Recently, I came across the annual list of ‘World’s best multinational places to work’ which ranks the top 25 global companies to work for. It enlists Google at the numero uno position. The Internet giant has been at the acme since last 3 years in a row. This survey had half a million respondents who noted that the spirit of camaraderie and company culture had been prime to them.

Building, creating a great corporate culture has for long been a cherished goal for entrepreneurs, leaders and founders. They thrive for an exemplary culture which offers all the goodness of employee growth, telecommuting, flextime, free lunches, fitness zones and the list goes on.

A lot has been said, written and emphasized on Corporate Culture. Let me take you through some basic fundamentals, habits and practices to be wary of, if you wish to have an ideal culture in your Organization.

1. Ignoring lessons from past: Mistakes are best lessons and experience is the best teacher, holds true we all admit but we sometimes lag behind in implementing when it comes to creating a culture for our brain child. Recollect your past, the jobs you loved and recollect the reasons behind. Analyze it, make out what kind of culture worked well and what didn't. Create a list of do's and don’ts for this and see that gets implemented.

2. Staying unaligned to core values: Each of us have a set of core values. A clear thought process goes in defining it, but in the rut of day to day operations they are unknowingly left behind. As leaders, it becomes our responsibility to infuse the spirit and make sure that team stays aligned to it. Say, if you are someone with high affinity for innovation and creativity, then let your brand, your workplace be so and make sure you are on it persistently.

3. All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy: Well, it’s easier said than done. What I try to emphasize here is, doing something out of box. Add little fun to your workplace and it shall go a long way. Introduce activities/ initiatives that makes your team feel work more of fun and less of burden. For instance, consider four days work week, Friday half days, reduced working hours, establishing a fun committee or juggling tasks amongst team members. Options are plenty but works differently for different business, assess what suits yours and then roll ahead your plans.

4. Lack of communication: Communication is the live wire of any organization. The more consistent channels we have in place, the better it is. Lack of open communication, feedback, inputs for team mates hinders performances and jobs can look quite dreadful for them. Keep your mind open to feedbacks and solicit it from employees. Capture what they like about company and what they don’t. Put them first and they will do the same

From your end, Communicate from your vision, mission and core values. Allow it to reverberate across all levels and departments and ensure your actions also fall in place . Imagine yourself as messenger and convey it all the time. Let your actions reflect it, make yourself brand ambassador for the values, after all- Action speaks louder than words.

5. Hiring for the sake of it: Filling positions with matching qualifications is a must but what’s also crucial is hiring strategically. Consider culture fitments as another major prerequisite. According to a survey by Monster.com, it was noted that culturally fit applicants accept marginally lower salary and are less likely to leave jobs. Offer employees not just job but career, a profession to live by and they will be your ‘culture carriers’.

The list of don’ts can get longer and bigger, but to the core, it all revolves around employees and creating an experience for them. Keep it simple- avoid rigidity, nurture growth, maintain transparency, openness and most importantly value them!





About the Author

Anand (@ananddamanica) is a Serial Entrepreneur and Startup Advisor with over 20 years of experience in the Manufacturing Sector, International Trade, Custom software, Web & Mobile App. Development. He has provided IT integration guidance to over 200 SME & Startup Clients across the globe. A Chartered Accountant by education and an Entrepreneur at heart, Anand has a knack for simplifying 'complex' problems. He shares his expertise in business and management, and also writes about his passion– Yoga, in his blog: www.ananddamani.com/blog





He believes Yoga is not just exercise for mind & body but a Philosophy, that should be applied in life as well. You can reach him at: anand@ananddamani.com.