Original article here.
How To Manage Culture Effectively
Given the importance of culture, how should companies and leaders manage their culture? Here are eight recommendations:
- Articulate, validate and reinforce your culture. Talk about your culture and what your company values.
- Stay true to your culture and avoid letting the pandemic erode what you value. If empowerment and participation are priorities, ensure that even amidst federally-mandated or top-down decision making you’re still seeking input and involvement.
- Recognize employees who act in the way you desire and hold people accountable for behaviors and for performance aligned with your preferred culture.
- Stay attuned to employees. Focus on their needs and proactively address their concerns.
- Develop leaders by providing education and coaching. Ensure they are managing based on objectives and showing empathy to employees.
- Encourage strong connections between employees. Create or maintain mentorship programs and be planful about linking individuals and teams.
- Communicate regularly and openly. Create a density of information in which more people have more information more quickly in order to guide decisions and actions.
- Demonstrate culture inside and outside your company. How you treat employees is important. How you interact and contribute to your community is as well—sending a strong signal about your culture.
Culture has always been one of the most powerful differentiators for your organization, but the need to manage culture intentionally is especially critical now. Focus on key talent, develop leaders, hold people accountable, be open about your company’s values and create a strong fabric of information and connections. The pandemic may significantly shift how your company responds to the market. It is surely an opportunity to strengthen your culture.
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