Cultivating Culture, Part 4: The Processes

Now to put that business mission statement into practice. What you need to do is work out some processes for each aspect that you want to achieve. Write out two columns: one for the goal, one for some ideas to help your team achieve that culture.

A really straight forward one for example is if you want your business to have a certain ‘look’, say, a stylish, super fashionable vibe, then write an appropriate policy on appearance. I’m not talking just ‘polish your shoes’, I’m talking ‘if Olivia Palermo wouldn’t approve, don't do it’. Give the policy the same character as you vision for your culture and people will get the picture.

That's a fairly obvious one. The ones that are going to help you on a daily basis might have to be more creative. Do you want a playful atmosphere? Then maybe every month a different employee is the Play Police and they are responsible for injecting a bit of spontaneity and humour into their colleagues’ days.

Maybe you want your employees to have the best technical information around. I suggest that you need to sit down with them on a quarterly basis and plan their upcoming training. Get them to research the courses they want to do; see if you can get any of the sales reps in to teach a course on a difficult aspect of a product; schedule in some time when one employee can coach another.

Perhaps you envision your business having great teamwork. Then start a recognition program. Again, I’m not talking tacky primary-school style certificates but something more in line with your culture. Look at giving everyone an object, say a silk flower or a pin badge or a little toy that has something to do with your industry, and ask him or her to give it to a colleague when that colleague does something to help them. Or even an anonymous teamwork star chart that anyone can add to for anyone. Adults aren’t usually great at saying ‘I really appreciate what you just did, it made me feel important and made my work much more rewarding’*; we find it much easier to just leave a token on someone’s desk.

For one business I consulted with, we ambushed the blackboard outside their shop and would find a quote every month or so that summed up their culture. That way clients mentioned it when they walked in, reminding the staff of what they were a part of and starting a conversation.

If you want your business to be known for it’s calming and competent atmosphere, whether you are an accountant or a beautician, why not ensure everyone schedules a 10-minute me-break into their day? Do you have space to make a comfy corner in the staff room specifically for this? Or even just a novelty set of headphones that staff can borrow and then everyone else knows they are spending ten minutes looking after themselves? If ten minutes sounds like a lot, just think of the time, energy and money you could waste trying to attract new business when all it could take is your staff having an infectiously reassuring attitude worth talking about.

As with the other weeks, I recommend asking others for input and taking your time. Ideas will come to you at odd times if you let it ruminate and they can take on a whole new level if you allow your employees or colleagues to join in.  If you want some help, I’d love to be involved: write in the comments section below or just share what processes you’ve heard of that you enjoyed. 

*Try it though, you’ll be amazed how far it goes.