Creating an Intentional Corporate “Culture of Cool”
As the economy begins its slow return, new options for your best and brightest are emerging. That’s why it’s more important than ever for your firm leaders to work together to create a cool corporate culture that employees appreciate and can envision being a part of for the long term.
But what is “firm culture” anyway?
While it almost defies definition, your firm’s culture is the essence of its being and the way it feels to be a part of your firm. Your culture is multi-faceted and complex and includes both positive elements and the not-so-great attributes of your firm, too. In this article, we’ll explore the most impactful elements of firm culture:
- Firm leadership. Your firm’s culture is most influenced by the values, beliefs and behaviors of your partners or shareholders. These individuals manage their client and team relationships based on their values and beliefs, and the behavior of their clients and team members reflect these influences. If your firm has published your core values, a code of conduct or other guiding principles, it is critical that your leaders’ behavior reflect these promises consistently. When firm leaders behave in ways outside of agreed-upon norms and values, your firm must add the word “hypocrisy” to its cultural description.
- Firm organization and governance. The way decisions are made, the clarity people have about their roles in the firm, the degree of empowerment your people feel in their positions and the political under-currents that surround the way things get done all affect your culture. For many firms, the organizational and governance structures are not well defined or communicated, so confusion, bottlenecks and bureaucracy can ensue. To ensure this element positively impacts your culture, begin by mapping your decision-making processes at the firm-wide level and then the service line or departmental level and identify any uncertainties that exist. Then, work to develop very clear role descriptions, complete with duties, responsibilities and decision-making authority for each person in your firm.
- Firm processes, policies and work flow. How smoothly things flow through your firm, the degree of organization you have and how easy it feels to get things done all contribute to your firm’s culture. Your processes and work flow can vary significantly between service lines, departments and/or offices, and variance itself affects your culture. Work to align your processes and work flow so they reflect your intended values, beliefs, organization and decision-making norms.
- Firm communication. Your firm’s communication structures, processes and the style, tone and mode of your communications all shape your culture. The degree of transparency and openness you are striving for and the formality of your communication all affect the “feel” of your firm. Communication can be the most challenging cultural element because it takes so many forms and is occurring in such volume, with such speed that it is almost impossible to truly manage. Instead, teach communication strategies to your key leaders and managers so that they contemplate their intention, key message(s), stakeholders and their concerns and how all of these relate to the firm’s values and beliefs before they execute their communications, which will lead to much better results.
- Formal firm stories. There are both formal and informal stories told in your firm. The formal stories include your firm’s history, the story of its evolution, your vision for the future, competitive positioning and differentiation, your stories of successes and failures, the stories told to new employees in orientation and training and more. These stories are fairly easy to manage, because they are typically “published” by firm leaders or administrators. It is important to ensure that these formal stories reflect your values and beliefs and strike the right tone and degree of openness you’re striving for.
- Informal firm stories. Your firm’s informal stories are those told in smaller groups and in one-on-one conversations. They are difficult to gauge and manage, but they reflect your firm’s culture more than any other attribute. The heroes and villains they portray and the degree of hope and positivity that story tellers convey tell so much about what it feels like to work at your firm. Most firm leaders are not privy to many informal stories – they stop when you walk in the room – but you can gain insight into the main themes with a well-executed employee survey.
If you’d like to assess your firm across twelve “Cool Culture” attributes, click here. And, if you most want to shape your firm’s culture, evaluate these and other cultural elements by surveying those most affected by them – your people and your clients. To maximize your insight, include a few open-ended questions, allow the input to be offered anonymously and consider using a third-party assessor. Based on the data you gather, you’ll identify positive elements of your firm’s culture you’ll want to promote and preserve, and negative elements that should be evaluated, with strategies developed to minimize, correct or improve them.
For more information on how to enhance your firm’s culture and employee engagement, contact Jennifer Wilson at jen@convergencecoaching.com or (402) 933-2900.
