If you’re planning to start a company of your own, you might be thinking of ways on how to build a strong culture.
After all, you’ll be bringing together people from diverse experiences and backgrounds. So there has to be a common thread that ties everyone together in order to make it work.
What are a few ideas on how you can foster the ideal company culture?
Craft clear values and beliefs
Creating your company’s culture starts at the beginning — when you’re still forming the company. This is the stage where the mission, beliefs, and values are still in development.
Make sure to craft a mission or values statement that clarifies what your company stands for. No matter what industry you’re a part of and regardless of the products you provide, you should set your company identity right from the get-go.
These necessary foundations feed into your culture. For instance, if your mission is to make products that improve customers’ health, one of the pillars of your culture could be ensuring the overall well-being of employees.
Make these statements visible throughout your office or workspace. This will help your team members imbibe the company’s purpose and take it to heart. Once they do that, they can easily buy into the culture.
Work hard and have fun
While it’s important for teams to work hard to drive revenue and growth, all work and no play is a surefire way to burn out people.
Find ways for people to have fun and hold meaningful conversations beyond the work. Think of company-sponsored events like team building getaways or afterwork get-togethers. This gives everyone an opportunity to relax and get to know their colleagues more.
Aside from events and gatherings, consider offering company keepsakes and merchandise. There are several cost-effective options you can choose from. For instance, there are suppliers who can help you get high-quality but cheap custom coins.
If you’re looking for something more utilitarian, there also specialty shops that can help you produce company-labelled bags, shirts, and pens.
Overall, these efforts help promote your unique brand and culture throughout the organization and beyond.
Don’t settle when it comes to hiring
There are some companies that are content with hiring people that aren’t a complete culture fit. This can happen for a number of reasons, but oftentimes it’s to urgently fill a crucial position.
Regardless, settling with less than ideal fit can backfire in the long-term. This is because a company is only as good as the people who comprise it. New hires will eventually contribute to the existing culture.
People who fully understand and appreciate the company’s values can help you create a highly collaborative and effective organization.
On the other hand, excessively disruptive members can push your company off track. And when that happens, major inefficiencies can pop up — hindering your progress towards achieving organizational goals.
Keep competent and good people
As you hire and further build up the team, make it a priority to continually invest in the ones that are in it for the long haul.
In other words, retain people who can further drive client outcomes while improving the organization. It’s difficult to find and hire people that can really make an impact within and beyond your company.
And if you let them go without doing your best to retain them, that’s going to be a huge blow. In some cases, big ticket projects could be postponed and organizational progress could take some time to pick up again.
