The hard work of company culture

Over the last year, my company has undergone some serious cultural change. We affectionately refer to it as our “agile adventure”. Agile working is all the rage these days but few people seem to really understand it. Often the starting point is a policy of allowing a team to work where they want, when they want, as long as they’re delivering. I prefer my colleague Jules’ definition of “balancing the needs of the individual with the needs of the business” (Jules leads on Culture and Development for Life Size Media and none of this would be happening without her). Philosophically that nails it, but it still doesn’t get at what an agile culture actually means.

I think of it using two words that are directly plagarised from Netflix’s infamous culture guide: freedom and responsibility. This document has been a huge influence and help for us, in a landscape where useful references are few and far between. Despite the buzz, very few companies seem to have truly implemented an agile culture. At least not to the extent that we intend to. As we’re beginning to discover, putting the concept of freedom and responsibility at the heart of your business involves a seismic shift in work culture — and a lot of hard work.

Which is why 1) we have someone (Jules) who spends 50% of her time focusing on company culture and 2) the two of us spend several hours a month sat in a coffee shop (keeping it agile) in deep discussion about what’s working, what’s not and how far we still have to go. And there’s a lot to discuss. Shifting your company culture isn’t something that happens overnight. You don’t get to have a good idea, send round an email and wake up with a company that works in a completely new way. Particularly when traditional modes of working are so embedded in the business world that you often don’t see the traps you’re falling into.

It’s easy to think of culture in philosophical, idealistic terms but real change means a lot more doing than talking. Generating ideas with your team is a great starting point but then you have to focus on practicalities. So far our journey has involved rethinking working hours, working environment, tools for out-of-the-office communication, how to handle holidays, whether or not to use job titles, organisational structure, meeting protocol and the list goes on and on. And it’s not a case of implementing a procedure and moving on to the next item on the list. We’ve experimented in each of these areas, trying things that didn’t work, coming back to where we started and trying again.

So is it worth it? There are times when I’ve asked myself this question. Compared to delivering for existing clients and generating new business, developing culture can sometimes feel like a bit of a luxury. But of course it’s not. You culture is who you are as a company, it’s your point of differentiation. Ultimately it’s why people want to work with and for you. And, as a business owner, building an efficient and independent culture is the only way you will ever get some freedom of your own. So go for it, get started today, take the first step and see where it takes you. Just be prepared to put the hard work in along the way. Oh, and find yourself a Jules!

For more on our agile working adventure, take a look at Jules’ blog series of follow us on Instagram.