By GSR2R Admin | 10th December 2020

Why company culture matters and needs constant attention

Company culture is a big deal. Many people talk about it as being the DNA of a business. 

Employers invest considerable time and effort building a ‘culture’ that brings individuals together as an engaged team and community. Culture determines: 

• How employees are treated. 
• How products and services are developed.  
• The kind of partners and clients a business works with. 
• The way employees go about getting their jobs done.
   

When a company gets the culture right, it will see an impact on productivity and performance.  

For employers and employees, a company’s culture plays a significant role in the recruitment process, with both parties looking for a ‘culture match’.  

At the moment, the team at GSR2R are seeing a higher than usual number of candidates whose reason for looking to develop their careers in a new direction is due to their company’s culture changing. 

There can be several reasons that impact culture as a business goes about its daily work, especially when the company is growing and expanding. 

For example, implementing change. As companies grow, new systems may be required which involve different ways of working.

A change in leadership and style can affect the freedom that employees have previously enjoyed, while an uplift in targets and increased expectations can impact how employees experience the culture. Perhaps the ‘ways of working’ are changing to meet the new expectations. 

While we know things need to evolve if a business and its people are to grow, but the fact is that when culture changes too much, an employee can start to feel that “this isn’t the company I joined.” 

Whatever the business opportunities and challenges a business faces, the question is, ‘how can a business grow AND maintain the culture it has strived so hard to create?’

Strategies to Maintain Your Company Culture  

So, what can you do to ensure your company culture remains unchanged throughout the growing pains and challenges of business? 

1. Stay positive

Negativity never has positive consequences. Adverse events don’t last, and you attract what you focus on, so look at what you want and move towards it.

2. Remember the long game

Had a bad month? Then look at the results for the whole year. Don’t focus on the small losses; look at the bigger victories. If you want some inspiration take a look at what James Caan or Steve Jobs achieved. They had more ups and downs in a lifetime than most of us will ever experience and yet still moved on to even better times.
 

3. Be transparent

As a manager, it is essential for you to include the whole team in discussions about what is going well, and not so well, in your business. When you create a culture where there is a clear divide between the senior team and the consultants, they will start to feel ‘out of the loop’. This can cause them to become disengaged and eventually start looking for employment elsewhere. 
 

4. Put your customers first

Customer service can dip when the team are feeling stressed, and this will only add to your problems. Remind your team that your customer service reputation will be the reason clients and candidates come back to use your services, so these relationships must be nurtured and treated with the utmost importance.

5. Concentrate on employee wellbeing

An overworked, stressed-out team of consultants is of no use to anyone. Positive company culture can only be built on a foundation of employees who feel their best physically, mentally and emotionally.

6. Be creative

If your culture feels stagnant, is there anything you can do to help? Employers can try offering incentives that no consultant can turn down.

7. Set more achievable goals

If always missing targets is bringing team morale down, it’s time to start celebrating even smaller successes; this will keep spirits and attitudes positive. 

Finally 

Your company culture is the one thing that will carry your team through difficult periods. In fact, in times like this, it is more important than ever to concentrate on your company culture.  

Every recruitment business needs strong relationships, and a shared sense of companionship, compassion and the knowledge that there is always a way through. 

Until next time, 

Cheryl