Corporate Culture — Success Maker or Company Killer?

June 11, 2020

By Sean Bernard, Regional Sales Manager — Central & Eastern Canada for Ideal Industries (Canada), Corp. and National Chair of EFC’s Young Professionals Network

All employees, managers and executives alike want to participate in an environment for business success and growth in the workplace. That really isn’t up for debate. The methodologies for doing so and the culture which these methods create is the real difference between success or failure for your business. The word failure may not be the right way to describe this as many very financially successful companies do so despite the poor culture within their offices and revolving door of employees moving in and out of their business.

A successful corporate culture boils down to some very simple pillars. Firstly, does your environment provide opportunities for idea sharing? One of the biggest roadblocks that employees feel is they work somewhere that their voice is not heard. This boils down to the very simple “Team” approach. Managers cannot be on the frontlines every day and experience everything that their team members do. Having an open mind and genuinely listening, reviewing and considering the hurdles and ideas for change brought forth by their team will not only bring them together as a stronger group but will show your appreciation for what each person brings to the table. If people are not given an outlet for sharing their ideas, frustration will build and lead to a toxic environment for everyone.

Next, does your corporate culture covey a message of encouraging personal growth? While every company has those few employees who come into a role, become very good at it and want nothing more, the vast majority of people want more, whether that be more responsibility, more money and/or more opportunity to grow personally and learn new skills. This is particularly important for your Millennial and Generation Z team members. Our industry by and large has not been doing enough for succession planning or identifying “future stars” early on in their careers and paving a path forward with them. I don’t think we need to discuss the difficulty that many of us have had over the last number of years in finding quality team members (in fact, EFC’s 2020 Research Report is dedicated to talent availability), so are we doing our part to ensure that these high potential people are staying with our companies/industry? Especially now, we truly need to be conveying the message that there is incredible opportunity for growth within our companies and within the industry as a whole.

Does your company provide recognition for a job well done? While this doesn’t need to be anything formal, recognizing individuals who go above and beyond is a great and easy way to improve culture. Personally, I have never been someone who needs a pat on the back, however I will say that it does motivate me to strive for greater success when it has happened in the past. This has become such an important piece of the culture puzzle that business social media site LinkedIn has added a feature for members to recognize and show appreciation for their connections/colleagues who go the extra mile or simply provide their assistance on a project.

Lastly, does your culture portray a welcoming environment for diversity in the workplace? This subject has always been important and given the current social climate should be at or near the top of most company’s priorities. In my opinion, our industry as a whole has done a fairly good job in this area. For example, there are significantly more women in our industry than there were 10 years ago and more importantly, a great number of women in executive and senior roles within their companies. With that said, we still have a long way to go. There are still the rumblings of the “old boys club” stigma within our industry that we all need to do our part to shift the focus away from. Over my career, I have witnessed more than a couple of situations or conversations that do not belong in society, let alone in the workplace. While our industry has taken huge strides in diversity, it will take everyone to change these behaviours and speak up when they see these types of situations. With that said, it is imperative for us as leaders in the industry to lead by example and continue the diversity growth path that we are on. The vast majority of our industry companies have instituted corporate policies regarding diversity and inclusion with few exceptions, but one exception is too many. And in the end, this corporate culture will ultimately destroy any chance of success.

There is a saying that most people in the business world have heard many times over stating that “culture kills strategy.” Given the current business climate with the COVID-19 pandemic, strategy is an evolving target from week to week, if not hour to hour. However, companies cannot lose sight of the corporate culture. In fact, now more than ever your culture needs to be in focus as we all try to adjust to the new normal. With the understanding that desperate times call for desperate measures, a short-term win to the detriment of the business culture will have long lasting effects on your business strategy and overall success.

A few weeks before the pandemic hit, I was running a practice for a local hockey team. As I hit the ice with the team, I was talking to some of the coaches when the team slogan that was written on the back of their jerseys caught my eye:

WE>ME

In other words, the team is bigger than me. In speaking with the head coach, he explained that he was focusing these kids on sharing ideas for breakouts/plays and they then discuss them as a team. He also encouraged each of them to speak up when something was on their minds and reinforced his belief that individual skills will improve at a greater rate when the team works together to achieve a common goal. Each team member has a voice in the room and knows that they will be heard. Talk about setting a group of kids up for success as leaders all while living in a culture of inclusion, sharing and growth. Such a simple philosophy, even kids can do it.