Can You Change Your Company's Culture?

Is it possible to change your company's culture?

Some employers may know their company’s culture like they know the back of their own hand. Others may find their culture a little more difficult to define. Even the absence of an obvious culture depicts a culture of sorts, as company culture isn’t always created consciously.

A company’s culture is like an organization’s DNA: a unique signature composed of all the elements and ideals that set an organization apart from any other.

If your company culture is good, it’s something to really celebrate.

But not all company cultures are great, or even passable. Those that micromanage or stifle the creativity of employees are often responsible for creating some of the businesses’ biggest revenue drains because they cause high rates of employee turnover.

Just because your corporate culture isn’t great now doesn’t mean it can’t ever be so. If you’re interested in turning your company’s culture around, we’ve got a few tips that can help you do it:

• Recognize that there’s a problem. Companies usually become aware that there’s a problem when it starts to affect their budget. If your business is constantly having to spend on recruitment and training for new employees to replace ones who left after just a few months, you likely have a culture problem. Other indicators of a poor company culture include low morale, increased carelessness, lower quality work and less productive employees.
• Figure out what you’d like your company culture to be instead. If your current culture doesn’t truly reflect what your leadership team believes to be the organization’s ideals and goals, there is likely a disconnect between what the company says and what it actually does. If so, it may be time to reevaluate your company’s policies, procedures and practices to ensure that everything aligns with the organization’s vision and mission.
• Get input from your employees. Involving your employees in the company culture evaluation process is essential. Conduct a survey of your employees that asks them to indicate their personal values and the values they think are important for the company to embody. Never forget that your staff is one of your greatest resources as an employer when it comes to innovation and improvements.

If your company culture isn’t as great as you’d like it to be, take this opportunity to transform it into something you, and your employees, can be proud of.