CIO for LHM Group of Companies, overseeing technology for businesses in the retail, entertainment, and finance industries.
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With 2.1 million fewer workers in the labor market compared to before the pandemic, it’s still an employee’s market. If you’re looking to attract and retain top talent, your IT organization needs to offer more than just a paycheck. Today’s employees want to work with companies that make them feel valued, like the work they do matters. One of the most beneficial ways to create that environment is to build a healthy company culture.
What is company culture?
Your company’s culture is its personality, made up of a unique set of values, norms and behaviors. It is often a key element in how work gets done and the quality of that work. An energetic marketing company’s culture would be different from a buttoned-up financial firm, which would be different from an innovative tech company. Even within industries,
culture varies greatly based on leadership, core values and company goals.
Culture Is Intentional
Some companies assume that culture just happens. This is inaccurate. Without a clearly defined road map educating employees on the behaviors and values expected at work, workers are left to their own devices. This isn’t necessarily bad if you've hired great people, but it doesn’t lead to a cohesive team.
The first step in building a healthy company culture in your IT company is creating a list of core values. Core values define what is most important to your organization and the employee expectations from the top down. Core values are the fertile soil from which company culture blossoms. Defining those values will be the first step to creating a healthy company culture for your organization.
Determining your company’s core values is a creative process. Meet with leaders and staff to brainstorm what is most important in your organization. Most companies choose three to five core values that best represent them. Any more than that, and it becomes a laundry list of platitudes that no one can follow.
Once your core values are in place, integrate them into your organization’s daily activities with clear action steps. While every company’s values are different, here are some examples:
• If “achieving goals” is a core value, have each employee set personal and professional goals with their supervisor. If the employee reaches those goals after a certain amount of time, they are rewarded with a bonus. The supervisor can help strategize on how best to meet those goals and remove obstacles if possible.
• If “lift as we climb” is a core value, employee bonuses could be linked to company profits so that everyone benefits when the company makes money. Managers should focus on helping team members understand how their individual contributions help lift the overall organization. This clarity helps them buy into the concept of collaborative growth.
• If “we give back to our community” is a core value, host a quarterly team-building event at a local charity. Consider benefits such as paid time off for service hours. Highlight community events where members of the team can participate to increase awareness of STEM careers and skill building. Seek out opportunities for others to share experiences in giving back and celebrate them.
Hire For Cultural Fit
You learned as a toddler while playing with blocks that trying to fit a square peg into a round hole is a frustrating waste of time. The same principle applies to hiring people who won’t fit into your company culture. Bringing on new employees who are already in alignment with your company’s core values and culture will save you a lot of headache and preserve the peace at your workplace.
Hiring for cultural fit doesn’t mean employing a homogenous group of cookie-cutter employees who all look, talk and work alike. Diversity is key to growth and innovation, so having all different types of people from different backgrounds and experiences on your team is a strong strategy for success. But the one thing they all need to have in common is a true fit in the company’s culture.
It’s difficult to assess someone’s personality from an interview or two, but there are ways to make better-educated guesses. I like to send potential hires a questionnaire that asks about their work style, preferences, successes, failures, background and more. In my company’s hiring process, we host a 30-minute interview where the potential hire asks all the questions. You can learn a lot about a person from the types of questions they ask on the spot during an interview. Also, include multiple people from different groups in the interview and review process. Tap into the diverse backgrounds to get different perspectives on potential candidates. This helps the group work deliberately in finding those who will contribute to the culture of the organization.
When you’re the one doing the interviewing, remember to ask the right questions to suss out personality characteristics such as:
• Aggressive individualism: Work is a team sport. Someone who always wants to go their own way can be a great innovator but may not make a good team member.
• Abrasive personality: A happy, peaceful and productive team can be spoiled lightning fast by a single abrasive personality. Think twice before hiring someone who comes off as insensitive or has low EQ, no matter how impressive their resume.
• Big ego: Big egos will fight for their ideas even when a better option exists, which wastes your team’s time and energy.
Do not suffer bad actors even if they are top technical performers. One poor hire can poison the entire well of your team. Don’t risk it. Take the time to find the right team members, being deliberate in your process. Don’t shortcut it. Hire slow and fire fast.
Sharing Metrics Keeps The Team Motivated
Logically-minded IT employees love to see results in metrics and KPIs, so find ways to track the use of your core values and keep the staff consistently abreast of progress. The more they see and interact with the core values, the more likely they are to live by them and contribute to nurturing the company culture naturally.
An Investment In Culture Is An Investment In Your Company’s Future
Building a healthy company culture for your company requires leaders to intentionally create cultural dictates, disseminate information and nurture the culture daily. In this tough labor market, having a healthy and positive company culture can help you hire better employees, enjoy a more peaceful workplace and take your company further than you ever imagined.
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