A positive, cohesive culture attracts the right employees and sets the foundation for a successful business, as our previous articles in this series have shown. We’ve introduced how to determine the kind of culture your organization has and steps to take in order to create the kind of culture you want. Building a culture to support your business is key to this series, as is looking forward to see how to transition this new mindset into actions you take to facilitate the company’s growth and ensure employees have the ability to thrive.
Planning for that growth needs to include a vision for the future and the best way to continue to do business in that future. You’ve done a lot of work to start building the kind of company culture you can be proud of. Maintaining a great culture is an ongoing process that requires diligent attention, however. Having best principles in mind – not just best practices – will be what helps propel your business for years to come.
In order to set yourself up for growth, it’s not only culture that needs to be addressed, though; creating an environment of diversity, equity, and inclusion also need to be part of the equation. How much better would it be for your company if its ethos and employee makeup were more inclusive? Are you facilitating the kind of trusted space in which workers have opportunities to expand their skillset and break through the glass ceiling or are you encouraging a sticky floor to discourage professional empowerment?
Building an eclectic, diverse workforce is yet another step in the process of driving the business in the direction leadership has established through their culture revamp, assuming that overhaul was undertaken to generate the potential for a trusting and inclusive workplace. Some of the most important elements for creating organizational change are the support and training that comes from the top, so continuing the changes integrated with the culture modifications should now occur more organically.
As you restructure your company culture, some workers resist embracing the changes to your overhauled culture. Replacing them may be your only option. This is an ideal time to implement diversity when recruiting new workers who are a better fit for the business.
You need to ensure that the sharing of common values will be an integral part of the hiring process so that new hires start off on the right foot. After all, they’ll be joining a company whose culture has been built to the updated specifications of leadership’s values. The initiation process will be more streamlined and logical if the foundation has already been instilled in the current workforce.
Once you’ve started the process to create a robust culture, established goals stand as motivation for everyone to be focused and work toward shared results. This means that hiring choices require there to be a buy-in from prospective employees. Candidates should be assessed for cultural fit, as well as for their skills and experience. Keep in mind, though, that you can train for skills. The same doesn’t apply, however, for training someone to change their personality or characteristics in order for them to fully integrate into your company and its cohesive culture.
Your ultimate objective is to optimize your organization to improve how you deliver results. An awareness of how important trust must be part of the foundation moving forward – as well as how critical certain changes can profoundly impact your business – is needed now more than ever. The unfolding of current events continues to show us quite graphically that we are never done; it’s an ongoing process. Regular attention to company culture must be paid or you can find yourself off track.
If you’ve deliberately established resolutions and created prescriptive methods that align with your ideal culture, those guidelines fulfill your company’s purpose and enhance your brand. Continue on this strategic journey of constructing a vibrant culture with an eye towards diversity, equity, and inclusion. Email your thoughts to me so we can discuss how to create an effective dialogue moving forward.
