Company Culture — When the Vibe is Dead

Company culture is, without any doubt, the company’s brand. It doesn’t matter how amazing the mission and vision statements are, if a company has bad culture inside, the brand is impacted on the outside. And a bad brand can quickly mean game over.

Why is Company Culture Important?

Let’s start this discussion by calling it the company vibe. Because that’s what you feel and see when you come into contact with a great company. A killer-good vibe. The staff are passionate, vibrant and motivated. The way they answer the phone is different, the way they host a presentation is different, the way they take an average of 15 less sick days per year is different.

When the company vibe is great, staff are engaged and they want to be involved with the company on a different level. It’s not just their 9–5 anymore, it becomes a passion of sorts.

A great company vibe means less staff turn over. Highly engaged employees are 87% less likely to leave the company they work for than their counterparts.

A great company vibe means more company revenue. Companies who have a great vibe and engaged employees vs. competitors with low engagement levels enjoy 2.5 times more revenue growth.

B*tch Don’t Kill My Vibe! The Silent Vibe Killers.

The Bad Eggs. Everyone has worked with one, managed one or seen the effects on a team of someone with a poor attitude. Essentially, they are a vibe thief. It is imperative any bad eggs are dealt with swiftly. If they can’t be helped, help them and the company by moving them on. If left unchecked a bad egg will spoil the rest of the fridge.

A Company That Communicates Together Stays Together. Companies are complex and make decisions both big and small most hours of the day. When big decisions are being made that effect job roles, reporting lines, client wins, losses or structure changes, make sure your staff find out internally and promptly. Nothing kills the company vibe by finding out critical information through third parties. Don’t let company ‘breaking news’ be announced by the same social media sites that have a ‘who wore it better’ online voting poll.

In Our Staff We Trust. You hired them to do a job. Empower them and support them to do it. Love them and train them. Engage and challenge them. Reward and grow them. Companies with highly engaged employees outperform those without by up to 202%.

Robbing Peter and Screwing Paul. Companies need to make money, if they don’t it’s a rough ride down town. But decisions that are made to save money that will directly affect the average employee and their cost of doing business or their disposable income smacks the company vibe in the mouth. It shows a detachment from the powers-that-be from the rest of the workforce. It quickly and successfully can undo years of vibe building. A killer company vibe and subsequent higher company performance will be able to offset many of the penny-pinching techniques usually put in place in times of fiscal pressure.

Planting The Seeds Of Awesomeness.You don’t need a Google-sized budget to have an awesome company vibe. Many of the best techniques are about building the team camaraderie. Peer and team camaraderie are the #1 reason employees go the extra mile, not money.

Here are some starter ideas that don’t necessarily mean the CFO will be sweating bullets:

• Start a company PT training group 3 days a week. You might choose to link up with a local personal trainer who can put staff through their paces before or after work a few mornings a week.
• Breakfast club. A few bowls of cereal, juice and some toast 30 mins before the work day starts provides an informal opportunity for the staff to mingle, fuel up and start the day off with the right vibe. Don’t use these situations to discipline staff or announce dire-budget readings. Keep it light hearted.
• Inspiring sessions. At least once every single week host a staff catch up entirely dedicated to inspiring and motivating the team. Try a Ted video session, hearing from a guest speaker or reviewing inspiring work that’s been done either internally or by another company from a similar industry. Do nothing in this session but inspire your staff.
• Party day. When a staff member has a birthday they get a day of leave to be redeemed whenever they wish during their birthday month. Always celebrate their special day in the office.
• Train your staff. Staff that feel they are always growing in their jobs don’t leave as often to seek other opportunities with your competitors. So invest in them because they’ll invest their awesome vibe and energy right back at you.
• Dust off that Mission Statement. Make it clear to all staff what the brand values are and what the company purpose is. Sometimes these get forgotten about and pushed down and away from the minds of staff. Invigorate everyone to all work towards the same goal.

About the Author:

James Towers is a Founding Partner of 16K Agency, a marketing and communications agency in Stockholm, Sweden & Melbourne, Australia. We’re focused on making brands truly engaging. Follow me: @jtowers1983 on Instagram & Twitter Snapchat: JT1983

Sources:

http://management.about.com/cs/generalmanagement/a/companyculture.htm

http://www.businessinsider.com/25-best-corporate-cultures-2014-8?op=1&IR=T

http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/240172

http://www.stackhands.com/blog/company-culture/company-culture-statistics/