing the same person profile.
Subsequently, design onboarding processes taking into account the corporate culture that you want to execute and transmit, will make it easier for new additions to the company to know the values of the entity from the outset. Create an easily identifiable identity and establish mentoring and leadership training processes during the first few weeks will facilitate the transmission of corporate culture. Every employee should be able to convey the mission of their company and the objectives for which they work.
Periodic analysis of the results
Establish success indicators, both qualitative and quantitative, it will help determine what actions need to be taken to ensure the construction and maintenance of a solid corporate culture during the different stages of growth that an entity may go through.
Thus, design and implement procedure manuals (suitable for the environment in which the company operates and the moment it is going through) It will avoid misinterpretations, which tend to increase as the number of people on whom a business decision depends grows. These manuals help align the entire corporation towards the same objective and, at the same time, they highlight what is not aligned with expectations, making it easier to eliminate, rectify or change; avoiding endangering the collective.
In the same way, establishing success indicators will make visible the differences between the planned culture and the one actually executed by the members of the company, and will allow us to establish the necessary actions to align the two realities.
In times of growth, being able to align the proposed corporate culture with the one executed means that individual work reinforces teamwork to achieve common objectives, without the need to constantly consider the right direction in which to go.
From Fact&Co, are aware of the importance of creating a business culture and a pleasant environment, capable of attracting the best talent and keeping team members motivated towards a common goal. To do this, they organize Power-Ups of talent, culture and innovation to take your startup to the next level.
