Corporate Culture

We hear a lot about corporate culture these days, mainly due to the consolidation that continues in media, but what does it really mean?

One way of thinking about corporate culture is to look at the company’s personality. Just like with people and families, each organization has a personality and is unique. This uniqueness comes from how things are done and how employees think and feel. The various ways of how management thinks of their employees, what the characteristic leadership style is and how the business adapts as the marketplace changes – all of these are elements of the corporate culture. Corporate culture affects our personal culture.

Let’s take a look at some aspects of corporate culture that influence the day-to-day operation and ultimately the success of your station.

Core Values

Each organization has core values. Sometimes these values are described in an annual report, a mission statement or a code of ethics. Often we see these values included in an employee handbook.

The kinds of words we might see that express values include:
• Highest ethical standards
• Integrity
• Commitment
• Teamwork
• Quality
• Customer service
• Excellence
• Unique

And of course many, many other words reflect what the company believes is most important.

Sometimes, however, the words are pretty empty. Employees and customers may find the company just doesn’t deliver what the core value statement names as central. In other words, walking the walk is more challenging than the talking the talk.

Why do values matter?

Employee retention depends to a fair degree on how rewarding the job is – rewards go far beyond money alone.  Employees care about how they are treated, how connected they feel to the enterprise, what their relationships with others are, what opportunities for career development are available, and many others.

These elements are a reflection of what matters to management – what they value most. 

It’s probably hard for most broadcasters to accept, but it is estimated that replacing an employee costs roughly 1.5 times a year’s pay.  In addition, dissatisfied workers undermine morale, produce poorer quality work and require more supervision than employees who like their jobs.  They cost the employer more than just their pay! We’re not placing a value on the sleep deprivation that you’ll suffer, either.

Moreover, in today’s rapidly changing technical environment, keeping technically skilled workers and talent can be central to achieving excellence.

More and more, corporate success is clearly linked to what is important in that organization. For example, customer service in this country is notoriously poor.  When customers feel their concerns are understood and addressed, they are more likely to remain loyal and buy more. Satisfied customers ultimately determine how the company does.

Satisfied, well-trained employees to a large extent determine the quality of customer service.

Some Key Cultural Issues

If we dig into the way things go at work, we’ll notice some important questions about how the culture really operates.

How decisions get made

Does management really listen to employees’ ideas? Can employees disagree with their managers? How much independence do employees have in carrying out decisions?

The importance of teamwork

Do people support the successes of others? Does one team compete with other teams? Does everyone get heard in team meetings? Is team leadership about giving orders or developing an environment that encourages creativity and individual initiative?

Opportunities to advance and learn more skills

Is this a dead end job? How much training is offered? Are there opportunities to learn more and move to another job?
Does the company favor hiring from within or does it always look for new hires from outside?

How people treat one another

Is everyone treated with respect? Do people yell at or put down others? Are the expectations for each job clear? How do people from different departments interact? Do managers offer constructive criticism?

The value of employee contributions

Is regular feedback provided? Does the company recognize good work? Do employees share in the success of the organization? Is the company interested in retaining its employees?

Employee Morale

Do people seem to enjoy working here? Is there a lot of backstabbing? How nasty is company gossip? Do employees believe the company cares about their well-being? Can management be trusted? Does management communicate well or keep employees in the dark?

Work Conditions

What is the expectation about hours? In most radio stations, there is no time clock to punch, but are you being asked to give up all of your free time? Is productivity measured by face time? what is the company approach to family emergencies? Can hours be flexed as needed? How comfortable is my workspace? Do I have the tools I need to get my job done well? Who do I talk to if I have a concern about the work environment? Will my job be in jeopardy if I bring problems to anyone other than my immediate supervisor?

The answers to these questions and others determine what the corporate culture is.

So, can the corporate culture change for the better?

Yes!

How?

The first requirement for improving the organization’s culture is management’s commitment to make things better.

Management needs to recognize that all corporate cultures can be improved.

Here are some of the steps to improve the environment:

• Evaluate what’s working well and what’s not by talking to employees, supervisors and management individually.

• Keep in mind, asking an outsider to conduct an objective evaluation is likely to yield more honest and open information than is assigning the task in-house.

• Establish a list of priorities that may include:

o Training supervisors and managers to listen and coach better
o Clarifying job expectations
o Asking for regular feedback from employees
o Using the management-by-walking-around technique to evaluate the progress of change
o Developing effective non-pay recognition strategies
o Determining if the compensation program structure reflects the organization’s overall success
o Communicating openly and regularly about company issues
o Including effective supervision and management as a part of the job evaluation process

Corporate Culture at Times of Change

When organizations merge with others, are acquired or sold off, the stress on people can be enormous. One thing we know for sure is that when anyone says “Nothing’s going to change,” change is coming. Things always change when new owners takeover.

Different organizations have different cultures (i.e. different personalities).

Understanding the differences and articulating concerns should be part of the due diligence process.  The questions listed earlier in Some Key Cultural Issues can guide a cultural audit.  Identifying compatible and incompatible styles is a critical part of the change in ownership process.

A Case Study

As a workforce consultant and executive coach, I’ve been involved with many mergers and acquisitions in different industries.

I’ve found that including an audit of the cultural differences before the deal is finalized is really valuable.  After the deal is made, such an audit is critical!

I was asked to conduct a cultural audit after a large company acquired a small successful family-owned business.  Management was concerned that “going corporate” for the smaller company would undermine the value of the acquisition by disrupting what worked well and made the acquisition attractive.

In this situation, I was familiar with the larger company, having conducted focus groups regarding work life issues in a number of divisions.  I had also created a communication strategy to tell employees what had been learned in the audit and what changes management could undertake to improve opportunities for work life balance.

When I visited the smaller company, I met individually with the founder/owner, four family members in the business and other senior executives to discuss what they valued in the culture and what they would like to see changed.  They also shared with me what they were worrying about in light of the acquisition.

Then I conducted separate focus groups with managers, supervisors and other employees.  I asked the same kind of questions I had asked the executive team – what they liked, and what they didn’t like about the company, before the change in ownership. I also asked them what their chief concerns were about the impending changes.

I learned that nearly everyone liked the friendly environment and felt like part of the family.  They especially liked the personal attention they got from management and from the owners.  

All of those interviewed individually and in focus groups had a lot of questions about what they could expect.

I then shared with the current executive staff what I had learned - on a no-name basis, of course. 

I reported to the acquiring company what cultural aspects of the smaller company employees wanted to keep, what they would like to see change and what their concerns were.

Together with the human resources staff of the larger company, we developed a communication strategy to explain what was happening and to reassure the smaller company’s execs and other personnel about the style and goals of the new owner.

The founder of the smaller company stayed on during the transition for a short time as a consultant and then retired.  I coached her and her husband regarding the transition that they were facing as a couple. I coached three other family members in the business about their career plans.  Two decided to stay with the new organization, at least for a time, and one left.  The one who left decided to go back to school to pursue a law degree, a long-time dream.

In Summary

Understanding and managing a corporate culture is an important and often neglected aspect of running a company.  Issues related to a corporation’s values and personality become even more critical at times of change of ownership.

Recognizing the importance of this aspect of corporate life can go a long way toward the success of the enterprise,