What is company culture?
Do we want to have a certain company culture?
If we do, what values should we aspire to have?
Who will be responsible to uphold those values?
What if those values are not followed then what happens?
It’s important to ask the right questions before setting out to “build” company culture.
Can you actually teach culture at your company? How about putting the company’s core values in places where everyone can see? And what exactly is culture?
These questions are not that easy to answer. But starting out with the right set of questions can help build a strong foundation for company culture: What culture do we want for our people? What should we strongly encourage and strongly discourage? Who can be our “culture ambassadors” within the company?
Each company has an opportunity to set the culture right from the start. We’ve heard the term “Culture eats strategy for lunch.” Culture is everything.
The culture should promote excellence and always keep the bar very high. Mediocrity will try to sneak in here and there but you have to be quick to take care of it right away. If mediocrity becomes acceptable then the leadership weakens and things fall apart from there. The A people leave and you’re left with C or D people to manage the responsibilities. Keeping the bar high from the start, tolerating only excellence and expecting the best from everyone should be the norm.
Many technology companies in Kathmandu offer similar benefits to their employees. The benefits are as follows: 5 working days, 2 day weekends, subsidized lunch/dinner, transportation, accidental and medical health insurance among others.
For potential employees considering whether to join one technology company over another, it could be best to look into the work that the company does, its reputation in the ecosystem, growth opportunities and most importantly its culture. Technology companies should highlight their company culture more to attract the right talent. All the other benefits offered are starting to look the same.
Once upon a time there is an idea. An idea inside someone’s head. Then it begins to take shape. The name of the company gets registered and the web domain/social media handles are taken. It’s a constant evolution from inception to execution.
As a startup, it’s about survival. The founder(s) and the team is looking to find customers, get signups/orders and generate revenue. There are different types of challenges you face as a startup in the earlier stages and later in the growth stages. The growth stage challenges are getting more customers, managing and growing the team, keeping a system in place, caring about the culture among others. As the company scales, people challenges take mostly centerstage. The majority of the employees will be onboard if the hiring and training is done right. There will be a few who will resist the change, won’t be wholeheartedly with the company’s mission/vision or just need constant guidance.
Would you change your policies/culture to accommodate the few or make decisions that benefit the majority? The latter would be better.
Leaders build culture. In any organization or group, the leader sets the tone or creates its culture. It’s up to you to decide what direction the organization should take.
As a leader, I believe its important for them to set the culture (guidelines, best practices and values) of the organization. The leader should set the right values of the company and share it with everyone. Values will become the guiding compass when the team members have to make decisions (be it expected or unexpected). If the organization’s values are not created or not shared with everyone, then the team member(s) will make decisions on what they see fit (which may or may not be what the organization would see fit). Thus, create simple values, share it and evolve with it.
Subscribe to receive our blogs, information on upcoming workshops and exclusive content.
