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“Business has only two functions — marketing and innovation,” Peter Drucker once said. Innovation generates new products and business models, and marketing lets the world know about those innovations. Both disciplines are often seen as the fruit of creativity. But when it comes to building the creative culture needed to execute on marketing and innovation properly, many leaders find themselves puzzled at how to build a creative culture.
Indeed, even defining what a creative culture looks like can be challenging. Both “creativity” and “culture” are words with myriad connotations, which makes them hard to fully understand and even harder to implement. Faced with this dilemma, many people approach understanding culture the way Justice Potter Stewart approached understanding pornography – they’ll claim to know it when they see it.
But such an approach is dangerous. It’s easy to look at companies renowned for their creative culture and attempt to emulate what they’re doing, but without understanding the dynamics of culture, we may only mimic its surface-level elements and fail to make lasting cultural change. For example, it’s easy to look at tech companies and notice foosball tables or beer carts and lots of free food. But such objects are only part of the picture.
In the 1980s, psychologist Edgar Schein of the Sloan School of Management developed a model for understanding and analyzing organizational culture. Schein divided an organization’s culture into three distinct levels: artifacts, values, and assumptions.
Artifacts are the overt and obvious elements of an organization. They’re typically the things even an outsider can see, such as furniture and office layout, dress norms, inside jokes, and mantras. Yes, foosball and free food are also artifacts. Artifacts can be easy to observe but sometimes difficult to understand, especially if your analysis of a culture never goes any deeper. The Palo Alto office of IDEO famously has an airplane wing jutting out from one wall, a surprising and puzzling artifact if one doesn’t understand IDEO’s culture of playful experimentation and free expression.
Espoused values are the company’s declared set of values and norms. Values affect how members interact and represent the organization. Most often, values are reinforced in public declarations, like the aptly named list of core values, but also in the common phrases and norms individuals repeat often. Herb Kelleher was famous for responding to a variety of proposals from Southwest colleagues with the phrase “low cost airline,” reaffirming the espoused value of affordability.
Shared basic assumptions are the bedrock of organizational culture. They are the beliefs and behaviors so deeply embedded that they can sometimes go unnoticed. But basic assumptions are the essence of culture, and the plumb line that espoused values and artifacts square themselves against. Zappos call center employees share a strong belief that providing outstanding service will result in loyal customers, so much so that employees send potential customers to other retailers if Zappos doesn’t have the item in stock. Basic assumptions manifest themselves in a variety of ways. Sometimes they’re reflected in the espoused values and in artifacts, sometimes not. But when basic organizational assumptions don’t align with espoused values, trouble arises. Enron produced a 64-page manual outlining the company’s mission and espousing its core values, but judging by their very “creative” accounting practices, it’s questionable if the executives at the top had ever read it.
It’s easy to examine quirky artifacts and mistake them for basic assumptions. There is nothing magical about a free food program, but a free food program in a culture with basic assumptions about the value of collaboration and sharing can enhance the creative output of the entire organization by providing meals over which to share ideas. Similarly, it’s one thing for a company’s leadership to espouse the value of “out of the box thinking,” but if your managers have trouble recognizing unconventional, great ideas because of their basic assumptions about the need for feasibility, for instance, then they won’t give leadership what they’re asking for.
Basic assumptions are the hardest to see, but it’s the basic assumptions of an organization’s culture that produce a real affect on the creativity of its members. Creative organizations have basic assumptions about creativity being a process, rather than a eureka moment, or that not all conflict needs to be resolved because sometimes it can yield more innovative thinking. They share beliefs that creativity thrives under constraints, or that the best work is done using constantly evolving teams. Sharing ideas openly, allowing for limited risk taking, and celebrating failures as learning opportunities are all basic beliefs of creative organizations.
You may recognize a creative culture when you see it, but you won’t truly understand it until you dig below the surface.
Unlimited vacation and volunteering time. Jobs built around strengths. Eager mentors. Policies that focus on treating people like humans. You would think I was describing Willy Wonka’s Chocolate Factory or some other working utopia. Actually, it’s a perfect description of two real-life company cultures that would knock your socks off.
Talent Plus and Next Jump are two midsize companies determined to be great places to work, by creating a version of a work-life that most people would think is fantasy. Talent Plus is the Leading Talent Assessment Partner in the talent industry and Next Jump powers other corporation’s rewards, loyalty platforms and engagement solutions.
I am constantly on the hunt for companies with this “employee focused” commitment, because I know that being happy at work is a powerful tool for not only individual performance but also company performance. I first came across these two companies, because of the many awards they have won, and I was curious to see if they really walk the talk. Based on my one-on-one interactions with them, I can say they do, by creating rewarding environments that help with recruiting and retention, which helps the companies thrive as a whole.
But we’re still living in a business world where this is far from the norm, and building a “great culture” is easier said than done, especially for busy entrepreneurs. With that in mind, I recently sat down with the leaders at Talent Plus and Next Jump, to identify some of their culture-building secrets.
1. Share everything. At Next Jump, there are no secrets. Business results and strategies are discussed in an open forum and transparency is practiced regularly. From the get-go, the primary goal was to build a company that would make your mother and father proud.
2. Engage in “daily formation.” Every morning the entire team at Talent Plus gathers in a circle in their large dining room. They vocalize one of the 35 core values and then people volunteer to share examples of those values in action. They then have a “Play of the Day,” in which associates are able to recognize anyone that has gone above and beyond in their contribution or performance. They then take a moment and celebrate any birthdays or life-stage events.
3. Give credit where credit is due. Next Jump has set up an environment that is meant to help people reach their full potential. Their motto? “Consistency Over Intensity.” The company has frequent recognition programs–weekly, monthly, annually–to recognize people regularly.
4. Consider the “One Coffee Pot Rule.” Talent Plus has more than 200 associates, but the company has just one coffee pot in the kitchen area. Seems simple, but this facilitates organic interaction and forces everyone to have a central location for spontaneous interactions.
5. Provide mentoring. Mentorship is a cornerstone of Next Jump’s culture. Each member of the team has a “talking partner,” and they consistently meet every day for breakfast and hold each other accountable for greatness. The goal is to understand each other’s world and then provide the support needed to succeed. For example the CEO and the Chief of Staff are “talking partners” who run the company together.
6. “Focus on You.” This is an activity at Talent Plus that is used as a tool to build strong relationships and to strengthen its culture. The company uses it when someone first starts, lands a new internal job, or when strengthens relationships with valued clients. Members of the team are even encouraged to take it home and use it with their families or other organizations they’re a part of. The Focus on You exercise is a series of questions that you answer about yourself and share with others, including: What is the name you liked to be called? What do I get paid to do? What are your hot buttons, the things that you really care about in life? What are your successes, one professional and one personal? What do you do best? What are your goals professionally and personally? These questions break barriers and open the door to understanding what makes each other click.
7. Declare and document. Next Jumpers are encouraged to declare their intentions and then document them. It has been a tipping point in the culture because it has allowed members of the team to get behind that culture. Previously, the company defined the culture with core values and it was hard to remember them in action and amid stress. Once they began declaring what they wanted to do and documenting it, they began to see culture-specific actions happen more organically.
8. Perks! Talent Plus allows its employees to manage their own time–unlimited vacation and otherwise–and goes as far as offering up the company’s beautiful space to use as needed, including baby showers, birthday celebrations and lots of family-focused celebrations.
According to one study, 13% of managers are less likely to promote workers who take all of their vacation time; according to another, employees who take less than their full vacations earn 2.8% more in the subsequent year than their peers who took all of their allotted days, reports the Wall Street Journal.
Thus it’s not surprising that 15% of U.S. employees who are entitled to paid vacation time haven’t used any of it in the past year.
It’s widely known that people quit bosses, not jobs. Usually when the boss sucks, the culture sucks too. Part of the problem is the idea that company culture is determined at the top and works its way down: 59 percent of employees think the CEO and other top leaders are responsible for changing culture. That leaves 41 percent that feel differently, and I wish we could get that number to 100 percent. Employees can impact culture
Company culture can be vague to pin down and define, but for the most part, it’s your company’s unique behavior, beliefs, attitude and nature. It’s also a vibe, a mojo, a mission, a passion and a way to communicate. It’s simply about the people, and people are complex. While it would be nice if companies put as much thought into establishing culture as they do designing business strategy and product planning, the truth is that it usually doesn’t happen that way.
So what if your boss is a nightmare, the culture is toxic and you’re about to start singing, “take this job and shove it”? Or maybe it’s not that bad but is getting there. Do you just give up and quit? Well, if you love what you do, the industry you’re in, the people you work with or if there’s any other reason to have hope, then it is likely worth an attempt to make things better.
Here are seven things you can try to make a meaningful impact and turn things around:
1. Own your own role. First, take a good look in the mirror and ask yourself, “Am I part of the problem?” Be honest because in most cases, there are at least a few things you can personally change. Make a list–maybe it’s longer than you thought! Your personal attitude, the effort you put into making positive contributions to the culture and how you communicate with others are a few things to consider.
2. Use your influence to make things better. The true leaders at a company aren’t always the boss. Natural leaders set an example that people want to follow, so if that’s you, be a good one! If you understand the vision, use your influence to help others better support the vision. It’s amazing what a group can accomplish with a shared mission. It’s contagious. Influence your sphere–and hopefully it will trickle out from you to your team, your department and ultimately throughout the company.
3. Be open, transparent and fair. I have little patience for petty, backbiting office politics and social positioning, but it is inevitable that there will be people at a company who behave as if they’re still in high school. Let’s help them change. Let’s be open, transparent and fair, and people will reciprocate even if it takes them a while. It’s incredibly refreshing when you’re free to say or do what’s best for the company–even if that means making some mistakes–rather than feel like you always have to CYA.
4. Educate and train your boss. Dogs sometimes find it easy to train their owners . . . maybe we can train our bosses. I’m not saying we’re dogs, but you know what I mean. You’ll find a million supporting articles online to change culture. Check out the slideshares from Hubspot and Netflix, or the Valve Employee Handbook. That should spark a few ideas. Share what you learn and what you’re reading. Maybe help the boss think it’s his idea.
5. Take measurements. I like measuring things, but measuring culture can be tough! This may just be a feeling you get when you walk into the office or when you know your coworkers are happy. Less whining or grumbling. Many times, teams will be much more focused and productive. And frankly, everyone will work harder. Yes, we are happiest when we’re focused and working hard. If the boss sees this impact–if he has any leadership capacity whatsoever–he should jump on the culture wagon ASAP.
6. Talk to HR. Give HR a shot. If anybody should know the mission and vision of the company, it’s HR. Go ask questions, find out what HR thinks about culture and how it’s communicated to employees. Sometimes HR forgets, and you might be a helpful reminder.
7. Be patient. Everyone loves an easy answer, but great culture requires great effort and time to get just right. And frankly it’s never perfect, but we should always be working on incremental improvement. There is a reason patience is a virtue.
The purposeful and deliberate action of working on culture is one of the best things you and your company can do. So don’t quit just yet. Figure out what you can do today, don’t bite off more than you can chew, then sit back and watch as things get better.
A friend of mine posted this blurb on Facebook from an audio book he was listening to (note: I don’t know the name of said audio book):
Numerous studies have shown us that those given authority are more likely to lie, cheat and steal, while also being harsher in their judgments of others for doing these same things. Science tells us people with power feel less compassion for the suffering of others.
Previous experiments also show us that those who are obedient to authority are capable of the worst forms of murder, and tolerant of the worst forms of abuse. They will even chastise those of us who resist corrupt authority. They become facilitators of evil, believing that obedience to authority absolves them of personal responsibility. “
Why do we REALLY promote people?
This blurb above is an explanation of today’s cesspool management and hierarchy that permanently resides in many companies.
Although we speak very seriously and regularly about the importance of leadership development as HR practitioners, the truth is very rarely are managers chosen with care. In fact, I have personally observed companies who promote people to management or leadership roles based on their ability to be obedient and play the game.
What happens is the road to leadership then becomes a chess match played by cheaters. The rules are not static, but changed on an as-needed basis to suit the players.
People like myself and my colleagues never stand a chance in being promoted or even surviving as an employee, because we live and work by a code of conduct. The code of conduct isn’t some arbitrary manifesto we write down to make people believe we are responsible, discerning, fair individuals; but a construct that guides our work and how we treat others in and out of business.
When we say that employees don’t leave jobs they leave bosses, we really mean they leave regimes. Within the walls of some of your most beloved brands and products lies a regime that takes pride in beating its talent to a pulp daily with unkind words, unreasonable expectations, and in some cases bullying — just because they can.
Turnover and toxic environments
Recently, I read an article about the CEO of a company I used to work for. The author interviewed him about how he runs this large conglomerate, and of course, highlighted all of the philanthropic work he does for the community.
Great article, nice man, toxic company.
It’s his job to speak highly of his business, but what I know after working there in HR is that the leadership, from HR to the actual facilities (in many cases), are toxic, and a good three-quarters of the employees are disgusted but remain there out of necessity.
Turnover is directly linked to these toxic environments.
The age of obedience and subservience is dead. People want meaningful work and positive work environments. If they remain in your employ, it is purely out of necessity.
Necessity breeds a paycheck — which also means that they couldn’t care less about the success of the company.
It’s time to deal with the jerks
I’m not sure when it became cool to lead from a place of pure malice and fear, but it needs to stop. If the ultimate goal of talent management is to retain the right talent in organizations, it’s time we (HR and everyone else) took personal responsibility to be ethical, fair, equitable, and provide a workplace free of toxic leadership.
That may mean getting rid of a manager that has high turnover even in light of his or her considerable contributions to the company. It could also mean reprimanding a manager for being a jerk, even if he or she is your happy hour cohort.
A lack of personal responsibility, the inability to tell and own the truth, as well as unethical behavior, are among the many reasons why your turnover may be high.
Pay attention to your workforce. Don’t look the other way and cover your ears when it matters the most.
Needed: a little respect and humility
Your talent is your brand. Treat them with the same respect and humility you would want for yourself.
A recent study found that about 40% of U.S. workers don’t take their vacation days, with many employees saying they are afraid to fall behind on their work.
But while going away on vacation for most of us means coming back to a huge pile of unread emails, the German car manufacturer Daimler has come up with a pretty awesome way to help its employees enjoy their time off without falling behind.
According to the Financial Times, the company announced that its 100,000 German workers will now have the option to automatically delete all of the emails they receive while they’re away. The people who try to reach them will be sent what the company calls a “Mail on Holiday” response letting them know that their message will be deleted and giving them the contact information of a supervisor if it is urgent.
“Our employees should relax on holiday and not read work-related emails,” board member Wilfried Porth told the Financial Times. “With ‘Mail on Holiday’ they start back after the holidays with a clean desk. There is no traffic jam in their inbox. That is an emotional relief.”
The company ran a trial of the “Mail on Holiday” program last year, and found that it helped employees feel happier and more productive in the long run.
While your employer might not be willing to let you delete all of your incoming emails while you’re on vacation, there are other strategies of managing your inbox.
For instance, you might want to set your out-of-office message for an additional day after you get back from your trip, that way you have some time to play catchup without feeling like you need to be responding to incoming messages right away.
You’re looking at a new job, and the salary is solid, the expectations are reasonable, the work is exciting and the location is stellar. The company is successful, there’s lots of room for you to move up and ample opportunity for you make an impact along the way.
But how do you know if you’re going to be happy there?
There’s a lot to consider when you’re looking for a new job, and a company’s culture is a major factor. Everything else about your new potential role can be outlined, drawn up and contracted, but mission statements can only tell you so much about what it will be like once you get to work.
However, there are a few things you can do to learn about it, and figure out if you can be happy there before you sign on the dotted line.
How to find out
The most direct way to gauge a company’s culture is by asking the people who work there about it. If you don’t have friends at a given company, asking your interviewer specific questions can help you get a sense of what life at the company is like beyond your job requirements.
You can ask her directly about the company’s culture, or focus on a few key areas, such as what she loves most about the company, what the company values in an employee, what kind of working atmosphere exists and if employees socialize outside of work.
If you think the answers to those questions didn’t give you enough information, see if you can arrange a tour of the office. Some interviews might include a brief look around the office, but if that doesn’t work out, use the time before your interview to observe what’s going on around you.
Pay close attention to how employees are interacting with each other, what they are wearing, how the office is laid out and decorated, and anything else you think is important for your happiness.
If you’re still searching for more, hit the web. Glassdoor features reviews and ratings of companies by their employees that focus on working environment, employee benefits beyond health care and time off, the vision of the company and whether the company is moving in a positive direction.
You can also check out the company’s social media accounts for an inside look at what’s going on there, and you can even check Twitter to see how the employees interact with each other.
What to look for
The tools are there, but gauging a company’s culture starts with what you value most in a working environment. There are a few generally beneficial things, including a collaborative and open environment and the presence of puppies, but an important office perk for one might be an unwelcome distraction for someone else.
Openness vs. privacy
First, think about what kind of workspace works best for you. This can vary by industry and position, but do you appreciate a bustling office with constant communication, or a place where you can hide away and knock out assignments with minimal interference? Or, do you prefer a company that will let you work from home frequently?
While a mindset of openness and cooperation is important for good communication, a physically open office without enough space and privacy can have a detrimental effect on employee productivity, work quality and health.
A healthy career
Your employer’s investment in your health should go beyond insurance and sick leave. When considering a new company, see if it pushes its employees toward healthful choices — like restful breaks, an active life and a balance between work and leisure — or away from them.
As much as you might love the work you’ll be doing, it won’t matter if you don’t stay healthy enough to do it.
Team camaraderie
Working well together is one thing, but how frequently do employees spend leisure time with each other? Whether it’s weekly breakfasts and after-work events, a company ritual or just casual hangouts outside working hours, employees who enjoy each other’s company typically make for a better working environment.
They aren’t waiting around or keeping their heads down, no matter what anyone says.
Young, hopeful entrepreneurs are never at a loss for free advice from those who have “been there, done that.”
The best companies have millennials and women in charge, so it’s no surprise there are countless well-meaning people ready to dole out their two cents.
But how do you separate the distractions from truly valuable advice? These five women in the tech and business industries made their own ways, but sifted through their share of unsolicited chaff in the process.
The Best Advice
These words of wisdom were given or learned the hard way.
Hold high standards. Bo Ren, product manager at Facebook, says mentor Ken Ebbitt urged her to become the “go-to person” for challenging problems in the company. “He told me the way I hold myself, speak, write, and walk shapes how others perceive me,” she says. “You should always hold yourself to the standard of the person you want to be.”
Be ready for anything. You’re at a casual cocktail party (finally, an event that isn’t precluded with “networking”) and you strike up a conversation with a stranger–who happens to be able to connect you with the investor of your dreams. Do you stumble over your words, trying to sum up your startup’s goals before she loses interest?
If you’re Monica Rogati, VP of data at Jawbone, you’re already killing the pitch. “Demos are powerful, efficient ways to communicate what you’re working on,” she says. “If you have a 30-second, three-minute, and 30-minute demo handy at all times, you’ll constantly be prepared for that serendipitous encounter with someone who can change your career trajectory.” Don’t end up kicking yourself over slippery opportunities.
Hush the voices. The best entrepreneurship advice Elisa Jagerson, CEO and owner of Speck Design, ever received was from her grandfather, a hall-of-fame quarterback. He said, “There is a voice inside you that will tell you that you are not good enough, prepared enough, or worthy enough to fulfill your dreams. Quiet that voice.”
Remember why you got into it. Many entrepreneurs today want to make a difference more than they want six-figure salaries. “Technologists aim to enhance lives,” Jagerson says. “To that end, my advice: Relentlessly seek to make the user’s life better. To do this well, learn how to deeply understand their unmet needs.”
Before becoming cofounder and CEO of Lumo BodyTech, Monisha Perkash started a consumer Internet company that helped users make college more affordable. “I love applying technology towards solving important problems,” she says. “Being an immigrant whose life was transformed by education, I gravitated towards the idea of using tech to improve educational access for others as well.”
Monisha Perkash, Lumo BodyTech co-founder and CEO
Bad Advice Worth Ignoring
Words of wisdom are often well-meaning, but can be far off-target. To those suggestions, these tech leaders said, “thanks, but no thanks:”
Wait around for your moment. The worst advice Tara Syed Williams, business analyst at Pinterest, has ever heard? “Just wait.”
“Great opportunities come to those who do more than what is asked of them,” says Williams. “Be curious and ask for context around decisions and work that falls on your plate.”
Hide your light. The worst advice Jagerson has ever heard: Quash the doubting inner voices completely. Your personal pep talks shouldn’t turn into delusions of perfectionist grandeur, but rather, tempered with humility.
Elisa Jagerson, Speck Design owner and CEO
The voices Perkash heard came from outside, and said she needed a new desktop screensaver. “Investors will question your commitment to the startup” if you have baby pictures displayed proudly, some told her. That’s noise to her, and she’s not buying it–instead, she says her best advice is to avoid comparison to others.
Keep your head down. “Be a good foot soldier,” someone told Ren when she raised questions about her path. Staying content to be a cog in the system wasn’t true with her ambitions: “The statement discouraged me from pursuing other opportunities in the company. So glad I ignored it.”
Hiring for the right cultural fit can be more important than focusing on technical skills alone and can help companies improve employee retention, engagement and loyalty.
As organizations struggle to adjust to the new growth economy, finding top talent is one of their biggest challenges. According to a recent study from Deloitte’s Global Human Capital Trends 2014, “Critical new skills are scarce — and their uneven distribution around the world is forcing companies to develop innovative new ways to find people, develop capabilities and share expertise.”
But equally important is retaining talent once you’ve found it — making sure that your efforts to identify, recruit, hire and develop talent aren’t in vain. Sourcing and hiring with retention in mind requires companies to focus less on skills and experience and more on cultural fit and development potential, says Chris Duchesne, vice president of Workplace Solutions, Care.com.
“At many forward-thinking companies, the leadership and hiring teams understand that technology changes so rapidly that, more important than discrete skills, is an employee’s cultural fit and their ability to transfer their skills, experience and values to new technology, new endeavors, new paths to the organization. You can always teach and/or acquire new skills and gain new experiences, but it’s hard to ‘teach’ culture,” Duchesne says.
The Importance of Culture
The book “Tribal Leadership” by David Logan, John King and Halee Fischer-Wright emphasizes the importance of workplace culture and how it can contribute to a more successful workplace. The authors found that organizations that stress cultural fit find that, within their workforce, “fear and stress go down as the ‘interpersonal friction’ of working together decreases; people seek employment in the company and stay, taking the company a long way toward winning the war for talent; organizational learning becomes effortless, with the tribe actively teaching its members the latest thinking and practices; People’s overall health statistics improve. Injury rates and sick days go down; and most exciting … is that [employees] report feeling more alive and having more fun” in such a workplace, according to the book.
“Hiring for cultural fit above skills is a great idea, because you never know how much an employee will be developing, growing and changing over time — they could be in a completely different role by next year.”
Identifying talent that fits culturally within your organization can be a huge step toward employee engagement, satisfaction and long-term retention.
Identifying Your Culture
Workplace culture is, at its heart, making sure that your employees’ values, mission and personality align with those of your company, says Todd Raphael, editor in chief of recruiting site ERE.net.
“Hiring for cultural fit above skills is a great idea, because you never know how much an employee will be developing, growing and changing over time — they could be in a completely different role by next year,” Raphael says. “And it makes sense to do so based on the industry and market you’re in, too: If you’re an accounting company, for instance, you don’t necessarily want to hire someone who’s chaotic and extremely creative. If you’re a cutthroat, uber-competitive, cutting-edge company, you don’t want to hire someone who’s very laid-back and not as driven by competition, for instance,” Raphael says.
How do you identify someone who’s a good cultural fit? For some organizations, it’s as easy as noticing what they wear, says Care.com’s Duchesne. One large manufacturer of snowboarding equipment, for example, advises potential candidates not to wear a suit to an interview; in fact, if someone does arrive wearing a suit, they’re instantly discounted as not being a good cultural fit, simply based on how they’re dressed, Duchesne says.
For startup Grammarly.com, an automated proofreading tool for English-language writers, making sure new hires are a good cultural fit means candidates are assessed based on the acronym EAGER (Ethical, Adaptable, Gritty, Empathetic and Remarkable), says Grammarly’s CEO Brad Hoover.
“We codified our culture profile with one word — EAGER. Assessing skills is relatively straightforward, but culture fit is much more difficult, especially if the culture is not defined, so that was priority number one for us,” Hoover says.
“Our hiring process is much more efficient because of this filter — we spend much less time getting to a final decision and we’ve been really successful at making the right hiring decision,” he says.
Putting EAGER to Work
The acronym EAGER stands for all qualities Grammarly.com looks for in its employees. Potential hires are introduced to and approved by the company’s executive team, and then hiring teams are formed based on that potential employee’s role and who they’ll be working for and with, Hoover says.
The first letter stands for Ethical, and Hoover explains that “with an ethical team, we can trust each other and put lots of responsibility in the hands of everyone on the team.”
“Something like 89 percent of people leave a job because they’re not happy. Even if that statistic is overblown, even if it’s only 50 percent, that’s an epidemic. And it’s as bad for the employees as it is for business.”
– Sean Storin, CEO, One Degree
This is critical in a startup with only about 70 team members split between offices in San Francisco and Kiev, Ukraine. The second letter stands for Adaptable: the ability to embrace change and learn in order to evolve and succeed, Hoover says.
“Our people must apply a positive, problem-solving attitude to whatever they’re doing,” he says. “They’ve got to be looking out for potential problems and proactively thinking — either individually or collectively — about how to solve them.” The G is for Gritty, Hoover says, which emphasizes the need for both passion and perseverance when going after long-term goals.
“This is especially important for a startup to do whatever it takes to get the job done whenever it is necessary,” he says. “As tech companies grow, teams can’t grow as quickly as the user base, so it’s hard for the hiring and onboarding process to keep up as demand for the product grows. We want our people to have the grit to persevere, even when it’s difficult.”
The second E, for Empathetic, simply means treating others as you want to be treated, to work more effectively as a team, Hoover says. Active listening and constantly ‘putting yourself in another’s shoes’ are key elements of empathy, he says.
“We care about this because of the implications for communication. At a foundational level, that requires mutual respect, and that’s based on empathy,” he says. Finally, the R is for Remarkable. Being remarkable, Hoover says, involves being recognized for being exceptional but also humble.
“We want our people to be exceptional in their own right, but also to seek out others and learn from them. It’s hard enough to find remarkable people, but the ‘humble’ part of it involves the recognition that there are so many things you don’t know, and then finding a mentor or teacher to help you learn those things,” he says.
Throw Out the Resume
A June 2013 Gallup poll of more than 150,000 U.S. workers found that a whopping 70 percent of respondents either hated their jobs or felt disengaged, and of the main reasons cited, “poor management” and “poor cultural fit” were at the top of the list.
Sean Storin, CEO and co-founder of recruiting and networking site One Degree, says these statistics are what prompted him and his team to develop One Degree to address the staggering number of bad hires and try to identify better employees based on culture, mission and values, he says.
“We’d heard that something like 89 percent of people leave a job because they’re not happy. Even if that statistic is overblown, even if it’s only 50 percent, that’s an epidemic,” he says, “And it’s as bad for the employees as it is for business.”
One Degree is an online career network that claims to place culture, values and mission above all else when matching candidates and potential employers, Storin says. The site does not include resumes, nor does it include job postings; instead, he says, candidates sign up and answer questions based around cultural categories to find companies and roles that would best fit for their interests, values and their lifestyle.
There are three distinct ecospheres that lead to good hiring, Storin says, what a candidate knows, how the candidate lives and what the candidate wants.
“Skills are obviously where companies begin — the ‘What I Know’ piece — because you need someone who can execute tasks, who’s familiar with tools and technology. But skills alone aren’t solely what makes companies pull the trigger to hire,” Storin says.
“The ‘How I Live’ piece outlines the type of personal values a candidate has, and how that translates into their fit into your organization. And the ‘What I Want’ piece is an opportunity to express exactly what would make candidates happy in a work environment. The last piece is extremely important, and it’s something candidates are not often faced with — it’s empowering for them to have this be a major part of the hiring conversation,” Storin says.
One Degree does use search, networking and messaging functionality like that found in traditional job search sites like LinkedIn, Storin says, but it also incorporates algorithms to identify cultural traits and alignment with specific industries, companies and roles, Storin says. The model was similar to algorithms like those used in music discovery and playback software Pandora.
“We looked at companies doing things very well in other capacities; Pandora, for instance, is using all these metrics and algorithms to match users with music they might like based on things like syncopation and beats-per-minute. We felt like this was the key to the future of employment search and answered the question of how to integrate culture into the equation,” Storin says.
Storin says the information gathered by One Degree’s questions is also beneficial for hiring companies, and that while candidates can fill out the site’s questionnaires in under five minutes, most users spend around four to five times that amount of time on the site — a conversion rate of 40 percent.
“It’s a coup for these huge companies to know these things about their potential hires,” Storin says. “And we already see a much greater level of engagement and interest from candidates because we are based on culture,” he says.
“Recruiters should be addressing cultural fit already, and some of them are, but as far as it being a general practice, they just don’t have the time or the bandwidth,” Storin says. “So many are reduced to just scanning resumes, looking for keywords and plugging holes, and then companies wind up with bad hires, unhappy employees and disengaged workers, and that equals attrition,” he says.
“If employees are engaged and feel like they are part of a larger entity that mirrors their beliefs and values, they are more likely to stay when presented with a challenge,” Storin says.
The culture of an organization is incredibly important when you are making a job switch. It becomes imperative if you have lived through the challenges of working for a company or two that were not fits.
Have you ever taken a job thinking the company culture was “A” but it was really “X”?
To clarify, an organization’s culture encompasses several elements.
How do they treat their employees?
What is management’s motivators?
Is it only the bottom line or is there more?
What is the work ethic?
What are the expectations for your time?
Is it standard that many employees work weekends or do people enjoy life outside of work?
I’ve had a few clients live this reality. They accepted a job offer thinking the company culture was inline with their goals, only to discover after being in the new job 6 months to a year, that they mis-read the culture.
Many times we will ride these situations out to see if it will get better.
Sometimes it does. More often than not, nothing changes and the decision to part ways becomes obvious.
How do we avoid not making this same mistake again and again?
Here are five strategies to help you be prepared and open your eyes to see the culture of an organization.
1. Research
Research is an integral part of your interview preparation. But when it comes to company culture, look at the press releases and the website with new eyes.
Some questions to think through; how does the company represent itself? It is formal, casual, or in-between.
Check sites such as Glassdoor.com. This is a good resources to find out what former employees are saying about their former employers.
2. Network
Ask about this organization to individuals in your network that have either worked there or had business interactions with the company.
Vendors and partners of a company can tell you their take, an outsiders perspective, on the company. That is invaluable.
3. Ask
Ask questions in the interviews. I do suggest asking culture questions but only after the first interview. The first interview can be too soon.
Here are some questions you can ask but be sure to do so in a conversational manner. Remember an interview is a conversation with a colleague.
Be relaxed but get to what you are there to do – sell them on you and uncover the fit. Uncovering the culture is absolutely necessary for your success and for the success of this new working relationship you will have with this company.
Possible questions to ask (I would suggest asking them in your own words):
How would you best describe the culture of this organization? Of our department?
What do you see as the pros and cons of this culture?
What makes this a great place to work?
What could be improved?
What makes the department I would be working for so successful?
4. Observe
While you are at the offices interviewing, watch how people act, respond, and interact. Try to meet as many of your future co-workers as possible.
Be in the offices and get a sense of the pace, how the office is organized and decorated. This will give you a sense of what the company finds important.
5. Decide
After you have gathered all that you can discover and observe, decide if this is a fit for you. The only way you can decide is to know what is important to you.
What are you “must-have’s” in any position? What do you need in a work environment? There are external and intrinsic must have’s.
Here are some areas to get you thinking: commute, colleagues, professional development, honesty/integrity, appreciation, hard work, salary, quality content, time off, respect by colleagues, and so on.
So there you have it: research, network, ask, observe, and decide. Uncover the culture so you know if this is a fit for you.
But where does company culture really begin, at least where job seekers are concerned? Plugging into a company’s culture can be a tough task for an outsider (job seeker). Here are some tips to gain confidence on that fit:
1. Build The Major Connecting Bridge
Fitting within a company’s workplace culture means finding a link between your background and demonstrating a common vision and passion for their organizational mission, and this process begins in the interview. You need to connect your assets to their mission to make the first big plug-in to their culture; personal values linking to company ones are like a marriage – there has to be a solid match from the start (but there is always room for some compromise).
2. Look Out For Potential Landmines In A Company’s Culture
On one hand, hiring managers are looking for chemistry, personality, and genuine ability to fit into an already-established culture paradigm you must be able to fit into. But on the other hand, cues about this culture are difficult for job seekers to pick up on because no one is going to out-and-out tell you the way things REALLY are on the inside.
But job seekers can find out a great deal in the interview by watching the interviewers carefully. Who defers to whom? Are there sideways glances? Does someone cut someone else off? Do they seem happy to be there? Are you greeted cheerfully when arriving for your appointment? Trust your intuition on the “vibe” – if you rely on your gut instincts, almost 100% of the time you’ll find that you are reading the situation correctly.
3. Dig Up The Dirt On Company Culture
I always advise clients to ask this interview question: “What kinds of professional development does your company offer?” Employers need to be able to connect the dots of the value of professional development to being tools to do a good job. But the deeper question is this: Does the business value employees enough to invest in them?
How a company treats their employees (either as valuable assets to be invested in or thrown away after being used up) is a question that should be on every job seeker’s mind in an interview. Training and professional development activities add to the mosaic of company culture while bringing in new ideas to share and excite others.
Outside educational opportunities encourage employees AND companies grow… together. It’s a win-win situation: Companies are more productive; staff gain skills.
4. Realize Transparency Impacts Company Culture
Learn what you can from your inside contacts and also during the interview. Don’t be afraid to ask how previous organizational challenges have been handled. How the executive level handles significant strategy shifts or restructuring initiatives is indicative of that company’s core culture values and overall treatment of staff.
5. Realize Communication Styles Matter
Communication is another broad term, but think about it: What clues do you pick up on during the pre- and post-interview contact with the employer? Are the interviewers clear? Do they make you feel comfortable and well-informed? Or is it more ambush-style? How do the interviewers respond during your face-to-face interview? Is it a stiff conversation, or more of an open, easy communication style?
Companies with positive cultures have leaders who are open to new ideas and are focused on empowering their employees. Communication styles that allow for free expression of thoughts, ideas, and suggestions in a constructive way without negative repercussions are good indicators of what a company culture is like.
6. Find Out What The Interviewer Likes About His Or Her Job
Ho hum. If the interviewers are not fired up about what they do, how on earth do they expect to draw in top talent? No one wants to work at a place when the interviewers can’t even sell them on the benefits of working there.
One of the advantages to consider includes an upbeat work environment. People who are passionate about their jobs positively bubble enthusiasm and are excited to answer this important job seeker question. Staff will provide insights on important cultural benefits of working at this company. If they are happy, they’ll be providing a cultural transmission of happiness throughout the interview, and you’ll pick up on this right away.
7. If It Doesn’t Fit, Don’t Try To Wear It
Ever make a mistake and take a job that you needed but once you got in there, you realized that you were NOT going to fit in? It could be the result of a complete culture clash, or realizing after the fact that the supervisor that you are reporting to is your worst nightmare.
If you have picked on any negative vibes during the interview, and can afford to walk away from that job, be fearless, and do it. Ultimately, in the long run, you have to weigh the mental costs with the compensation… is it worth it? Some people rally and bravely try to make a “go” of it, but come to the understanding that this position is not meant to be.
Defining a company’s culture is sometimes like trying to tackle a marshmallow- you can’t quite get your arms around it and you aren’t quite sure what you are going to get once you are inside. The best you can do is be smart, do your research, take a temperature “check” during the interview, and base your decision there. An accurate understanding what key values are to a company can help you plug in quickly and become welcomed as part of the team.
Read more at http://www.careerealism.com/company-culture-6-tips-plug/#V1zXt8gJRfLAePPg.99
When you apply for a job, it’s important to do your homework on the company. Otherwise, when you get an interview and your interviewer asks, “So, what is it about us that drew you to our company?” you aren’t left stumped or jobless.
Not only that, but it’s important to figure out if the company is a place YOU would enjoy working for. So, before you send off that resume, check out these sneaky ways to research a company:
1. Learn About The People Who Work There
Most companies have a staff page on their website. On this page, the company will list some, if not all, of the employees at the company. Here, you can get names (and sometimes contact information) of people who you’d be working with if you got the job.
How to learn more:
Check out their LinkedIn profile to see what kinds of work/projects they do
Get a conversation started (Here are some tips for doing this appropriately!)
Request an informational interview. (Find out how to prepare!)
Warning: Don’t be creepy or demanding when contacting these people! Simply reach out to them in a professional manner, introduce yourself, and tell them you’re interested in learning more about the company and work environment. If they respond, go you! If not, move on and leave them alone.
2. Find Out What They’re Sharing Via Social Media
These days, everyone is on social media – including employers. Look them up on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, YouTube, Pinterest, and so on.
Look closely at what they’re tweeting, posting, or filming. This is a great way to get a feel for the company’s values. When browsing the social channels of companies, ask yourself these questions:
What events are they promoting?
What articles are they sharing?
How are they interacting with their followers?
Take note of anything that jumps out at you. If something fascinates you, mention it in your cover letter or interview.
3. See What The Employees Are Saying
Ever wished there was a place that rated companies based on how much people like working there?
Well, now there is!
Sites like Indeed and Glassdoor are great places to learn about a potential employer and how people like working there.
With these sites, individuals can comment on the company, culture, work, benefits, and more. Not only that, but they can rate a company based on how much they like working there. You can also learn more about salary and past interviewing experiences!
According to Indeed.com’s Employer Branding Survey, 83% of job seekers said their decisions on where to apply are influenced by employer reviews. So, before you apply for a job, make sure you do your research.
Doing a little research can go a long way in your job search. Don’t be lazy – Learn more about your dream company now!
My friend and I were talking recently about how to research company culture before you start working there. In the past, we’ve both been burned by companies that looked good on the surface but eventually turned out to have a terrible culture of one sort or another.
Honestly, if it was fool-proof, people wouldn’t be suckered into it as often as they do. And since my friend and I (and others) actually work in HR/recruiting, we should know better than anyone how to unearth this stuff, right?
A Mindset Change Is Required
All too often, when we’re looking for a new job, we become blinded to the negative and would move over even if the hiring manager promised to kick us in the kidneys four times a day. I understand when you have no job that it’s important to take what you can get, but never settle for working at a company with a poor culture (or if the culture really isn’t “wrong,” but you just don’t fit in anyway). You’re giving them skills and experience that they can’t get from other candidates, and they’re trading that for money. Don’t forget employment is a two way street!
Think about it. For many of the questions below, there are no “right” answers. Everyone appreciates different things about specific working environments, and what may appeal to you actually repulses others. Consider what the ideal work environment would be for you, and filter the responses through that. Oh, and several of these methods will require you to ask unorthodox questions of the hiring manager or recruiter, but it’s the price you pay if you’re going to be serious about finding the right culture fit for you.
14 Ways To Determine The Culture
Ask to interview an employee or two on what they enjoy about working there.
Ask for a walk-through of the office-listen for laughs and look for smiles; that says a lot about the work environment.
Ask about previous people who held the position if you are replacing someone-find out what they did right and what they could’ve done better.
Look at sites like Glassdoor.com for reviews by current or former employees.
Keep in mind that there are “pockets” of culture within individual departments, so the overall company culture could differ from your specific work area-that’s why it’s important to try to do things like #1 and #2 above.
Ask what sorts of behavior are rewarded and which are punished.
Ask how (or if) news that affects the company is shared-does everyone learn of it at once or is it distributed to managers to trickle down to employees? Are they transparent?
Find out what sort of events the company holds for employees-is it a once a year Christmas party or are there monthly opportunities to celebrate with co-workers?
Ask if there are known slackers in the office and try to find out why they are still around (good luck with this one, but if you get a straight answer, you will have a leg up)
Ask about how difficult it is to get attention or funding for new ideas and initiatives-are they a “we’ve always done it that way” type of company?
Ask what the company’s overall mission/vision is. If a random employee can tell you (at least in general terms) it could signify a strong, unified workforce.
Ask about the dress code and other abrasive policies/details that,while palatable at first, can end up chafing you down the line.
Find out if the company offers any sort of reimbursement or support for training, seminars, or college tuition. If they value smart employees who work to better themselves, they probably will.
Ask how previous employees who committed ethics violations were held accountable. (General terms are fine to protect any guilty parties, but do they even care about ethics in the first place?)
So, what other ways do you know of that a candidate can use to discern a company’s corporate culture before deciding to take a job?
You read the job description and get so excited. It is exactly what you want in your next career step. You talk with the recruiter and everything seems aligned. You prepare for the interview, you ask good questions and you get good answers, you think you got this nailed. It is as good as it seems, then you start and, a month later, you realize that it isn’t what you thought it was and you feel trapped.
You can’t quit after a few months because you don’t want to be a job hopper. You regret your decision and wish you had done things differently. So, how do you know what it’s really like to work somewhere? Here are some ideas to help you identify the real company culture before you accept a position.
1. Ask a LOT of questions
I’ve said it before and I will say it again; ask a lot of questions! Ask scenario-based questions about career paths and culture and then you need to be sure that the interviewer can back it up. Ask them to tell you stories about top performers at the company and why the company considers them a top performer. Ask about what characteristics are rewarded and revered in the company. But be sure you ask!
2. Listen to the answers & probe
Asking is simply the first part of the equation, because then you need to listen and trust your gut. Does the answer seem genuine? Do they have no stories to back up their claims? Do they seem like authentic stories? And finally, do you think these answers and stories are aligned with what you want? If the answer is maybe, probe deeper with the interviewer. If you don’t get anywhere after you attempt to probe a bit, and it remains a maybe… then it’s a no. Maybe is a “no” because you cannot afford maybe.
3. Study current and former employees
Take some time on LinkedIn. Study the company page and the people who are working for the company. Are they frequently promoted? Do they demonstrate a career path? DO they quit and come back? This can tell you a lot about the company culture and can also inform the awesome questions you have to ask.
4. Connect with current employees
Use your network to talk with people who already work there. Ask them the good, the bad and the ugly. These conversations can help you shape an understanding of the company culture from an insider’s point of view. Ask them questions about what’s important to you when you join a new company.
5. Connect with former employees
Similar to the idea above, talking to former employees is equally important. These people can tell you why they left and if they would ever consider going back. The information you learn from former employees should also inform your questions. Keep in mind, companies do change and the reason this person left may no longer be an issue. So, be sure that you are mindful of that as well.
6. Read reviews, but don’t ONLY read reviews
Sites like Glassdoor and Indeed are awesome to get some insights, but I always caution that these sites can sometimes cloud your point of view. Keep in mind; people who write anonymous reviews of things are often either horribly disgruntled or shilling. If you want to read reviews, read the ones that are middle of the road. Don’t read 5-stars and 1-star. Read 3-star reviews and then either ask your network to validate or just take it with a grain of salt.
7. Follow them on social to see how they respond
Social media has forced brands to more openly communicate with candidates and customers. Some companies do an amazing job of telling you about the culture on their social media channels. Others don’t. The companies who do not share a lot about their culture, you should study how do they treat their candidates and customers. You can use this information to see what it might be like at a company, and to see what is important to the brand before you join it.
Changing jobs is a big decision. Figuring out your fit is so important so that you don’t end up filled with dread and regret or the dreaded “job hopper” label. Carefully considering a company’s culture is critical in your career because getting it wrong is too costly.
How to recruit the right people to keep your business moving fast and maintain a positive culture.
Nothing will sink a business faster than bad hires. From product development to culture development, customer retention to employee retention, so much of your success hinges on your ability to hire great people. Not good… great. It’s the only way to continue to be successful in today’s competitive marketplace.
Here are five ways entrepreneurs can ensure they surround themselves and their business with the right people.
#1: Look for People Who Share Your Passion
Look for people who can match your spirit and share your passion. In the early days you are going to need people who are willing to do just about anything to make your business grow.
For example, at Porch we used the Lean Startup process (which I highly recommend). Before we raised a single dollar, we had run five different Minimum Viable Products (MVPs) that were designed to inform us of the problem that exists in our space and how to solve it. We ran a concierge service where we worked directly with consumers to solve a problem for them manually; we ran search arbitrage tests to understand the economics of consumer acquisition and inform our engine of growth; and built small products that made us smarter about what to build. Along the way everyone we brought on board was excited and supportive of the pace we took. They had the same passion for the lean process that I did.
#2: Look for People Who Can Compete
One of my leadership role models is Pete Carroll, head coach of the Super Bowl champion Seattle Seahawks (my home team–GO HAWKS!). Competition is about creating an environment where people are driven to perform to their maximum ability. For many companies, doing this while retaining team camaraderie and spirit is difficult. Over the years Pete has done an excellent job of communicating the purpose of internal competition to make each player better.
At Porch we are transparent about individual results and work to create healthy competition, but we celebrate team members who best help their peers improve. We want to compete to max out each day and to make sure the bar continues to be raised for the company and each individual. Finding people who can thrive within this environment is crucial.
#3: Look for People Who Can Move Fast
Speed has to be a differentiator for early startups. Make sure you are thoughtful about designing the organization’s structure so you will continue to be fast at scale.
#4: Look for People Who Fit Your Culture
I feel incredibly lucky to have the team we’ve assembled. We have a mix of talent and experiences but most importantly, I can feel the culture taking hold. I feel the teamwork, I see new individuals starting to flourish, I hear open communication, and I sense a stronger energy encompassing what we are trying to accomplish. The team is really working together to build something truly tremendous and I’m grateful to spend my days with them. It’s an incredible realization just how fun it can be to stand shoulder-to-shoulder in pursuit of an extreme goal. Saying that this experience is rewarding is an understatement. Pick the right people to make your company great.
#5: Look out for Jerks!
On the Porch office wall, we have a painted sign that says “No Jerks.” Hire people you genuinely like working with. Work is no fun when you can’t be yourself. Trust and transparency is key and you will find that everything slows down when you can’t be open. It only takes a couple of bad hires to really poison the well. If you bring on people who carry themselves with a high degree of integrity, empathy, and kindness, you will bring on people who fundamentally understand the right way to do business.
Catching a glimpse of a wagging tail skittering around the office isn’t just cute. It may just save your life and the lives of employees.
Allowing pets in the workplace has long been seen as key employee benefit, as well as an amusement (depending on whether you’re an animal lover). But for some employers, an open door policy toward pets–particularly, man’s best friend–has a raft of other business-enhancing benefits, which includes improved morale, reduced employee absenteeism and stress-related ailments like heart disease and diabetes.
In a 2012 study, employees who were around dogs in the workplace reported feeling less stressed than employees who have dogs but left them at home, according to researchers from Virginia Commonwealth University. The study also found that pets triggered workplace interactions that would not normally take place.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention also cited similar stress-reducing benefits.
Not all dogs are exactly St. Bernard’s. Naturally, some animals might hew closer to Cujo than Fido and barking–even among the sweetest puppies can get annoying.
Still, the benefits of a lower-stress workplace are too attractive for some business owners to ignore. Here are some companies throwing caution to the wind and welcoming pets into the workplace and the benefits they’ve seen as a result:
Catharsis and better communication
Replacements, a dinnerware retailer based in Greensboro, North Carolina has been pro (well-behaved) puppies at the office for decades. The company’s pet policy started because its founder, Bob Page, didn’t want to leave his pet at home. But he always figured that having animals around was cathartic.
That suspicion was confirmed after the company participated in the VCU study. “The study proved what we always thought: Having dogs around leads to a more productive work environment, and people get to know each other through the pets,” says Lisa Conklin, Replacements public relations manager. “If you are in a position where something is stressful, seeing that wagging tail and puppy smile brightens the day–it can turn around the whole environment.”
The benefits of Replacements’ pet policy extend beyond employee health, says Conklin. Specifically, she reported improved interactions among staffers. “When I first took the job, I often learned the names of the pets before employees, and it helped me build a bond with everyone.” She added that some employees consider the peace of mind that comes from of having their pets within reach a key benefit. “It is a lot of fun to have dogs around the office,” says Conklin.
Dogs often offer a way for their owners to get up from their desks during the day and take a walk. Harvey, a boxer that can be found at Replacements, Ltd., ensures that employees get outside, even in the rain.
Exercise and convenience
We all know exercise can help reduce stress. But in lieu of going running with employees each day, Human Movement Management, a Louisville,Colorado active entertainment company, is banking on its pet policy to amp up employees’ workouts.
“We work long days and long hours,” says Jen Chappell, a customer service representative at Human Movement. “Having dogs around the office makes it fun, and makes us get out of the office and exercise.”
HMM president Jeff Suffolk, who’s Golden Retriever’s name is Brady, adds that employees also value the convenience of being able to take their furry friends out for their mid-day walk themselves rather than having to hire a dog walker.
“I always felt like if we had the conveniences of our homes, that we would never dread coming to the office,” Suffolk says.
Work/life balance and mental breaks
As a custom application development company, employees at Indianapolis’ Inverse-Square often work long hours. Bringing pets to work makes the time pass more happily, says Bob Baird, the company’s president and founder. “With dogs around, it is too hard to get bent out of shape.”
Tack on the benefits associated with taking breaks and the policy pays for itself, adds Baird. “Our job requires us to solve complicated problems, and it is amazing what a four block walk with a dog will do.” When someone is getting stressed, they will grab a leash and head outside with a dog. This mental break they may not have taken without a dog in tow allows employees to come back refreshed.
Comic relief and petting therapy
At the crafty marketplace Etsy, pets are welcome for a variety of reasons–not least of all for their comedic timing.
Sarah Starpoli, an employee experience manager, recalls a story when one tiny fur ball bit off more than he could chew. Once, she explains, a very small dog walked through a staff meeting dragging a stolen piece of pizza past the person who was speaking. The slice was same size as the dog, she adds.
The Brooklyn, New York-based company has found that bringing dogs to work helps to keep employees’ spirits high and adds to the sense of community and connection. At Etsy, however, even the dogs have a community. The company keeps a doggie database, which features more than 50 nearby office dogs that are registered to come in. On any given day, about 4 to 10 pups are present.
Starpoli adds that stress levels naturally fall when pets are around. It’s hard to be overwhelmed by work when a dog goes skittering by or comes over to say hello. And it’s not uncommon for folks to actively seek out their favorite pups when they need a break.
Culture benefits and setting the tone
At Huffington Post’s offices in New York City and Los Angeles, the pet policy has been in force since 2011 when AOL acquired the media company. Besides traditional stress relieving benefits, the pro-pet policy also sets the tone for the office: comfortable, open and flexible, says Lena Auerbuch, HuffPo’s manager of lifestyle communications and partnerships.
There’s an “understanding that everyone keeps their teeth to themselves and remembers where the fire hydrant is,” says senior writer Ann Brenoff.
Thanks to my new friend Sally Anderson, a human resources partner at Google Chicago, I recently had the opportunity to tour the office and see for myself why Google is one of the most desirable employers in the world. I wasn’t disappointed.
The Customer is King
While I sat in the brightly lit, colorful lobby and sucked on a lemon Jolly Rancher, I watched the front desk receptionist field several calls from prospective summer interns. Did he turn up his nose and scoff? No sir. Google understands that when a call comes into the organization, you never know who’s on the line and what kind of influence that person might have – so its receptionists are helpful and friendly to everyone.
Diverse Work Spaces Promote Concentration and Collaboration
Google generally favors an open office environment, but the organization is very creative in its use of space. If you need a moment to relax alone, you head to the porch swings by the windows. You can brainstorm with colleagues in a room decorated like a garden. Want to impress a new client? Take her over to the speakeasy-themed conference room.
A Wellness Focus is Everywhere
Google serves up gourmet, healthy breakfast and lunch to its Chicago employees so they won’t rely on the plethora of fast food options in the area. And if you don’t have time to hit the in-house gym or massage chairs, you can meet with colleagues as you walk around the office track – 12 laps equals one mile.
Creativity Flows Unobstructed
The people at Google, even the engineers, are always making art. Evidence of their work is on every floor, from wall masterpieces made by paintball guns to complex “Blox” structures built to resemble Stonehenge. I think if I worked here, I might just get over my fear of art class and discover my inner Picasso.
Every Office is Innovative
I would have thought the coolest projects would be reserved for Google’s West Coast headquarters, but Chicago can hold its own when it comes to intrapreneurship. Employees here were responsible for Google code (an internal site for developers, the Data Liberation Front, including Google Takeout, and portions of the Art Project. The latter was responsible for bringing the collections of museums including the Louvre and the Art Institute of Chicago online.
Community Engagement is a Priority
Google Chicago supports its local branches of the National Society of Black Engineers, National Engineers Week, National Lab Day and Girls in Engineering Day. The office participates in Chicago Ideas Week and helped judge the FIRST Robotics Competition. It provides space and resources to non-profit tech incubators, and hosts or co-hosts events including ORD Camp, the Parent Internet Safety Workshop and the Internet Bootcamp for Your Business.
It’s Like Being at the Ellen Show
A string of high-profile visitors parade through Google Chicago’s hallways, from the mayor, Rahm Emanuel, and chef Rick Bayless, to Lollapalooza acts like DJ White Shadow and Cold War Kids. Standing in the main meeting room, which manages to be intimidating and down to earth at the same time, I could fancy myself among the roster of authors and thought-leaders that grace the stage on a monthly basis.
It’s an Open Book
Other than not allowing me to take pictures of specific employees, Google was happy to show and tell me anything I wanted to know about. This openness and transparency was a refreshing change from working with organizations that ask me to sign an NDA before a 30 minute phone conversation. Google people trust others, and so others trust them.
It’s time for leaders in all organizations (non-profit, for-profit, healthcare, government, education, etc.) to get serious about how culture is impacting their performance.
Yes, leaders need to build on that understanding, engage their organizations to harness the incredible power of culture, and strive to make a meaningful impact.
When I personally think about the word culture, I think about “impact.”
Many leaders desire to make a meaningful impact in their organizations, yet no matter how successful they are, culture is always helping and holding them back from maximizing that impact. There are results to deliver, diseases to cure, people to educate, governments to change, and other meaningful improvements leaders desire to make, but most are not leveraging the power of organizational culture.
Why culture is so critically important
This must change and it’s important to give leaders the knowledge to deal with the subject of culture with confidence.
It is a global issue, and surveys continue to highlight the importance of culture and an inability to translate that awareness into results:
Some 75 percent of CEO’s see developing an open and collaborative culture as critical to dealing with the complexity of business today (IBM 2012 Global CEO Study).
A whopping 96 percent of people believe culture change is needed in their organization in some form, and 51 percent need a major culture overhaul (Booz & Company study).
Worldwide, only 13 percent of employees are engaged (Gallup State of the Global Workplace study).
One might expect every CEO to have a sense of urgency to understand their culture as a basis for solving problems, dealing with challenges, avoiding the tragic consequences of bad behavior, driving out fear, and eliminating their own frustrations about managing work in their organization, but this is not the case.
There are two visuals that capture important aspects of the culture change challenge, The Culture Circle and The Culture Curve.
The Culture Circle
This visual and concept is adapted from Simon Sinek’s Golden Circle and his great Ted Talk on Leaders Inspire Action.
There are three rings in The Culture Circle:
Execution (Goals, Initiatives & Actions): Many organizations focus their “culture work” on this surface layer. This is no surprise since we are absolutely buried in popular press and over-simplified culture content. Recent headlines include “4 Ways to Fix a Broken Company Culture” and “12 Tips on Creating the Perfect Company Culture.” My favorite is “Affordable Ways to Improve Your Culture” that highlighted a Nerf gun fight example for improving your culture. Some of these concepts may be great actions, initiatives, or events but this surface level, focused on execution, must be clearly connected to supporting the two inner rings of the circle.
Strategies & Systems: Some organizations focus on specific strategies or systems to support the culture they want to reinforce, or feel they need, to manage priorities, challenges, or goals. The focus may include specific systems or improvements for reward and recognition, communication, training, hiring, core operating processes for their products / services, and other areas. This focus often falls woefully short of truly building the strategy and supporting systems required to leverage their unique culture and manage change effectively.
Culture Core – Purpose & Values: Some organizations do focus on the core or “heart” of their culture, their purpose and values. The purpose ideally captures why they exist and what’s special about how they support that purpose. The values should go beyond one word values and be clarified through stories, definitions, specific expected behaviors, or other approaches. Organizations need a framework of strategies and systems that reinforce, and provide a support structure of habits and routines for these values.
A clear and shared “culture core” is not enough as evidenced by the non-profits, educational institutions, healthcare organizations, faith-based organizations, and others with a “shared purpose” that still struggle to maximize their potential, due to the lack of supporting strategies and operating systems.
When leaders truly understand that all three circles are needed in order to maximize the potential of their organization in supporting their purpose and achieving the results they desire, real transformation can begin.
The Culture Curve and “Tipping Point”
There’s plenty of studies out there about the effectiveness of change efforts and most highlight that the majority of culture change initiatives fail. I don’t want to debate statistics but I believe most initiatives fail because:
Leaders either barely touch the surface of the changes needed to support the areas of The Culture Circle; or,
Their focus is to go deep with major improvements in just one or two areas, resulting in no connection between the big change areas and the results they seek.
The answer is actually found when organizations go shallow in the right areas, while making connections from that work to a major performance priority, goal, or challenge. The organization learns by the coordinated focus on one priority and applies what is learned to other performance priorities, problems, and challenges (but faster and more effectively the next time around).
Unfortunately, most organizations implement various improvements and they never integrate enough of them as part of an overall strategy, to reach the tipping point where momentum builds, results grow, and the work gets easier.
9 steps behind the Culture Curve
While various change models exist, The Culture Curve is based on the following nine steps:
Focus the work on a top performance priority (sales, profit, etc.).
Identify a clear vision for improvement with further support of 1-2 values where current behavior is holding back performance (think frustrations, challenges & inconsistencies).
Define specific expected behaviors you need to see for the 1-2 values.
Clarify strategic priorities (typically 3-5 areas) for the performance priority.
Engage the team to define clear goals for each strategic priority.
Define and visibly share measures for the top performance priority.
Maintain a management system priorities and goals (staff meeting, leadership meeting, etc.).
Manage communication habits and routines.
Build motivation throughout the process.
Nearly all of these areas need to be addressed before results clearly build and momentum grows. A major pitfall for many leaders is to focus on superficial changes, or go deep in a few specific areas, resulting in an inability to build the full support structure needed to make it past the tipping point.
A time for action
Awareness of the power of culture has grown but education on how to harness that power is limited. Leaders at all levels need a sense of urgency in understanding how their culture is supporting their purpose and impacting their results as a basis for action since culture and leadership are two sides of the same coin.
It’s better for this action to be focused on a specific performance priority, problem, or goal, in order to build understanding, and accelerate buy-in that drives results.
It can start with a leader at any level learning more about the culture fundamentals and holding that first meeting with their team to begin addressing the nine (9) areas above in connection to the No. 1 priority in their organization, location, department, or team.
Are you ready to schedule that meeting or to take action in some other way? What impact could leaders have if they are serious about culture and take action with confidence?
Nelson Mandela said that “education is the most powerful weapon you can use to change the world.” Awareness of the power of culture is clearly growing but we need far more education and action.
