As promised, I'm back with the second part on Culture: The Key to Building a World-class Customer Service Company. You can read part one here.
In part one, we discussed how vital culture is and how that impacts brand reputation and the community. In the second part, we'll discuss practical steps to help build and improve your company culture. Everyone must take five steps to create a great culture, so let's dive in.
1. Define Your Culture
Like any sports team with a play philosophy and style, you need one as a company. It starts by clearly defining what it looks like. As they say, you plan to fail if you fail to plan. It is the same here.
You must clearly understand your culture and what it should be, leaving no room for interpretation. It will bring about clarity and confidence to your team. You can easily start by asking: What is our company
- Values?
- Goals?
- Mission?
- Vision?
By the time you are done answering these questions, you will have defined your culture.
2. Communicate Your Culture
You must do more than define your culture; you must consistently communicate it to your employees. Continuous marketing and advertising are vital for success, and your goal is to ensure that everyone in your company understands your company's values, goals, mission, and vision. Open lines of communication are crucial here as they help to find and improve the plan's inconsistencies. It also helps everyone work towards the same goals and be on the same page.
3. Lead by Example
Leaders lead the charge, regardless of the culture; it directly reflects leadership. Leaders protect the culture. Leaders set the tone for your company culture. Just like coaches or managers of a team, leaders, regardless, are the first protectors of the culture. With leaders walking the talk, it becomes easier to cultivate a culture that everyone is proud of. It creates a culture of accountability and will help ensure your team is working towards the same goals. If you want to build a great culture, it starts with leaders.
4. Tell More Stories
Great service companies are great at telling stories, and if you want to become an employer of choice who retains top talent due to great culture, you must start to tell more stories. Share the stories of those living by the defined culture. That is why it is so important to define the culture first, making it clear to everyone what the expectations are. In sharing these stories with everyone, they understand more about what is required and how to do it. Recognize and reward good behavior. When someone in your company goes above and beyond, make sure that you recognize them for their hard work. Doing this will help create a culture of positivity and motivate other employees to do the same.
5. Provide Opportunities for Growth
Finally, provide growth opportunities for your employees. Employees who feel they are growing and developing will likely be happy and satisfied. A culture of continuous learning ensures that your employees always strive to be their best.
You can create a great culture by following these steps, ensuring that your company succeeds in the marketplace.