Leaders Infusing Company Culture

My last blog discussed the importance of company values in securing a culturally rich workplace. It is now time to put the values into practice. I thought of sharing my opinions with the leaders on how they can infuse their company culture through the organization’s core values.

Getting Started

I wish to bring the company values out of the documents. However, building a place where everyone reads and follows all core values takes a lot of work. Let’s agree – not every employee can immediately adapt their behaviors as per the company’s core values. In these situations, a leader must get up and communicate with employees. I relied on our C-suite managers and team leaders (TLs) in my organization to take up this responsibility. I had two reasons for bringing in the team leaders. One, the leads are closer to the front-line executives who are putting their effort from different offices, hence it becomes easier for the TLs to speak to their members as opposed to the business leaders who are operating from a centralized location. Second, the TLs have a tremendous influence on their members. Due to their proximity with the members, they can strike a chat anywhere, anytime  – right near the elevators, over team lunches, or during formal feedback sessions. TLs inspire their teams to translate the core values into action. Call it a “boss factor” or ” impact,” leaders taking charge can influence engagement by 70%.

Recruiting the Right People

An HBR survey reveals that 65% of employees value the workplace culture as compared to any other aspect. Even “remuneration” comes low on their priority list, for them company values and a culturally thriving environment matter the most. Forward-looking leaders aim at recruiting such candidates as they know that such employees have the same mindset as the leader and are ready to play an integral part in building the company culture. 

To transform the culture, these people need a bit of training that can start from the induction sessions. In these sessions, the new joiners get a glimpse at employee experience practices, office unwindings, engagement programs, and even team-building activities. Irrespective of how short the exposure is, the sessions help the new recruits to broadly understand the firm’s culture. From day one, employees get a sense of inclusivity in the environment which in turn influences their behavior. The sense gets reinstated when their managers and colleagues involve them in team discussions, translate the company values with the help of dos and don’ts, and promote them to explore by acknowledging and answering their questions. 

What impact do such employees make on a firm’s culture? 

When such employees realize they are adding value to the company’s goal, they strive to learn and grow further in the firm. They put their mind and soul into their work to make a difference. These employees strive every day to become efficiently productive so that they get the chance to take up higher responsibilities. Unknowingly or knowingly, these employees end up building a positive culture within the company.

Completing the Culture with Ethics

Whether an existing employee or a new recruit, they are bonded to each other by the code of ethics. I strongly feel that the “code” strengthens the company values and influences the culture. It not only helps the employees in giving them the right direction but also pulls in all the stakeholders towards it.

At Ergode, our code of ethics revolves around integrity, teamwork, and accountability. TLs and managers encourage their employees to imbue the concepts and render them through their work. While achieving monthly targets, communicating to customers, or defining a strategy, we ensure that we stay within the perimeter of our code so that we can instill confidence among our team members, customers, and investors.

Conclusion

Leadership makes a difference. When you bring in leaders in the process, hire the right people, and shape your firm’s culture with ethics, you succeed in establishing your firm’s sustainability. This is my approach to building a company culture. Are your methods similar or do they differ?

Let me know in the comment section.