3 Steps to Ignite a Purposeful & Positive Company Culture
Read on to understand WHY you need the right culture and HOW to make the changes necessary to firmly establish it across your organisation.
Whether a you are from a large organisation or an owner managed micro-business, your culture sits at the heart of your company and should drive all decision-making from recruitment to product development to marketing and sales.
Just imagine for a moment that every single employee is enthusing about your company and products within their networks at every opportunity – because they totally believe that what you are doing will make a positive difference. Not only are they happier at work and therefore less likely to want to leave or take a ‘sickie’, they do whatever they can to make sure that your company thrives. Your customers see and feel this enthusiasm at all levels pre and post sales and therefore associate your brand with this positivity.
Now consider the alternative scenario …… your employees are not truly engaged by what you do, why you do it and how you do it; they simply turn up each day, do their work adequately and efficiently, take their money and go home. They are not especially enthusiastic at work, they feel little loyalty to you or your business and are happy to keep turning up as long as you pay them. They are not good advocates when talking about your company to customers or in the outside world because they don’t really care and forget work as soon as they walk out of the door. Customers are still buying your products because they are priced competitively, but when it is time for their next purchase they have no emotional reason to think of your brand or reason to buy from you.
Which option would you prefer?
By developing a positive and purposeful culture, then making sure it is embodied by every individual across your organisation you will create solid foundations on which to build genuine and sustainable success. Employee engagement and retention will improve saving you money on expensive recruitment campaigns. Customers will recognise your brand as being synonymous with a friendly, positive and caring service; increasing both customer loyalty and referrals.
How do you change your culture from being ordinary… to being Extra-Ordinary?
Following these 3 steps will get you on your way….
Step 1 – Take time to gain absolute clarity around your essence, purpose and core characteristics. From this discovered ‘essence’ create mission and value statements that represent the truth of who you are and why you do what you do. Together these elements will establish firm foundations on which to build a truly positive and authentic culture.
Step 2 – Carry out a comprehensive 360° analysis comparing your new desired culture with the present perceived culture of both customers and of employees. This will highlight the differences, and therefore inform changes that are needed for you to move forwards.
Follow the next three steps in order to create a tangible plan:
- Map out the elements of change that are required
- Identify who will lead each element and determine whether you have the capability in-house or need to seek external help
- Agree a practical timeline for change to take place with all stakeholders.
Step 3 – Working with members of your current team or with carefully selected specialists allow a realistic timescale to embed the new culture across your organisation. Be sure to communicate at every step of the way with all your employees – take them on the journey with you. This means listening as well as broadcasting, so within your change plan facilitate the time to hear feedback and suggestions from everyone AND make sure you also respond.
Developing a truly positive and purposeful culture will take time and may well present you with some difficult challenges. However, the time and effort you invest now will create benefits across your organisation for many years to come. Your new culture will get your whole team ‘on-side’ and fully align through all key activities including HR, recruitment, employee engagement, branding, marketing and sales.
Richard Flewitt
Igniting a Purposeful Future and Positive Change
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