“What is the company culture like?”
As we all know, workplace cultures play an enormous part in whether people stay or leave after a short period, and this has to do with how they are made to feel, especially in the early days.
Are you equipped? Informed? Trusted? Well Trained? Do you understand what is expected of you?
These questions feature within recruitment and are so incredibly important.
I’ve seen people love the work they do but the culture became toxic, and I’ve seen people stay in jobs they don’t enjoy because they love the people they work with.
That link between culture, high performance and employee wellbeing is the basis of a great People Strategy.
Coming back to that question, I find it one of the trickiest ones to answer as a recruitment consultant.
To answer on behalf of a client’s organisation that you haven’t yourself worked in, means we have a responsibility to explore what is also not being said. I always ask the question about the values and internal communication of the business. There is the external lens we can look through to build a picture of what a company’s culture looks like; for example, their progress in regards to ED&I, the language used in their job descriptions, their attitude to remote working and levels of autonomy and trust, the clarity of a job description – is it clear what is expected of their employees? Attrition & feedback on Glassdoor (albeit I’ve seen some bitter isolated examples) but at one point that employee started with a positive mindset so it shouldn’t be ignored.
At Heads Resourcing Group, we recently spent a day working through our own company Employee Engagement results and collaborated in small groups to brainstorm ideas for change and what we love about our culture. One of the outputs was how we can keep building on our culture! It was a great day to begin the conversation.
On reflection, my thoughts on Culture…..
- It starts with a set of core values & policies that you should live by (ones you personally align with will help) that allow a positive environment to form.
- It is the care, kindness & interest shown to each other
- It is the level of joy, energy and happiness in the environment you work in
- It is the laughter and fun you have at work
- It is being able to have an honest conversation without judgement
- It is everyone’s responsibility to contribute to workplace culture
- It is everyone’s responsibility to uphold the values of the organisation
- Microcultures should not exist
- A single bad manager – well we all know that outcome
- It should be measured frequently – a continuous feedback culture will create innovation & growth (it is not enough to hold an annual EE survey).
- Initiatives must exist that challenge the business to be more progressive on ED&I
- It is an incredible feeling to work within an amazing culture
- It is that Sunday night feeling
As a company, it is how you come together to understand your culture first. Listen, ask uncomfortable questions and see what you have learned.
IF there are problems – they can be fixed. Culture done well has enormous power to build and grow both your people and your business.
Now cue: HRG Culture Club
My reference to the original Culture Club, one of my favourite bands growing up in the 80’s…
They were not originally called by the name we know and love but realising they had an Irish gay man as the lead singer, a black Briton on bass, a blonde Englishman on guitar and keyboards, and a Jewish drummer, they came up with the name Culture Club. The literal reference to their cultural diversity is clear but they were also young brave innovators who pushed boundaries both musically and socially and were hugely successful.
Showing care, giving trust, creating a fun environment and welcoming autonomy are the 4 most important building blocks. They aren’t boundary-breaking I know!
We’d welcome any thoughts on what has proved successful with your People Strategy or for any advice, please get in touch.
Kay Fadden | kay.fadden@hrheads.co.uk | 07826 829213
