Every company has a culture, but does your current culture contribute to achieving your business goals, or does it actually hinder it?
Let’s start with what it is. “Culture” consists of shared beliefs and values established by an organization’s leaders and is communicated and reinforced through various methods, ultimately shaping employee perceptions and behaviors. At Willow, the foundation of our culture rests on our core values: Open, Humble, and Helpful. We call it “OHH” and these values are reinforced throughout everything we do (internally as well as externally with clients). To make these values “stick” with our team requires a mix of consistency, buy-in and representation from leadership (walk the walk and talk the internal brand talk). In the fast-paced agency world, it’s difficult to prioritize your own internal marketing, but we’ve made great strides by branding our values and making them easy for our team to see, recall and share. We believe buy-in to a shared vision creates better team cohesion, and clarity around goals yields greater productivity.
But what does this all mean for you and your organization (and why does it matter)? According to a 2017 Forbes article, there are three specific areas we see the greatest rewards for having a clearly defined internal culture.
- Identity. Culture contributes to the identity and values of your company. Company goals and areas of focus influence an individual’s goals and provides clear direction.
- Retention. A strong company culture attracts better talent and, more importantly, retains talent.
- Image. Culture also adds to your brand identity and ultimately your client (customer or member) experience. If you are consistently reinforcing your company values internally and externally, your clients won’t be able to help but feel it too.
Ready to get started in defining (or redefining) your company values? In need of some new ideas on how to use internal marketing to reinforce your company’s culture? Register today for our upcoming Better U. Join us and a panel of industry partners and experts while we discuss the buzzworthy nature of “culture” and why it’s not just a trend.
We’ll discuss:
- Creative ways to show employees they are valued (outside of just paying them more)
- Development of a culture strategy and why it’s important
- Recruitment and utilization of internal brand ambassadors
- How to get started if you’re not happy with your current culture status and want to prioritize internal marketing
