How to Identify and Grow Your Company Culture

Company culture is a crucial aspect of any organisation, both for your internal stakeholders to experience and those on the outside looking in. In a world where employees have increasing power and influence, organisations have a responsibility to ensure that needs are met and good company culture is an integral aspect.

Company Culture Definition

While there is no one set definition of what company culture is, it can most accurately be described as a shared ethos or belief, consistently present throughout the company. It embodies how people feel about their work and the company they work for, what values are instilled in them, and the direction the company is heading.

Company culture is found at all levels of an organisation, regardless of your involvement or influence. It, in theory, ensures that all stakeholders are pulling in the same direction and have a shared set of beliefs and values that they put into action.

While company culture is all-encompassing and goes beyond traditional core values and employee perks, they often fall into one of the following categories:

• A hierarchical culture where stability is the preferred state of being
• A market culture where financial goals and metrics are prioritised
• A clan culture where all voices are heard and respected
• An adhocracy culture where flexibility and adaptability are encouraged

Why is company culture important?

A clearly defined and consistently enacted company culture is essential for modern businesses as it implies a set of standards that are observable throughout the organisation. It ensures all stakeholders know what to expect when dealing with an employee, regardless of their position, and standardised engagement and communication.

There are three key reasons why company culture is essential:

• Identity
  This is important because it’s connected to the values of your company and what you want to be associated with. This ensures that values are consistent across teams and that all team members know what is expected of them and what to expect from others
• Retention
  Retention simply means that you keep the talent you have. Having a strong company culture means that your employees are happy and less likely to leave so quickly. This higher retention rate means that you are less likely to upset the dynamic and you can spend more time helping them gel and, according to Forbes, increasing workforce satisfaction overall.
• Image
  Image is an integral part of your brand identity and should be consistent with the type of culture you want to be implemented. If you’re able to make it clear that your employees are happy in their roles and working in a productive environment, your customers will see this as an extension of your company’s values.

All these aspects can boost not only the team but improve the perception of your company, improving the overall brand health.

Types of Company Culture

There are many different types of company culture, as we’ve discussed. In this action we'll go into greater detail, explaining what each type of company culture is and what the benefits of them are.

Hierarchy culture

Hierarchical culture is found in companies that prefer the stability of being cautious and which generally avoid risk-taking if possible. Companies that utilise this approach prefer to follow set processes and have clearly definite roles for team members and the leadership team, often following traditional rules and guidelines.

This makes it the ideal culture for a company that has a need for security and stability and requires leadership that is guided by a well-planned strategy.

Market culture

Market culture is very results-orientated and is often fast-paced, prioritising performance over anything else. This type of company culture is usually found in sales teams. It can seem overwhelming for newer initiates, however, it encourages development at a quicker-than-usual pace and prioritises finding your own way to work successfully.

This culture might not be for everyone as it can be harder to get up to speed if you learn more from observing. If you do choose to adopt this style of company culture, you should have a carefully planned onboarding process in place, so new hires aren’t left feeling out of their depth.

Clan culture

Clan culture, also known as a collaborative culture, is where team members feel like they can share their ideas and be respected. Teamwork is often the chosen method of work, as opposed to individual projects, and it's not uncommon to see junior members of the team paired up with those who have been working there for longer. In organisations with this culture present, all team members are valued equally and are encouraged to be involved, even if it might not be correct.

This type of culture thrives in a collaborative office environment, such as agile offices and activity-based working. Teams are likely to naturally work well together, so you should ensure that new hires will fit in well with the collaborative environment, and have complementary personality types.

Adhocracy culture

Adhocracy culture takes its name from doing things ad-hoc with a looser emphasis being placed on following standardised guidelines and operating procedures. All members of the team are expected to innovate and be able to contribute to the bigger picture in one way or another, experimenting along the way. This way of working is often evident in industries with more flexibility, such as the technological and creative spaces where this is actually encouraged as the payoffs can be huge.

How To Develop Your Company Culture

Your first step is to define what your business's goals are and how you want to be perceived both internally and externally. While one approach might yield better potential results, it may not be compatible with your line of work and so should be avoided or, at least, implemented with extreme caution.

Build on what you have

If you find that your team is already working one way, look for ways to enhance this and identify which type of company culture they are more closely aligned to. Once you know this, you can work to build upon it so you can optimise the outcomes for all parties, providing the tools needed to perform at the very highest level.

Discuss this with just the team leaders at an initial level, then get the wider company involved to ensure that everyone’s happy and willing to contribute to the end goal.

Decide your ideal experience

While one approach could potentially lead to better results for your company, it comes at the expense of customer/client satisfaction which may render it futile. For example, a market culture could help bring in new business but its fast-paced nature of it could cause you to lose existing business twice as fast.

You also need to factor your employees’ well-being into this as the culture you currently have in place may not lend itself to this new way of working. Get your employees on board early, and ensure everyone has had a chance to air their opinions.

Lead by example

A company culture definition might be hard to explain to your team but by being an example of what you expect moving forward, you can ensure that all stakeholders are onboard and understand what it involves.

If you want your team to pull in the same direction as you, it can be really useful to first make sure that the senior leadership team is also following these newly defined rules. According to Harvard Business Review, the best managers are leaders because they put into practice what they believe.

The role of the office

It might soon become evident that the company value and culture that you wanted to implement are not compatible with where your current office space, which can be for a variety of reasons. You may find that it isn’t well laid out for the culture you’re aiming to achieve. Private offices may inhibit any collaboration, or having a fully open plan area with no private spaces can cause tension between teams.

Your office should be a space that clearly highlights your company culture, from the style of working to how you present to clients. Creating an environment seamlessly blended with your culture can keep employees motivated, productive and happy. A space that boosts collaboration can create a team that works closely together as friends more than colleagues.

Your desired culture style should also fit in well with your office style. For example, clan and market cultures are more fast-paced and, therefore, require an office space that can accommodate this. Agile office layouts which allow teams and individuals to choose where they want to be based are crucial for this. Hierarchy culture, meanwhile, will perhaps be more successful with a traditional office layout, with private office spaces and booths.

Having the wrong office layout for your desired culture can hinder the performance of employees as they may struggle to work in a culture that clashes with the environment they’re in. Noticing this early means you can make the adjustments necessary as and when problems arise. If you don’t pay attention to these teething problems, your employees may well become agitated, which creates a negative company culture.

How Can Knight Frank Help?

Although changing your company culture isn't an overnight process, it can be done and the impact of it can be great. Whether you want to change the way you work or just would like to give your brand an overhaul, fixing your company culture is a great place to start.

As the world of work evolves, how can you stay competitive?

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