The year 2020 has brought with it some fundamental economic and social changes of our lifetime. Be it the Black Lives Matter movement or the impact of the global COVID-19 pandemic; the two have had a dramatic effect on both our professional and personal lives.
Today, as we grapple with these crucial changes, businesses are under a dual responsibility. They have to work towards not just managing the bottom line, but also to empower and support the employees to ensure that all the team members are capable of doing their best work.
Your company culture is the cornerstone of this twin responsibility. The personality and the soul of the company, the company culture develops around the core values and predicate how a company typically treats its employees and how it caters to the business decisions at both internal and external level. If done right, influential company culture can ensure better retention, boost sustainable productivity, and establish a reputation, which paves the way for diverse and valuable new hires.
Creating this company culture is not easy. However, it is not unachievable. If done right, it can fundamentally metamorphose your company. So, let us take a look at something that you can do to establish a crisis-resistant company culture.
Establish some core values, and adhere to them
The idea is to build a strong company culture, which has depth and adequate staying power to overcome even the most challenging circumstances. It would be best if you put maximum efforts at the foundation, i.e., the core values of your company. You not only need to establish some core values but also define these values to create a logical and precise framework, which every employee can feel a part of.
If done right, it would mean that every member of the organization is brought in and united with a collective agreement and understanding. The founder of TAE, an assignment help company, says that values are not one size fits all, and there are no shortcuts when determining the core business values. It would help if you took adequate time to understand your business, examine all future crises, and honestly speak to your team.
Always remember these core values are more than what goes on the paper. So, keep them simple, meaningful, and memorable.
Advance the core values both internally and externally
To build a company culture, you need both ongoing and active dedication towards your business’s core values. The founder of TFTH adds his views to it by saying that consistency is the key to ensuring that the core-values are deep-rooted in every member of the team. The work you do internally must be both encompassing and broad. Take into consideration how you treat your staff on a holistic level and how to foster the values in staff meetings. It should not be ignored when you set up business goals or during business development or innovation. Ensure that you regularly check-in with the managers and their team members. It will help you see if the core values are being implemented across the organization.
Externally, too, the work should be made consistent. You can share and reinforce the values through the organizations you support, connecting with the communities, and the time spent out of the office building. Each of these efforts directly ties you back to the core values, and help you build a company with broad and deep roots, which can keep your team upright even during a crisis.
Have a dedicated team member looking after it
For fostering a company that is crisis resistant, you would need intentional and rear work, particularly from leadership.
So, an employee in the managerial or leadership position can be dedicated to supporting every member of the staff within the framework of company values. It would empower all the leaders of the company to undertake their roles successfully. The TrumpLearning founder points out those employees are the heartbeat of every company. So, having a designated member will ensure that the beats are strong and healthy.
Now, the role of this person would be to communicate with the staff beyond their work. It would be great if they could hear their pain as their problems in personal life would hamper their work too. Please ensure that there are zero egos in this role. At all times, the assigned personnel must try to connect with team members on the personal level to understand them and nudge them towards their roles.
Live your leadership
Sarah, the co-founder of EduWorldUSA, says that in a situation of crisis, good leadership can make a lot of difference. So, you do not just have to talk about being a good leader. You have to be one. The crisis situation is the time when you put your company values and words into action. You would certainly want to empower every member of the team and push them to make their own decisions, but in these tough times, it is imperative for your company and you to be the guide and change that you long for your team.