How to Build a Stronger Work Culture

Company culture has become a buzzword in the business world over the last 10 years. We hear about culture all the time, but have you ever really stopped to think about what it means?

I believe most business leaders have some level of understanding of culture, or at least they know what they believe culture is, but if you were asked about the culture of your organization without preparing, could you answer that question right off the top of your head without having to think about it for more than a few seconds?

Several years ago, I was on a webinar and the question was asked by the facilitator for some of us to describe our company culture. As I sat in my office, I found myself struggling to quickly describe my organization’s culture. This made me begin to ask myself if I was not able as an executive leader to quickly share my company’s culture, how could our employees ever describe it? I decided to ask some of my C-suite peers how they would describe our culture. Only one of the 3 that I asked was able to rattle off what they believed it to be, and of all that I asked, none had the same description.

I’m not sure if it made me feel better or worse that my C-team also had to really put some thought into this question. On one hand, it made me feel better that I wasn’t floating in space alone, oblivious to my organization; but on the other hand, as the HR leader it caused me a great deal of concern. After those interactions, I went back to my office and began contemplating ‘how we can we ever improve it if we don’t even know what it is?’ The next thought I had was ‘what is culture anyway?’, so I did a quick Google search to see how some of the ‘experts’ defined culture.

Turns out, there are over 6.2 BILLION search hits on Google when you search “Company Culture.” Some articles focus on why it’s important, others on how to improve it, but it took me a few clicks to find a clear definition to culture. Forbes defines culture as “anything that relates to customs and norms that naturally form within a company” but to put it more simply, I believe company culture can be defined as how you do business. For any company to be able to say they have a palpable company culture, anyone should be able to walk into any business and ask any employee to describe the culture and they should be able to quickly, without much consideration share how their company operates.

So how do you arrive at this point? It starts with your most senior leader. They must fully embrace and embody the mission of the organization. There must be a core set of values and standards of behavior that are non-negotiable, and they should contribute to the mission. The senior leader must model the behaviors, attitudes and actions that align with the company’s mission every day, which in essence, builds your culture.

Now, don’t mistake this with being able to recite a mission statement. Most people can memorize some words on a wall. Even if a person cannot read, if someone else recites a mission statement enough, others who cannot read can most likely memorize it too, but to have a strong culture, each and every associate, regardless of title must know, embrace, and model the values. They must know what they do matters, and not just that their job matters, but they matter and WHY!

Great company culture is seen in how leaders and associates treat one another, how they communicate up, down and laterally, how they do the tasks of their job, how they hold self and others accountable and by what leaders show is important to them based on what they focus on.

I have been fortunate enough in my career to have many great leaders. One in particular that stands out is the CEO of a hospital in Florida. He led in a way that each colleague in our hospital knew what we stood for and how we did business. We were once going through the Malcom Baldridge application process, and I recall the consultant helping us through the process questioning me when I said one of our value statements was Extraordinary. She said you know what that means, but do your employees know. I quickly responded yes. I knew if she walked out in the hallway and asked any nurse, environmental tech, patient care tech, maintenance worker, Imaging tech or any other individual in the facility what “Extraordinary” meant they would tell her without hesitation, it meant making sure each patient they encountered walked away from the encounter feeling like the experience was extra-ordinary. And I knew this to be true because 1) our CEO talked about it daily and 2) the CEO and every other member of his leadership team embodied that same mindset in how they left their employee’s feeling after any interaction with them, and if on the occasion someone didn’t live up to that value, it was addressed.

In closing, when leaders find themselves unable to easily describe their organizational culture, or perhaps they do not love the description that comes to mind, the first step is to look in the mirror and ask what you’re doing (or not doing) to cultivate a culture that is palpable, and one that people want to be a part of. But don’t stop there, if you want to know what your company culture really is, go ask your employees. If they can share a story that aligns with yours and you both feel good about, keep doing what you’re doing, but if they can’t then you have some work to do.