Building the corporate culture, or why people-are-our-most-important-assets does not cut it anymore.

In this short article, I would like to take on the subject of employee loyalty. To put it plainly, what makes people stick around and how to capture, preserve and grow this very elusive X-factor. 

Let me first of all start with a disclaimer. All of the ideas I am about to share are based purely on my own experience of running a boutique consultancy. This experience consists of getting loads of things wrong with an occasional right decision slipping through so continue reading at your own peril.

Let me throw in a few truisms to get things going. Any business that relies on highly skilled employees is painfully aware of the perils of turnover. Every new team member is a commitment of time, energy, money and even emotions. The dirty little secret that every employer knows and that most employees don't realise is that you need them more than they need you. A founder looking to grow his team is learn the lesson that the 'right' people for the job are in short supply. When that 'right' person leaves, well, it hurts.

I have been asking myself this very simple question what makes people stay? What makes a workplace to be a place where (as corny as it sounds) one looks forward Mondays?

Obviously, there are many factors. Money. Personal ambitions. Location. Inertia. just to name a few. All are important but I would like to set them aside just for now.

I wanted to dig a bit deeper into issues that can be truly be viewed as company's DNA and its influence on how people see their workplace. Factors that can create a strong, healthy and sustainable bond between employee and the firm apart from the usual suspects I listed above.

Once I started on that road my first port of call was company's Mission Statements, Values Statement etc. Typical (real) examples include:

• Our people are our greatest asset
• Customer always comes first
• Making our planet a better place to be

While the first two are unlikely to get anyone's pulse going (first if a tired cliche, second does not help employees personal well-being) the last statement really caught my eye. If we can have a big global goal in place perhaps it could really be the glue that binds everyone together. The problem is that in this planet-saving statement comes from Ford. Perhaps this is a genuine aspiration of some of the people in the company, but for most, I imagine saving the planet is way down the list after producing and selling cars at the highest possible margins. 

And this is the problem when it comes to big company goals. While some people are lucky and are part of profession that inherently has a deep social or personal significance (researchers looking for cancer vaccine, military, artists, academia) for rest of us with History and Economics degrees’ our company's mission statement almost always distils to "Firm will try to make as much money as possible" - hardly a truly inspiring staff for an individual.

So what can make a difference and truly transform the workplace into more than just a place of work? What can be that skeleton key that can be used across sectors, company sizes and industries? 

I believe an answer is company Culture, with capital 'C'. This Culture goes far beyond just a pleasant working environment. Work becomes a place that energises, inspires and becomes uniquely 'yours'. It goes without saying that this is the place you want to join and very reluctant to leave. 

So far so good but how to implement this mysterious 'Culture' into practice? Fiery speeches, company town halls, fancy corporate literature is not it. Rules and regulations have a limited effect and should be used sparingly you can’t command 'Culture' into place. What is required is a systematic approach based on a clear vision and actions supporting that vision. 

We start with pillars that will be at the core of company Culture and most important those that employees can find personally significant. This is it. Culture that can carry personal meaning to individuals in a company is the one that will stick around for a long time to come. Pillars that will develop Culture have to address the personal meaning angle and should be clearly understood by the management with actionable concrete steps long-term steps planned in order to achieve them.  As an example, of what I mean include an outline of our own action plan at Vimes.

Step 1. We decided that Culture is important to us

Not just a lip services or meaningless catchphrases on websites and in corporate brochures. This is something we are willing to invest in and have committed necessary resources. 

We have also resisted the temptation of turning the whole thing into a glorified internal PR activity. 'Culture is the key to our success', 'People are our main asset'... throwing these around at a company meeting may have given us a short-term boost but would have been harmful to the long-term goal. We will let the action speak for themselves.

Step 2. We decided on what the Pillars are going to be

Next came the big question. What are the central tenets, those pillars that we want to be at the core of our Culture? Those had to address both personal interests and can be compatible with companies long-term goals. Something ambitious and yet realistic, something that everyone can relate to. Not an easy ask, but I think we found the answers.

Pillar I - Become a better professional.

Pillar II - Become a better human being.

These two goals have now become central ideas of Vimes work environment. This does not mean that everytime some have to go the toilet they have to ponder if that makes them better as a person or a professional. But it does mean that as a company we will now be in a very deliberate way be focused on developing these two aspects.

Step 3. Action

Action is everything. We started with planning and introducing two concrete initiatives supporting each of the pillars. Both are a mix of old and new and design to engage employees in a non-intrusive or prescriptive manner. We decided on a low key approach, initiatives are designed to induce a natural change in attitudes and mindsets over time and once again we are focused on actions rather than words.

As to initiatives themselves, and what they are, I will not be going into too much detail just at the moment but will be glad to share once we see the first results.

As always hope you find this useful, still very much work in progress and feedback is always welcomed.