Company or Corporate culture is defined as “the shared basic values, ideologies and assumptions, which guide and fashion the organizational behaviour and action”. Corporate culture can be influenced by the local and global business environment, for example, the telco industry may have to instill an innovative and fast decision-making culture due to the quick evolution of the industry. Corporate culture may also be influenced by the diversity of race or nationality, which creates the needs to be sensitive to differing racial personality and background.
Corporate culture plays a very important 'informal' role in the daily activities of an organization by providing guided practices of company values and behaviours. Therefore, it is imperative to cultivate positive company culture from respectful values which encourage employees loyalty. The key strategy is to create a strong foundation or framework that holds and aligns all employees to ONE direction (it’s just like music, when sung together in rhythm, its in harmony), and instill into them from a 'New Born' stage. It is not what’s written on the walls or in the offices, but values that change and touch the hearts and minds - values that can be imprinted in the hearts and minds of all employees. For example, the Lion Group’s Core Values - Customer Oriented, Commitment, Integrity and Honesty, Team Spirit and Respect and Empathy for Individuals; are values that are derived and cascade down from the heart of the corporate leader to the hearts of all employees. These values serve as the backbone that provides 'the direction' to all employees, and create an environment where people want to work with you, and feel valued and respected. Make it clear to your employees what they are responsible for, but give them the latitude to go about it in their own way.
Company culture cannot be cultivated or changed overnight, nor in just a few months the change is gradual and may take at least one year or more. It is | most ideal to introduce the Company culture from the day the employee starts work, and gradually cultivate into them the values to be adopted and expected from all staff.
In a recent overseas study, statistics show that in about 85% of companies, employee morale declines sharply after the first six months of joining, and continues to deteriorate for years after that. This survey from about 1.2 million employees at 52 primarily Fortune 1000 companies, found that the fault lies with the management who diminished or destroyed these employees’ enthusiasm. Therefore, it is crucial to MAP the journey of all employees to the right direction and to be in alignment with the organization’s direction. These employees need to be guided from ‘young’ to work together and adapt to the Company culture and environment through a structured orientation program, which will also provide a cushion to any cultural shock. The program should continue into a two-year program which includes the employee’s career path planning, and to continually reassure them of the rewards and recognition of growing and progressing with the organization. Superiors need to constantly provide guidance and constructive feedback to speed up the learning curve of employees and to advise them to avoid behaviours that will undermine their success.
Top Management plays a significant role in evolving the Company culture. People in the organization tend to look upon the Top Management as their role model, and modify their behaviours to suit the wishes and behaviours of the top people. An autocratic CEO or leader using coercive management will often find people in the organization blaming each other for faults or problems. In such a culture, the first thing that the superior does when things go wrong is to find who is at fault, and not the causes and solutions, and Employees are sometimes dismissed indiscriminately. However, one factor that is often overlooked by the management of such culture is that the way the firing is done can have as much impact on the people who remain. These people who remain in the organization will ask "Could this happen to me?" or "When will this happen to me?" Naturally such culture will instill 'fear' instead of ‘loyalty’.
Human Resource practitioners play an important role by assisting the Management in shaping a desired positive company culture through introduction or improvement of appropriate management practices and tools. Effective implementation of reward systems, training / coaching / counseling, and most importantly, Leading By Example. The Lion Group’s 'core values' which form the backbone of the Group Corporate Culture have been incorporated into all the Group’s companies’ Performance Management System to ensure every employee, regardless of level WALK THE TALK. |