According to Great Places to Work, 80% of companies see the biggest benefits when investing into company culture. Imitation is the fondest form of flattery and understanding how each of these companies made culture number one will allow your company to take some of their best practices and implement them in your workplace. Take a page out of the book of these four companies and you’ll be on your way to a better and stronger company culture.
As a growing company Twitter has been able to create an environment where each employee is smart and willing to help. Twitter is said to have team meetings on the rooftop which shows that they’re able to expand on their corporate atmosphere and use teamwork effectively.
With hundreds of thousands of resumes received and only a fraction of people being accepted into the media giant’s company, Google has been able to maintain an open culture when it comes to startups and showing people that no matter your role you’re an important piece of a much larger, successful puzzle. Google touts its hands-on contributor status and gives employees the chance to be ask questions directly to Larry Page each Friday.
Chick-Fil-A
Anyone who eats Chick-Fil-A understands that not only do their customers have a cult following, but also their employees firmly believe in their religious passions and cause. Company culture for Chick-Fil-A is an opportunity to not only instill their values, but it also gives them the ability to hire likeminded individuals who will work hard because they believe in the core values.
Southwest Airlines
Southwest Airlines has always been one of the top companies when it comes to how employees view the company. The word of mouth referrals for Southwest Airlines is not only the greatest in the airline industry, but their employees are celebrated as much as their passengers.
So how do you incorporate the tactics of these four outstanding companies into your own company culture? Twitter promotes teamwork and allows employees the ability to share and collaborate on projects, Google promotes a true open door policy when it comes to breaking down barriers with employees and top leadership, Chick-Fil-A possesses a strong following based on core values of their company, and Southwest Airlines shows that not only is the employee a stellar person in their company, but they’ve been able to extend that same courtesy to its customers.
Learn more about creating a good company culture with this whitepaper: Creating a Culture of Learning.
We have open discussion at all staff meetings.
Flying with Southwest Airlines has always been a great experience for me — seeing how the employees LOVE their work!! It truly comes across to passengers. I believe allowing an employee latitude when it comes to making your customers happy is what makes Southwest a GREAT employer.
Managing by wondering around sincerely communicating and caring for all employees with a zero tolerance towards bullying can create an effective corporate culture over time.
Judy Brown I would always question “open discussions” as being a good barometer in the how happy is an employee department. The truest since is dispositions. I many times have had people provide lip service in a staff meeting only to overhear snide comments in the restroom or restaurant when they thought no one could hear them. If you see someone becoming short with others, or not participating in various work related discussions or activities I don’t care how open your staff meeting is…you have a problem. Ray Grossman, I agree 100% zero tolerance with bullying is a great and… Read more »
But what is the culture of the work force doing the things that the business needs to do? Feeling good about your company, job or boss doesn’t matter much when it is 2:30am after already working 60+ hours this week. What is the employee really going to do when the boss is asleep and can’t provide the needed guidance. THAT is the culture that is important to understand. THAT is the culture that MetaPower is looking at and measuring.
A High Performance Culture is much more than engagement, or satisfaction. Culture covers all areas of how Leaders and their Teams interact and get work done. Because “culture” covers every interaction it’s difficult to see. But there are scientific measurement tools that provide an accurate and clear picture of “where we are” and “where we want to be”.
Engagement and Satisfaction are great outcomes but they are only the tip of the iceberg.
To create the right culture for the organization, we need to define the “how” of the journey to reach the goals. These How’s are the values of the company. They need to translated into measurable and observable behaviors. These behaviors need to be appreciated, celebrated and rewarded consistently to create a lasting culture. Employee engagement is a task to achieve this goal. Many organisations consciously follow this path with clarity and become a great place to work. It will be great if you all share the best practices that is followed in your organization for the benefit of all. I… Read more »
While we all agree that Culture plays an important role in shaping behaviours, it is equally important to understand that not many organizations are successful in creating one. As we work in a dynamic environment, lot of attrition happening, diverse work force which come with different backgrounds and most employees come with a short lived approach. People join a new organization for a good career, better pay/benefits etc and these are not long term reasons why one will remain with an organization. Nor organizations can give these on a sustained basis. When this is happening, a questions come on how… Read more »
I think creating a great culture involves a wide variety of activities and first and foremost is integrity and employee well-being. If companies say they care about their employees, then they must follow through and show that they do care about employee’s opinions, mental health while at work (bullying) and fairness regardless of the position one holds. Do this and employees will think highly of the company and remain loyal.