Have you read any great small business blog posts over the past few days? We found some interesting ones, and wanted to share them with you:
In our last post, we talked about how to consider your company’s corporate culture when building your team. This week, let’s talk a bit more about how to develop your corporate culture – The values, traditions, and customs that grow from the company’s vision and make the company unique from others.
How to create a strong corporate culture
No matter what business you step into, no matter what industry, you’ll have a corporate culture. The culture of your workplace can have a huge impact on the happiness and productivity of your staff, and that has a huge impact on the success of your business. You need to make your workplace somewhere that’s appealing to potential employees, especially since your salaries and wages as a small business are probably lower than larger companies’.
Here are some ways you can give your corporate culture a boost:
We came across a very interesting article at Inc. this week, titled Build the Best Team Possible (Drycleaning Matters, But Not Why You Think). Here’s an excerpt:
I know CEOs who would never think to go pick up some 20-year-old programmer’s dry cleaning. That’s their mistake. That talented developer was busy creating the product that would make my company successful. A leader’s real job is to build an environment where the most talented people in the industry wants to work, and then do whatever you can to clear the path for their achievement. You win when they do.
Many entrepreneurs hear about specific skills to look for when hiring, or how to conduct interviews. Very important things, of course, but not the entire picture of team building. Here at GoForth, we like to advise entrepreneurs to consider their corporate culture.
The culture of your workplace can have a huge impact on the happiness and productivity of your staff, which in turn has a huge impact on the success of your business. The culture is made up of values, traditions, and customs that grow from the company’s vision and make the company unique from others. It’s not something that the management team usually chooses or designs — although a few nudges in the right direction never hurt anyone.
It’s important to understand the dynamics of your corporate and organizational cultures when introducing new members to your workplace. Before hiring new employees or signing contracts with new advisors, take time to consider how closely the individual will be working with your staff, and assess how they will fit in with the current company culture. We’re not saying everyone has to be best friends, but a good company is made up of people who are happy to work there!