A Positive Corporate Culture:

Performance & Culture

Organizational Management

Presented by: Dawn Abbuhl

President, Repeat Business Systems, Inc.

Definitioncor·po·rate cul·ture

• The distinctive ethos of an organization that influences the level of formality, loyalty, and general behavior of its employees

• Company's values and customs: the values, customs, and traditions of a particular company, usually a large corporation

• Atmosphere in large companies: the professional atmosphere that prevails in large corporations generally, reflected in people's dress, conduct, and ways of communicating

Quote by: Lou Gerstner

Until I came to IBM, I probably would have told you that culture was just one among several important elements in any organization's makeup and success — along with vision, strategy, marketing, financials, and the like... I came to see, in my time at IBM, that culture isn't just one aspect of the game, it is the game. In the end, an organization is nothing more than the collective capacity of its people to create value.

Quote by: Jack Welch

• Jack Welch: No company, small or large, can win over the long run without energized employees who believe in the mission and understand how to achieve it

Quote by: Doug Conant, Campell Soup

• To win in the marketplace, you must first win in the workplace

Quote by: Richard Branson, Virgin Group:

• When you lavish praise on people, they flourish. Criticize, and they shrivel up

WHY IT’S IMPORTANT TO HAVE A STRONG AND POSITIVE CORPORATE CULTURE

• Quality of life

• Productivity

• Turn over

• Never had someone voluntary leave to go to a competitor

• Over 95% of all turnover is our choice

(zip lines, games, couches, sleeping room)

Personal Management Style and Behavior Affects Culture

(this is the one slide of advice – only one)

• Address outliers

• Plan in advance how to address issues

• Solicit ideas from everyone

• Continuous feedback

• Listen, address, follow-up

• Own mistakes, humor

• Not everyone has the skill

Finding the Right Members for Your Team

• Communicate at the interview (Zappos ‘ fit interview)

• Find match for team (most importantly positive control of destiny)

• Find hidden talents

• Use your stories

People don’t want to be part of a team they don’t like or respect

Change is Good

• Excellence and an excellent fit = success

• Who has staff members that have been with you a long time but has not grown as the company has grown and changed?

• The industry has changed

• May have to ask new recruits, older staff, customers what their impression is and is it consistent with what they thought or was told?

• Mission Statement

• Empowerment

• Contributions

• Promoting

Company Policies Affect Culture

We Do• Team- handbook and all communications

• No competition in sales

• Work space, roles, who's who

• Family – flexible if needed

• Town Hall meetings

• Smaller/dept meetings

• Posting birthdays

• Bucket list

• Each department choses monthly fun

• Buddies

Can You Read This?

Warning Signs

What does it feel like when you come into the office?

What does it feel like when others walk in?

Do you get compliments from visitors?

Do people attend corporate functions?

FINAL COMMENT

CORPORATE CULTURE IS WHAT YOU DO NOT WHAT YOU SAY

1. What do you do during the onboarding process to address and communicate your corporate culture

2. Is it different for different departments and how?

3. Is this something you actually budget for and how much?

4. Who at your company is responsible for developing, communicating, and maintaining this? HR, You, ?

5. When did you decide this was important to actively pay attention to (i.e. day one, once you hit 10 mill, etc.)

6. Have you had any negative experiences that made you chance this aspect of your company?

7. Have you had any positive, interesting experiences with this that you can share?

8. What team building activities have you done?

9. If you could describe your corporate culture in three words, what would you say?

10. If you were going to give public tours of your company, what stops would the guide make?

11. If the local paper were going to run a four-page article about your company's culture, what would be impossible not to include?

12. What's the best part about working in this environment that You won't be able to see from just a walk around the office?

13. What do you love best about the company culture here?

14. How do you communicate the company culture? Is it verbal or something that written down and communicated?