The hammerhead shark has one of the greatest peripheral visions in nature. With it, the shark has a near 10 times better sensory ability than other ‘classic sharks’. This allows the shark to be completely in tune with its surroundings, able to detect tiny changes and respond accordingly, making the hammerhead shark one of the most adaptable and ultimately successful creatures in the ocean. It’s all about knowing ones environment. The same can be said in the workplace. Management that is ‘in-tune’ with its surroundings, and is aware of the company culture and able to adapt or amend any problematic staff, equipment or situation will achieve the greatest company culture available. But what exactly is company culture, and what can be done to attain and retain it at its optimum efficiency? The Bottom Line A company’s culture is its personality. It underlies motivation, creativity and morale. It determines how members act, how enthusiastically they contribute to teamwork, problem solve, innovate, productivity, customer service and quality. It, essentially, is the essence of the company, dictating whether it is friendly or tough, driven and aggressive or apathetic and passive. Culture is the real bottom line; a company with a well developed culture easily outperforms its competitors. • Culture is not separate from the company • Cultures tell us how to behave • Newcomers know the company culture immediately • 74% of employees work in poorly developed company cultures • Culture reflects the leadership style But if there is a problematic culture in a company, what can be done to rectify this? Stop, Look and Listen The easiest way to assess the company’s culture is to simply look around. How do the employees act? Look for common behaviours, attitudes towards their colleagues, sluggish movement and motivation. Do they look happy? Most importantly, listen to your employees, your suppliers and your customers. Pay attention to what is written about your company or any hearsay you may come across. All these factors can give you clues as to what your company culture really is. Build Your Culture Decide what values you want, what you would like to rectify about your current company culture; whether it is low morale, poor productivity or strained relationships between managers and employees. Once you know what you want to achieve, use these actions as a way to build you new ideal company culture: Build Relationships: Good relationships are the foundations of better communication, improved decisions and increased performance. Get to know people personally, preferably through confidential dialogue. Don’t Take Away Problems: An employee with a problem should be motivated to solve it. Coaching to solve an issue as opposed to dictating a method will encourage active problem solving, and a culture of employees that seek to do so. Fitting In: Ensure employees know where they fit into the grand scheme of the company. Make sure they know what the bigger picture is, both in company direction and financial goals. This is particularly important in areas they control (i.e. customer satisfaction) Recognise and Reward: Ceremonies, bonuses and promotions should be in place to recognise valued employees and their achievements. This should be a public event. Ask: Want to know the best company culture for your business? Then ask those that play the biggest part, the employees! What part of their personalities can you implement into your businesses personality? What problem areas do they have that need addressing? Find this out in staff surveys and group feedback sessions. Get Culture and Reap the Benefits Ultimately the benefits of acknowledging the company culture and addressing any problems in its ‘personality’ far exceed the detriments of the time, effort and money it takes to rectify the issue. A well developed culture has been proven to increase productivity by a minimum 10%, but expect this to be far exceeded, often doubled, within 18 months of the implemented change. There are few things more satisfying than being part of a well-developed company culture. Satisfaction and happiness go hand-in-hand with improved performance. Leaders can directly change their workplace culture by changing how they do what they do. By using the tools available to them and utilising these, realising the current climate in the workplace and acknowledging any issues that may be in-place; they can adapt, adopt and ultimately improve the culture of their company. Being in-tune with your environment increases your survival rates in an extremely competitive marketplace considerably, so be the hunter not the hunted. |
Ocean Consulting is a highly professional, privately owned, recruitment consultancy, specialising in Permanent & Contract recruitment within the commercial sector. With over 14 years recruiting experience within the senior management team, we focus on placing all disciplines from Receptionist’s & administrator’s right up to senior manager / director level positions within the Thames Valley area & beyond and have an excellent reputation gaining a high majority of our business through word of mouth. Why? We are very passionate about making a difference…it’s that simple If you would like to know more about Ocean visit our website at www.dipintheocean.co.uk or reply to this e-mail and take@dipintheocean.co.uk |
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