Imagine the following situation — you have a small-sized company where everyone knows each other and works together hand in glove.
You have employees who have been in your company for years and customers who have been loyal to your company for even longer.
However, you’re now developing a project that will be your cash cow in the future. But, it requires your business to grow — to find more employees and evolve your business strategies.
Although doing so can bring various benefits, it can also mean that your company’s core values might become endangered — unless you find a way to introduce new employees and customers to your company culture and adjust it to the new circumstances.
To help you learn more about developing a company culture in a growing company, we will show you what a positive culture should look like and provide tips that will help you achieve it.
Table of Contents
#1 New employees share and respect your company’s core values
Let’s imagine your company is looking for a new developer.
After some time, an applicant with one of the strongest CVs you and your HR team have ever seen applies to your ad. They’ve been instrumental in many massive projects and even worked for a couple of governments, so you invite them for an interview immediately.
However, after speaking to them in person, you learn they wouldn’t respect two of your company’s culture core values — tolerance and inclusion.
So, should you hire them and achieve amazing results but risk the unhappiness of the whole team? Or thank them for applying and look for a more suitable culture fit?
It is an ongoing dilemma among CEOs and recruiters. The company’s growth period can test the board’s willingness to stand behind the company’s values.
We would always recommend hiring only those people who respect your company’s values and can even add something new to them in the future.
This requires a careful selection process and professionals who can recognize whether a candidate would be the right fit or not.
Suppose you organize remote interviews with potential candidates.
In that case, you can arrange voice calls or video interviews, business communication tools, such as Pumble, where you can ask questions related to the situations at work that could give you a clear picture of one’s reaction in situations where they would need to show an understanding of the company’s values.
For example, a question such as “Do you think you would be able to collaborate well with people from XYZ country/minority group?” can tell you a lot about one’s openness and tolerance.
Or, a question like “How can we further advance our employees’ benefit package?” can show you whether someone would not only be a good fit for your company but also an innovator who can offer new viewpoints and ideas.
#2 Employees feel valued
One of your employees works diligently and achieves good results with every project they take on. Recently, they closed a valuable deal that brought significant profit to the company.
What would you do?
The answer is simple — publicly praise them in the office and via team communication channels.
Why is public praise important? Well, it shows everyone that someone’s hard work and dedication are something you notice and value.
Furthermore, other colleagues can also join the public praise by congratulating them in coworker’s DM or commenting in threads. This way, they’ll make this moment even more memorable.
If the good work continues, don’t think too long, give them a pay raise or, if a company isn’t in the position to offer a higher salary, a few days off every once in a while.
As a result, the employee would feel appreciated and motivated to continue the good work and the company would achieve better results.
Employers often make the mistake of thinking that their higher-ups only care about profits. Meanwhile, decision-makers often think that money is the only thing that would make employees feel valued.
The reality is somewhat different.
Yes, money is important, but showing respect and care for your employees is even more important.
💡 Pumble Pro Tip
To see some additional ways of providing employee recognition, check out the following article:
#3 Managers lead by examples
After a steady rise, an influx of new employees who joined your flourishing company,, and a golden age for business development, your company has gone through some rough times.
The huge worldwide business crisis has taken its toll on your business, as well.
There is not enough money for additional employees, raises or new equipment, but current employees still work hard to achieve everything the board has planned.
They are sure that better times will come — since you still make them feel appreciated, they want to stay in the company and continue with good work.
However, one day, they see that their manager has come to work with the latest BMW he bought from his bonus while convincing them they should wait for better times for their pay raises or additional staff.
Now wait a minute — the board didn’t allow any hard-working employees a raise, but the manager got a bonus high enough to buy a BMW!?
What would be their reaction?
There would be, at least, a lot of eyebrows raised within the team, for sure.
The employees that have been in your company for some time would probably become unhappy and disappointed, while the new ones might become skeptical about their future in the company.
As a result, your retention rates might drop and it might become harder to find suitable additions to your team.
Yes, we all strive for better pay or promotions, but a positive work culture is only possible when every single employee (especially those in higher positions) leads by example.
In other words, if there is room for raises, great! Everybody should get it, or at least the most diligent team members.
However, if someone (particularly a manager) gets a promotion or a raise, they shouldn’t show off, especially in front of those who are in a less than ideal financial position — it presents a lack of empathy and poor taste.
💡 Pumble Pro Tip
Good managers lead by example but there are also some other values they should have. Check out the following article to see what makes a good manager:
#4 Job descriptions and organization values are transparent
When the crisis is over, it is time for new employees — and you got lucky, you approached a few great developers and they accepted your offers.
However, after some time, a few of your newest employees start acting rude and passive-aggressive towards others just because they might be better workers.
What do you do?
If you don’t warn them at least, you risk your current employees becoming distrustful and dissatisfied with your management, while potential employees in the future might avoid your company because it doesn’t stand firmly behind their values.
That’s why company values have to be not only clearly stated, but also diligently implemented to foster a positive company culture.
This means — the same rules apply to all.
According to one research, reported by Forbes, 87% of professionals want their next job to be in a company that promotes transparency.
Therefore, the choice is obvious — join the transparent companies club!
Ensure your old and new employees know what to expect — both in terms of their duties and what their company stands for.
Hence, make your employees learn how to earn promotions, additional time off, or other benefits that the company has to offer.
This knowledge that stems from transparency will increase not only employees’ engagement but also retention rates. When people know what they’re supposed to be doing and why they should do it, they are more likely to roll up their sleeves and actually, you know — do it.
Of course, transparent communication can only get you so far — if you don’t follow up in practice and provide what you promised, your employees will be unproductive and demotivated.
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Try Pumble, a secure, reliable, and easy-to-use communication tool.
💡 Pumble Pro Tip
Workplace safety (physical and mental) should be one of the priorities of any company. Check out the following articles to learn how to create it:
#5 Changes in company culture are communicated clearly
At one point, your company decides to introduce a new dress code — you want your employees to dress smart because you want to leave a better impression on potential customers and partners.
You decide to implement this change the right way — which means that your board members and other decision-makers need to invite team managers and discuss how potential company culture changes would influence the employees’ well-being or attitude towards work.
So, that’s exactly what you do — your board organizes meetings with managers (and even employees) months before an official introduction to see how the employees should benefit from that and whether they like the idea or not.
If everything goes smoothly and professionals like it, the news would be officially announced weeks before.
In addition, employees are going to be reminded a day before to avoid possible miscommunication and misunderstandings.
The same rules apply to the more serious changes in work policies, as well.
However, every change has to be planned and communicated efficiently and clearly.
#6 Company culture is always in accordance with the needs of employees
Over time, your company has grown to the point where it needs to expand to new markets such as South Asia or Africa.
And it approaches employees in the same way as it does in Europe and America.
“No worries”, said your main recruiter, “We will lure exciting and young Asian and African prospects with time off for Independence Day! Americans love it, I don’t see why they wouldn’t like these benefits, as well.”
You can only imagine what the results of this job ad would be — most likely 1 applicant (who applied by mistake) and 0 new employees — because people worldwide don’t celebrate American Independence Day, they have their own holidays.
To avoid situations like this, your recruiters need to see what professionals worldwide value the most and what principles and requirements you should include in your company culture.
This awareness of people’s needs and willingness to incorporate their values into the company culture can result in great things, such as:
- More diverse team-building events,
- Workshops about cultural differences, or
- More time off for all employees due to their colleague nations’ bank or religious holidays.
It’s a good idea to always keep your finger on the pulse of industry trends to stay aware of employees’ needs and social trends.
💡 Pumble Pro Tip
To learn how to adapt communication so it aligns with your company culture and cater to international teams, check out the following article:
Pumble can help you grow a company culture
Nurturing a positive company culture in a growing company requires dedication and time.
However, it is easier when you have an efficient business communication app, such as Pumble, at your disposal.
Apart from the fact that it allows you to have flawless communication and use a variety of reactions and emojis that would contribute to the positive atmosphere at work, you can always return to your old messages and files, go through them, and check every aspect of your company culture, thanks to unlimited message history.
Most importantly, you can record your workshops or important meetings, and show them later to new employees during onboarding sessions.
If you like what you have read and want to try Pumble yourself — sign up for Pumble today!
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