Strong culture is critical to the success of any organization. So why do many startups fail to incorporate a culture strategy early on in the process?
Whether they acknowledge it or not, founders are creating a culture from the very moment they begin to draft up their idea. A firm's culture arises from the actions the founders take the define what the firm stands for. It should be the idea that the firm activates around and ultimately drives business strategy.
Too many entrepreneurs focus exclusively on the business strategy. What they don't realize is that business strategies may change, but the culture of a firm is the guiding light that doesn't change. It's likely why the founders decided to form their own business in the first place.
For example, Zappos' culture is focused on creating happiness for their customers. They believe that in order to provide excellent customer service, there needs to be a strong and authentic culture that the employees buy into so that they can deliver on the promise of happiness. At Zappos, they dress up in costumes, have friendly competitions, they drink together. It's a culture that attracts a certain kind of person that values the open, friendly, and sometimes zany work environment. It is also the strong culture that enables and encourages customer service representatives to go above and beyond. For example, one customer service representative was kind enough to spend three hours on the phone with a customer just because the customer was lonely. Clearly Zappos' brand informs their policies when it comes to customer service and it pays off.
Ultimately, the culture at Zappos is a brand for not only their recruitment efforts but also their consumer touchpoints.
5 Steps To Building A Strong Culture:
- Know what you stand for. Look to why you started the firm in the first place? What customer pain point is this solving for? How are you transforming your category? These questions help you get to an initial understanding of what you stand for. All decisions should align with this idea.
- Let what you stand for guide your brand. Brands are more than just signs of ownership. They are icons that represent an entire value system that founders, their employees, and their customers buy into. Your core values should manifest themselves in your physical and digital presences, through the stories you tell as well as well as your look and feel.
- Know what type of employees you value. Whether you're looking for people who are committed to a cause, are competitive individual achievers, or are people who enjoy solving complex problems, you have to know what kind of people will work best for your business. Have a vision for who will work there from Day 1 and stick to recruiting those kinds of people.
- Align rewards with behaviors you want. Incentives should align with the behaviors you're looking for. For example, if you want a committed team, instead of paying a top of market salary, provide perks like free meals or beer Thursdays. But if you're looking for individual performance and achievement, provide end of year bonuses.
- Stay committed to what you pick. Even if it seems like it's not working quite yet, you will figure it out. Changing your culture mid-way through hinders your chances for success—especially if there isn't a change in leadership. Once a culture is in place, change is hard for most to accept. Furthermore, a change depletes confidence in the founders' vision for the firm.
If you need help with figuring out what culture strategy best suits your needs, reach out here.