Some small-business owners at the early stages of growth believe they can wait until they’re bigger – more established, with a bigger team – before they start focusing on building their culture in a deliberate way. But even if you’re just hiring your first employee, now is the time to incorporate culture-first thinking.
Various studies have found that positive company culture leads to higher levels of employee engagement and lower staff turnover, which can in turn lead to better business performance and increased revenue and profits. If you wait too long to think about culture, you risk finding yourself in a toxic workplace. These types of cultures are difficult to undo, and will cost you more time and money in the long run.
Here are six tips to building a great culture:
1. Be Intentional – set the direction for your culture via your purpose and values
Culture doesn’t have to be a huge, insurmountable issue to tackle. The best approach is to be deliberate and set the direction for culture early on. Imagine the world you would like your employees to live in, and the workplace you want for them and for yourself. Then use your company purpose, mission and values to bring this to life via specific value behaviours that support this world. This should direct what is important and how you make decisions.
2. Communicate and reinforce a strong culture
As you set the direction for your culture and become more clear about “how we do things around here” be sure to communicate this widely and reinforce it by responding positively to culture and values-aligned behaviour while calling out behaviour that goes against what you are trying to build.
Your onboarding process is the perfect way to establish the building blocks of your company’s culture. Make it easy for new hires to look for clues as to how to do things and what is acceptable with an Employee Handbook and an onboarding process that covers your values in-depth.
3. Use data and research to understand where to focus for your size and culture
A great way to understand your culture is to use data. You can gather feedback from employees on their experience which should highlight if the world you are trying to create for your employees is happening. From here you can create a culture strategy.
In the absence of gathering your own data, look at public research on what is important for wsmall business when it comes to people and culture.
4. Focus on wellbeing early and career opportunities as you grow
To keep employees engaged, talk to them about their long-term goals and focus on helping them get there within your organisation. Empower your workers to take charge of their own upskilling and development, and make sure they know it’s a priority for the business. When it comes to wellbeing, supporting employees can be as simple as equipping managers to respond to wellbeing concerns in employees and to show genuine care. As a company, pay close attention to norms around work hours and availability expectations.
5. Right-size your systems and processes
Our 2021 Culture Crunch report shows painful systems and processes strongly impact employee engagement, particularly for small businesses. Make sure all your processes are set up to keep pace with hiring while not jumping ahead for your business needs and stage.
6. Check-in on progress
Finally, there’s no point in working on your company culture if you don’t keep track of how you’re doing. Culture is a key driver of a company’s bottom line, so treat it as you would any other important element of the business. Be transparent about your goals and check in with employees regularly through chats and surveys. And if something’s not working, try to find out why and address it as quickly as possible.
