Business culture is the internal running of a company and how its employees and leaders interact within the enterprise. Over the years, business culture has evolved alongside processes; today’s offices look entirely different from those of the 90s.
Fred Cary is the founder of IdeaPros, a startup dedicated to helping other startups succeed. His years of experience as a business owner have given him a platform to advise others on success, including with regards to business culture. Cary has seen the evolution of business culture firsthand. He suggests a few critical ingredients necessary to cultivate a welcoming culture for workers.
Individuality Is Crucial
Cary witnessed many businesses grow and develop. He’s watched business culture develop firsthand, bit by bit. “Individuality helps to shape the company,” he says. “It empowers employees to do their own thing.” Having employees focused on their projects and ideas helps to encourage them to discuss what they’re doing. In a startup, new ideas are as valuable as investors. All it takes is one employee to see things differently to revolutionize an industry. Individuality means less conformity but more expressionism within the company’s walls.
Outcome-Based Thinking
Cary is a firm believer in employees solving problems on their own. While a rigid corporate structure might have worked in the past, today’s businesses have many different types of employees. Most of them don’t agree with the idea of a routine solution or preferred practice. Cary believes that employees think better when they solve problems on their own. “When your employees are thinking for themselves, it benefits your business,” he says. “If an answer is right, it doesn’t matter what route you took to get there.” Giving them the chance to find solutions, Cary displays a massive level of trust in them, and they repay that trust with loyalty.
Adapting to a Different Reality
The corporate world has gone through a severe change in how it functions over the last year. The global pandemic has seen many businesses shut their corporate offices and offer employees remote working benefits. Cary believes that this could impact corporate culture; remote workers may change how that culture develops. Since employees can’t interact in person with others, businesses will need to adapt. Small businesses may be hit harder because of this change. Employees may also develop different corporate habits because of the remote-work paradigm, which could in turn further affect the culture.
Success Is About the Business’s Spirit
Cary recognizes that business culture reflects how those within the business see it and how the world at large views the company. If a business is to succeed in this brave, new world, it needs to have a way to encourage its employees to embrace its corporate culture. As of yet, that’s still something that startups are working on. However, even small businesses can bring this into focus with a bit of effort, and it can make the difference between loyal or detached employees.