Hooray for Culture - HR is Coming Around
Hooray for culture - HR is coming around
For generations, at established companies, HR professionals have been focusing on recruiting, benefits, administrative skills and functions, etc. Now, as reported in yesterday’s Wall Street Journal, suggests a change is taking place. Fast growth companies are testing the conventional wisdom that spending time on HR policies drags startup’s growth and their ability to attract the right talent. In essence, they are saying that culture and purpose matter. That is something Inward has been promoting for over 18 years and something to celebrate.
The article goes on to cite that many startup companies (and more established companies who are innovation driven) are finally putting more emphasis on getting their purpose and cultural right rather than manage typical administrative HR functions that often bogs them down and creates conflicts and problems as they grow.
For more established companies like GE, purpose and company values and how work gets done are what is attracting the millennial workforce and changing the image of the brand. It is no longer just about a paycheck or benefits and admiration of policies. It’s about how their work brings meaning to their life and the environment around them. Look at this GE spot to attract millennials into their workforce and what it says about GE’s reputation for innovation. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OvfU1NpCJQQ
GE has radically changed its processes and approach to workforce enablement and ultimately enterprise engagement to support this new brand image.
GE conducted a global opinion survey which indicated that employees were encountering difficulty in their day-to-day jobs, and that there was a lack of accountability and ownership. As a result, CEO Jeff Immelt introduced a company-wide engagement initiative on “Simplification”. This “Simplification” strategy led to several successful ground breaking initiatives for an “old industrial” conglomerate like GE.
Companies who are sensitive to culture and purpose, in startup mode, address formulating their workplace culture as deliberately as they build their products. The result is a more motivated, well-oiled workforce that will attract top talent and avoid troubles down the road. Instead of waiting for companies to grow into the hundreds, they are addressing purpose and culture in the beginning when they have 5 to 10 people.
The WSJ article went on to say, that The Stanford Project on emerging companies, a multiyear study of Silicon Valley startups during the first dot com boom found startups that tended to devote more upfront to designing their workplace cultures and employment practices are less likely to fail and more likely to go public than other firms. The benefits of formulating a strong culture/purpose are higher staff loyalty/retention, positive and innovative work environment, collaboration, greater engagement and interest in their work. Again, ideas that Inward has been promoting for years.
Venture capital firms are also taking notice. They’re more likely to make investments in startups that clearly identify their culture and purpose first before expanding staff, benefits and HR procedures. All that will come later. The venture capital firm Felicis Ventures, who backs many Silicon Valley startups, encourage their startups to take the time necessary to recruit people in sync with the company’s values and integrate them into the company in a thoughtful way. They are having more influence and impact on creating the kind of companies they hope to create in the future. Kapor Capital goes one step further asking its portfolio companies to sign a pledge to set and track employee diversity and inclusion goals.
It seems like these startups and innovation driven companies are finally getting it right. Hooray for culture.
Purpose drives a high-performance culture. A high-performance culture requires a balance and alignment of vision, values, people processes, business practices, the workplace environment, and the company narrative.
- Vision: The corporate vision is the articulation of what the company hopes to achieve because of its purpose, values and guidelines on behavior. The vision should be broadcast to all so that all employees know why the corporate vision is important to how they work and behave every single day.
- Values: Values offer a set of guidelines on behaviors and mindsets needed to achieve that vision and be authentic and true.
- People: No company can build a coherent culture without people and processes who share their core values or a willingness to and ability to embrace those values. This requires training, promotions, guidance, mentoring, feedback and appraisals that are fair honest and actionable.
- Narrative: What is the company story and do people know how to relate to it in a personal and meaningful way? Today, it’s called storytelling. What is the heritage? Are people encouraged to tell the company story to friends’ colleagues and associates?
- Place: Do you have an inclusive and innovative business environment and culture that is conducive to creativity in regard to ease and maneuverability, openness and collaborative, being aesthetically designed and inviting?
Let’s celebrate. Hooray for culture!
How is your organization changing to address to this new phenomena in HR?