If the words you would use to describe your company culture aren’t good ones, change your culture.
Even if you’re still a one-person operation and especially if you’ve hired some staff to help you grow, then you have a company culture. And if you didn’t decide what that would be and teach it to your staff, then it’s probably not what you want it to be.
HR expert Mel Kleiman offers a quick exercise to help you see where your company culture is:
Read through the following list and jot down the words that stand out as particularly fitting: Accountable – Friendly – Stimulating – Adventurous – Fun – Trustworthy – Bold – Futuristic – Unconventional – Business-like – Industrial – Unique – Busy – Informal – Upbeat – Calm – Innovative – Youthful – Caring – Intense – Casual – No-nonsense – Collaborative – One-of-a-kind – Conservative – Predictable – Creative – Professional – Cutting-Edge – Reliable – Dynamic – Respected – Efficient – Routine – Energetic – Scholarly – Exciting – Serious – Formal – Stable
If you’re finding that other words like gossip, complaints, inconsistency and things like that are creeping in to your list, that should be a red flag to start looking at your policies and procedures to see where you can improve.
