Leadership

The way our leaders communicate and interact with employees, what they communicate and emphasize, their vision for the future, what they celebrate and recognize, what they expect, the stories they tell, how they make decisions, the extent to which they are trusted, and the beliefs and perceptions they reinforce will affect the the company's desired results.

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Management

How our organization is managed — our quality management system, procedures, structure, hierarchy, controls, and goals focus on the degree to which managers empower employees to make decisions, support and interact with them, and act consistently.

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Workplace Practices

Our practices related to recruiting, selection, onboarding, compensation and benefits, rewards and recognition, training and development, advancement/promotion, performance management, wellness, and work/life balance (paid time off, leave, etc.), as well as workplace traditions are very important. These can't be emphasized enough.

 

Policies and Philosophies

Employment policies including, but not limited to, attendance, dress code, code of conduct, and scheduling, in addition to organizational philosophies such as hiring, compensation, pay for performance, and internal transfer and promotion should be a managers guiding light.

 

People

The people we hire have their own personalities, beliefs, values, diverse skills and experiences, and everyday behaviors. The types of interactions that occur between employees (collaborative versus confrontational, supportive versus non-supportive, social versus task-oriented, etc will set the interface.

 

Mission, Vision, and Values

The clarity of our mission, vision, and values and whether they honestly reflect the beliefs and philosophies of our organization, how inspiring they are to our employees, and the extent to which the mission, vision, and values are stable, widely communicated, and continuously emphasized is more than a caveat.

 

Work Environment

Objects, artifacts, and other physical signs in your workplace should error on the side of conservative. These include what people place on their desks, what the organization hangs on its walls, how it allocates space and offices, what those offices look like, and how common areas are used. If you want to know what a company thinks of its employees, look at their breakroom! Does it show we care?

 

Communications

The manner in which communication occurs in our workplace is paramount. Importantly, the degree, type, and frequency of interaction and communication between leaders and employees, and managers and employees, including the extent of transparency in sharing information and making decisions.

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Defining our Workplace Culture

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Most of us let our workplace culture form naturally without defining what we want it to be, and that’s a mistake. For example:

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• We create policies and workplace programs based on what other employers do versus whether they fit to our work environment.

• We hire employees who don't fit.

• We tolerate management styles that threaten employee engagement and retention.

• We don't create and communicate a clear and inspiring mission, vision, and set of values.

• Our work environments are lackluster.

• We don’t consider how our everyday actions (or inactions) as leaders are affecting the formation of our culture.

 

For these reasons, it’s important to step back, evaluate, and define your workplace culture—both what it is now and what you want it to be in the future — and how all of these factors either contribute or take away from your desired culture.

 

Although it can be very difficult to define, assessment tools and surveys can help you gauge your culture. They may reveal gaps between the culture you want to attain and the culture you currently have. 

 

In addition, observation, examination of workplace behavior, meetings, discussions, and interviews can expose your workplace climate. The important part is to start somewhere and open a dialogue between the leadership and worker team about it.

 

Keep in mind that culture is always a work in progress. It can and will change. Make culture important to your business and management strategy. It’s too significant to ignore, and shaping it is one of your most important responsibilities as leaders and HR professionals.