Recently my firm of 25 years (Sunwest Pensions) merged with July Business Services. My response to this transaction has been very favorable with my friends and colleagues. It really has been an amazing experience and now allows me to continue to live my dream and make an impact on others. I want to spend a few weeks during my blogs, talking about us as people…whether that is as a leader, a business owner or just being our best self. Over the next few weeks, I will talk about belonging, vision, purpose, desire, emotion, fit and being authentic. But I am going to start this series of posts about culture.
When I told people that I had sold my firm and they asked why I picked July, I could honestly say that one of the driving forces for me was that our firm’s cultures were in alignment. Most people said that is great, but giving that answer so many times made me think about what culture really is and why it is important to us and those around us?
The standard definition of culture is a set of shared values, beliefs, attitudes, and practices that characterize an organization. Company culture comes through in the mission, vision, ethics, and work environment and in turn allows employees to influence each other and the clients of the organization. Companies should be aware of their culture’s uniqueness and how it affects both performance and reputation.
I think one of the greatest things when we talk about culture is that it is completely unwritten. The collective attitude of the staff and how everyone works together for a common goal is what makes a company’s culture unique. I also thought as a business owner that having employee recognition programs along with ways for us to spend time together as a group were a key component of developing our culture. This is especially true in these days of remote and hybrid work, where employees may be on opposite sides of the country.
One of my favorite things that we always did, was an annual company bowling tournament. It became a highly anticipated event and very competitive. But the most fun part was that the employee who had the high score got to keep the bowling trophy for the next year…and part of that was that they had to add something to the trophy. The picture above is of the much coveted Sunwest bowling trophy. It is a funny piece of our history but was an important part of our culture.
We all know that an annual bowling tournament won’t build a good company culture, but that culture is something that has to be continually nurtured. Making sure your employees know that they are respected is the key component along with being a leader that lives the company’s values. Having employees that are engaged and motivated to do their best work will make your culture strong! I didn’t even cover the ways your business will soar if you spend time on building your culture!
