In order to show themselves as a unique and attractive offering, businesses are becoming more transparent.

Company values are now regularly shared on LinkedIn, whilst business publications and the media report on the envious goings on of the Silicon Valley elite, who continue to have an impact on the way business is done. So, what lessons can organisations learn from the likes of Google, Apple and Facebook, when reviewing and shaping their own company culture?

A Power Shift in the Relationship Dynamic

The first lesson to take note of is an important one:

The employer/employee relationship has fundamentally changed.

In October of last year, Dan Dackombe, director of LinkedIn Talent Solutions at LinkedIn EMEA, illustrated how the balance of power in the employee-employer relationship has shifted in recent years.

Culture has always been at the heart of what makes a business successful in the long term. The only thing that’s changed in recent years is that, with the rise of social media, people now have access to much more information in terms of what companies are like as places to work. As such, the balance of power has shifted in the employee-employer relationship. Dan Dackombe, LinkedIn

A 2014 survey of 2000 British workers, determined that employees now favour good relationships with their colleagues over higher salaries. In fact, pay was only the sixth biggest factor for people staying in their current job – with Brits prioritising good relationships with those around them, enjoying the role and the commuting time over thinking about the money. Employees are also looking for validation and recognition of a job well done. With happiness in work a priority, ‘more money’ perhaps isn’t the incentive it once was.

Making the employer/employee relationship work now requires more dedication from the employer, ensuring employees’ needs are met. The result is the foundation for a company culture where employees have more freedom, relationships are valued more and successes are recognised. This lesson underpins what follows, as it helps to illustrate to employers exactly why focusing on company culture is so important.

Environment is Important

For some businesses, bringing their own creative flare to the workplace is an ideal way to emulate their industry’s leaders, show off their interests as a team of individuals and set themselves apart from the competition. For the rest of us, the lesson we can take away is a much simpler one: the working environment matters.

Your team spend an average of forty hours a week within the confines of their workspace, and those surroundings will reflect upon their work, their happiness and, eventually, the overall culture. To some, tweaking the workplace environment may not seem like a valuable use of company funds, or perhaps simply vanity dressed up as good business sense, but in reality, the workplace is an area where company culture can easily manifest in branded décor, regularly cleaned interiors and a generally warm, welcoming environment. Not every office needs hammocks or a slide, but every employee deserves a workplace they can be happy in.

Values Are Key

Core values underpin a business’ activities like marketing and customer services and they’re gaining attention for their role in performance management. But for organisations attempting to nurture their culture or harder still, change it, core values play a vital role.

As seen in companies like Apple and Facebook, core values are the driving force behind culture, and can help in the recruitment process. Finding a good fit for your company’s culture is essential in maintaining consistency. Determining what your core values are will help select the candidates who best fit the existing culture, and guide their everyday activity throughout their time with you. This clarity and continuity throughout the recruitment and employment process will become a much-relied upon tool in protecting your culture.

Culture Comes from the Top

All of the lessons we’ve talked about have one thing in common: they’re championed by the individuals at the top of the organisations from which they originated – in this case, the likes of Mark Zuckerberg and Sundar Pichai.

That’s not to say that individuals at all levels don’t have a say in the culture they’re participating in – it’s a collaborative effort, after all – but as we learn from Nina McQueen, LinkedIn’s VP of Global Benefits, Mobility, and Employee Experience, the individuals at the top need to support cultural ideals. McQueen’s point is a simple one: CEOs must lead by example, as their employees will then likely follow.

This last lesson is just as important as the first. As the business owner, it’s up to you to lead by bringing attention to the values and initiatives central to your company’s culture, consistently making business decisions that are in line with the values.

“For a lot of companies, culture is limited to motivational phrases shared on posters and notice boards throughout the office,” Dackombe explained. “However, it must come across in actions as well as words in order to be effective.”

What are you communicating as a company to your employees? Company structure and process can be an important part of company culture, either supporting or working against your best efforts. If you’re lacking in efficient business processes or repeating manual tasks that could be automated, perhaps we can help. Kaleida build bespoke development solutions that can streamline a companies processes, both internally and externally, remove room for human error and automate repetitive tasks. Talk to us to find out how we can help build a tailored solution to fit your organisational needs and long-term goals.