You may have heard of company culture and the importance of having a great culture. Whether you think you have an established culture in your company or not, you do. It’s simply a matter of how developed it is and whether it works for or against you in your organization. So, what is company culture and what are the benefits of establishing and enhancing it in your organization? There are many components to company culture; below is only a 30 thousand foot look at answering those questions.
Rob Briggs’ definition of company culture: The social, physical and emotional environment designed to enhance workplace interaction, engagement and synergy, resulting in increased revenue.
Companies that are known for having a great company culture place significant importance on the strength of communication that exists in their organization. Superiors regularly interact with and seek feedback from subordinates and vice-versa. Employee engagement is encouraged by facilitating regular opportunities when employees can not only discuss work related issues but also non-work related topics, to create increased camaraderie. Increasing employee engagement yields innovation and efficiency in getting work accomplished.
The physical environment plays an important role in your company’s overall cultural feel. Is your office well-lit? Are there acknowledgements of successes on the walls, whether that’s corporate successes or internal employee successes? Is your breakroom collaborative and does it invite people to interact with each other? How are your desks situated in your workplace (do they encourage collaboration and interaction)? These questions should get your mind thinking about what to pay attention to in your workplace. Hit me up via LinkedIn for clarification on each of these items.
Encouraging a social environment and providing an inviting workplace will, inevitably, yield a great degree of synergy in your office. The more people talk to each other, share ideas, and the more subordinates and superiors interact, the more comfortable your workplace will be and feel. Consider placing different departments in closer proximity to each other. This will encourage different facets of the business to interact more with each other, which can result in a more synergistic environment. Think about it, if your IT and Marketing departments, for example, shared the same space, how much more opportunity for innovation and project execution could be realized?
Again, this is certainly a 30 thousand foot look at company culture, what it is, what defines it, and how to create it in your organization, but hopefully it’s a good starting place for your organization.
Again, for deeper insight, feel free to reach out to me via LinkedIn. Happy to help!
Other GREAT articles to check out:
http://www.localwork.com/blog/things-you-may-not-have-known-about-the-american-workplace
http://www.localwork.com/blog/what-do-you-like-most-about-being-a-manager