Building Company Culture in a Complicated World
Takeaways from our 2022 Lerer Hippeau Summit
We discussed topics around people and culture extensively at our 2022 Lerer Hippeau Summit, and for good reason: the pandemic transformed irrevocably the way we work and interact as colleagues. Now, after more than two years of disruption, companies are no longer simply trying to cope. They’re contemplating the future of work and developing new strategies to adjust to the realities of hybrid or remote work environments. Leaders of companies at all stages are grappling with a central question: how do you build a cohesive team and cultivate culture in this new normal?
Our Head of People Operations, Tanaz Mody, discussed the issue with Michael Preysman, Founder and Exec Chair of Everlane, and Annie Trombatore, Chief People Officer of Vox Media. The below features takeaways from their conversation.
Defining what culture means to your company is key. Prior to the pandemic, culture was visible. Were employees happy? Engaged? Having fun working with their teams? Culture often begins with early hires, who generally get along — united by a common passion. They work late with gusto and many companies confuse those patterns with strong culture. As companies grow, momentum inevitably slows and mission alignment as an engine for culture-building isn’t enough. At this point, early companies struggle to emphasize values and behaviors beyond friendship and mission — and for many companies, it’s too late. Companies should start thinking about culture very early on and consider who it might be excluding to mitigate surprises down the road and establish norms. Culture building then becomes the work of reinforcing those norms.
Some sort of in-person presence is crucial. That doesn’t mean everyone needs to work from an office. But some variation on in-person presence is important for building trust and maintaining connectivity — a key ingredient for any healthy culture. Large-format retreats or off-sites and smaller team events or outings can also go a long way toward building community. Companies should aim to offer a range of in-person and digital touchpoints that appeal to employees and build camaraderie.
Intentional communication is paramount when it comes to implementing new policies around in-person presence or back-to-office. Whatever decision a company makes, communicating an established policy on in-person presence is crucial. Hazy or hesitant communications create an uncertain environment for employees. Being explicit and upfront about expectations will help smooth out anxieties. Communications should acknowledge the fact that remote-work has tangible benefits for work-life balance, while also providing clear reasons or proof-points for why in-person presence may advance a company’s key business goals. (“It’s better that we’re together,” won’t cut it after employees have adjusted to remote work and demonstrated productivity.) Companies that successfully navigate this new, disaggregated environment will precisely define the role in-office presence plays and what those days may look like, specifically in the context of community building.
Employee buy-in will help generate internal support. Companies should give their employees the opportunity to provide thoughts on working and culture. Companies should care what their employees want. Conducting regular surveys will demonstrate to employees that leaders value their feedback (and acting on recommendations following audits is just as important). During the onboarding process, new employees should also fill out a questionnaire on work habits and workplace culture. Publishing the results of a survey- or questionnaire-based dialogue will help maintain accountability and demonstrate a company’s focus on creating a strong workplace.
It’s fine to have subcultures. If certain teams are effective working remotely while others have a reason to work at the office, that’s okay. Inevitably, different teams will develop their own, unique ways of working. Company subcultures existed well before the pandemic. Now, as then, the pressing question is how to align those subcultures with the overall mission and values of the company, while maintaining productivity.
Remote-work options can help boost headcount growth. The post-pandemic fact is that being constrained by physical locations can limit a team’s ability to grow. Remote work opens up the ability to hire from anywhere, tapping into talent pools that might previously have been out of reach. Companies that offer the flexibility for remote work should identify which roles can be done virtually, and which ones can’t, and lean into the optionality.
Focus on hiring good managers. As startups begin to scale, hiring strong managers is absolutely critical, as they ultimately have the most control over employee experience. Company values, behaviors, and expectations should be made explicit and serve as the basis for hiring manager-level additions, as well as for holding them accountable to supporting their direct reports. But it’s not just about hiring and promoting managers who are good at hitting KPIs — managers should also be familiar with a company’s core business financials and have a solid understanding of how a company makes money so they can build their teams with those key targets in mind.
When possible, don’t take a “drip, drip” approach to layoffs. At some point along their trajectories, most companies will need to make reductions in their workforces. There is nothing that disrupts employee morale more than a slow, phased approach to laying off employees. Reduction in headcount should be communicated clearly and quickly. Employees who are let go should be taken care of with consideration. The clearer the reasoning given to employees, the better — the “why” is the most critical question and needs to be dealt with quickly and succinctly.
It’s a hard time to be a leader. Increasingly, employees are looking to their company leaders for social and political takes. There’s lots of risk for corporate leaders in today’s landscape, both in terms of external positioning and internal communication. One of the many potential pitfalls in this landscape is in conflating employee support with taking a hard position on current events. CEOs should speak publicly on certain issues, but they need to be discerning, and they need to know that some decisions to stay silent will be met with employee pushback. In other words, internal and external communications need to be considered differently, and also in coordination. Staying silent publicly does not necessarily need to mean a total lack of internal communication with employees (though, of course, statements made privately should be appropriate for public sharing). At the same time, employees will notice what you do and don’t speak on as a leader, and unless you’re consistent and highly discerning, you’ll develop a narrative about which communities you value and which you don’t. But also, it’s possible to recognize employees without taking political stances: offering support and clearing a space for conversations within the workplace can help to satisfy internal culture needs while allowing external discourse to stay focused on core business issues.
Further reading:
- WFH Doesn’t Have to Dilute Your Corporate Culture via Harvard Business Review
- How to Build a Strong Organizational Culture — And Why You Must Do It Now via Gartner
- What CEOs Must Consider When Wading Into Politics and Policy Discussions via Harvard Law School Forum on Corporate Governance
