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Dealing with a growing portion of their workforce composed of demanding millennials, often leads companies to take seemingly easy shortcuts in order to attract the best and brightest talent with lazy corporate gimmicks. But these pale in comparison to what a great organizational culture can do for your business in the long term, namely create a more loyal, engaged workforce that feels their thirst for a meaningful workplace has been quenched.
Yes, free lunches, nap rooms and foosball tables are great benefits and fun to play with, but thinking that these alone are sufficient to retain people in the long term is a dangerous mistake. Once people get past the novelty of having access to those things, they’ll get frustrated and complain that they’re still unfulfilled and unhappy, the same way they were at their previous job, the one before that, all the way back to their first job. That’s because these jobs did not bring more meaning and fulfillment to their lives. The same way they’ll get bored of that once-shiny pair of flashy Air Jordans, that they grossly overpaid for, they’ll get bored with a company that does nothing to help them find meaning in their work but to provide temporarily exciting distractions, while ignoring the deeper issues that are the root causes of a disengaged workforce.
More Alden, Less Nike
To continue with the shoe metaphor, a company with a great culture is more like a quality pair of Alden dress shoes than Nikes: When well taken care of, the leather will age gracefully and even acquire a nice patina that only time can provide, while taking care of your aching feet for decades on end. When put through difficult situations, they may temporarily lose their luster, but with some TLC, can always be brought back to life. Small blemishes will give character and make for some interesting stories. Only serious, long-term neglect has the potential to damage it irreparably, as they can be damaged with scratches and cuts which no amount of care will fix. Its sole may eventually wear out, but a good cobbler can always re-sole them and give them a second lease on life. It will never look cutting edge or worse, fashionable, but it’s not meant to. It has a timeless quality that will make it relevant at any time and acceptable in any situation. It is built to last and will outlast any pair of sneakers by decades.
Conversely, a new and shiny pair of the latest Air Jordans, looks fresh as hell out of the box, but loses all its value as soon as you start wearing them. Because they’re white, the slightest trace of dust or mud, will make them look terrible and to keep them looking good you have to neurotically clean them to try and bring them back to their former glory. But no amount of care will do so as they are not built with materials that can be easily mended and replaced. If worn with any regularity, one can hope for a year or two before they start looking terrible and you’d be ashamed to be seen wearing them in public. They’ll soon be replaced by another new and shiny pair that will give you a short burst of satisfaction before they’re discarded because they don’t look good enough anymore.
Like dress shoes, a great organizational culture is a big undertaking that takes a lot of work to build, and a constant effort to maintain, but it will lead your employees, customers, suppliers and stakeholders to a more fulfilling life. While too many employees dread showing up at work every day, wouldn’t you want to have employees who are happy to show up and have fun every day?
How to foster a great culture.
I wish I could put a red pill in your hand and tell you that taking it will magically make a great culture spring into existence. Unfortunately, there is no such solution. A great culture is an expression of your company’s purpose and as such, what works for another company will not necessarily work for yours. Therefore it will take great effort and time to determine what it could be for you and your team. Not an easy task by any means, but in my opinion a risk worth taking as the potential upside is tremendous on many levels.
At a basic level, a great organizational culture is a set of rules, behaviours and etiquette that represent the character of that entity. It should make it easier for the company’s stakeholders to lead happy and fulfilled lives. I believe there are a couple of metrics that embody the success of an organizational culture:
Are people fulfilled as a result of taking part in the business?
Is the business more profitable as a result of positive organizational changes?
This is where the greatest opportunities to make a difference lie. The culture-savvy people that I’ve had the pleasure to talk to over the years all see their leadership role in a very-specific way: They are acutely aware that the people working for them are not just employees working for a paycheque. Rather, employees are people with responsibilities, families and obligations. How they are being treated impacts them and a shitty workplace will make them miserable at work, but also at home and could negatively impact their family, friends, spouses and kids.
When we pay attention to our employees needs, we are not in a transactional relationship anymore, where employees earn money in exchange for getting something done, but a transformational one, in which the better the employees are doing on a personal level, the more they are likely to feel happy, fulfilled and perform better at work, leading to a more profitable business as well as happy customers and suppliers. I’m sure the shareholders would eventually get their due as well.
The first step is always the same: recognize that change is necessary. It may be because the company is struggling financially, or that the dictatorial leadership and its historical “my way or the highway” approach to leadership is no longer working or, for a myriad of other possible reasons. When the need to change has been established, this is where leaders have an opportunity to change themselves, their way of leading and be willing to involve all relevant stakeholders in taking part of the process. If you envisioned what your ideal business looks like, a good way to go about it would be to reverse-engineer that vision into existence.
Here’s a fun challenge for you: You can try it. Yes, right now. Pick one of your employees randomly. Think about what you know of their personal life. Where did they grow up? Do they have a family? What are their hobbies? Do they have pets? What kind of personality they have? What are their biggest challenges outside the workplace? Are their parents still around?
Keep digging. You can’t think of anything? Now you know where to start. Relationships are the foundation of a great organizational culture. Only by learning to listen to people’s needs, wants and aspirations we can empower them to achieve those. Get to know one (or several) of them. Take them out to lunch and listen to what they say, what you’ll hear may surprise you.
Congratulations, you planted the seed of a better culture. What will you do next to make it a reality? There is no way you can lose if you truly believe in a better future for yourself and your business.
Arnaud Marthouret is the founder of rvltr and leads their strategy, visual communications and media efforts. He has helped numerous architects and interior designers promote themselves in their best light - pun intended - in order to help them run more effective practices and grow in a meaningful way.
If you have questions about this article or rvltr, or want to chat about your strategy and communications, you can leave a comment, share with a friend, or reach him at arnaud{at}rvltr.studio.