Company culture has become a vital consideration when looking for a new job. In fact, in 2018, 46 percent of job-seekers rated it as ‘very important’ when looking for a new position.
You can’t have a company without culture. It’s important, then, that you focus on it and make it attractive and suitable for everyone in your workplace. Good culture is linked to a combination of company values, personality, mission and traditions that influence employees’ motivations and behaviour.
But who’s doing culture well, and how are they doing it?
1. Google
Google has been at the top of the company culture list for a long time, and it’s because employees are at the forefront of the business. Google knows that providing benefits to its employees boosts retention, productivity and job satisfaction. These include things like health and dental benefits, nap rooms (yes, nap rooms), food, video games and a gym.
They have created an inclusive environment where everyone is working towards a singular goal:
‘Our mission is to organise the world's information and make it universally accessible and useful.’
Ultimately, Google values diversity, sustainability and accessibility – these are evidently a part of their culture.
2. Virgin
‘Clients do not come first. Employees come first. If you take care of your employees, they will take care of your clients.’
While employee wellbeing is extremely important at Virgin, it’s a sense of adventure that sits at the company’s core.
Virgin’s employee benefits include:
- Flexibility: remote working, unlimited vacation.
- Health and wellness: Medical plan, bike-4-work, counselling.
- Lifestyle: Childcare, pension, spas.
- Travel: Standby flights, holiday purchase.
Virgin’s culture works, just read their Glassdoor reviews from past and present employees. They strive for what’s best for the company and believe in its purpose to ‘change business for good’.
3. Netflix
Netflix values ‘people over processes’ (are you starting to see a trend forming?). They hire with integrity and inclusivity in mind. Netflix has a freedom and responsibility policy where decision-making, sharing information and candidacy are encouraged.
Employees receive benefits such as:
- Healthcare
- Parental leave
- Family forming
- Stock
- A generous expense policy that trusts staff to use it ‘in Netflix’s best interests.’
Netflix provides a trusting and innovative workplace that is built around their employees. Staff even produce videos, podcasts and blog content that highlights how the culture affects the company.
4. HubSpot
HubSpot’s culture is a huge part of how the company runs. It is always changing and they like to keep it up to date based on business and employee’s needs.
HubSpot has a 128-page slide deck which explains every aspect of their culture and how they embody it. They use the acronym ‘HEART’ to summarise that employees are/should be: Humble, Empathetic, Adaptable, Remarkable and Transparent.
HubSpot provides lots of different benefits for its employees, some of which are location dependent. For example, in their Dublin office, food is a priority. Breakfast and lunch are provided every day and there are unlimited snacks available for all the staff.
There’s also games consoles, chill-out areas and libraries, among other things employees can enjoy. It’s a tough life.
5. Dyson
Dyson call their culture ‘their DNA’. What a great analogy! It’s a culture built on innovation, sustainability and education.
Innovation
Dysons’ offices are designed to inspire creativity. By surrounding employees with inspirational and functional designs such as solar panels and an old aircraft, they encourage innovative thinking.
Sustainability
Reducing environmental damage is high on the company agenda. Using renewable energy, installing electric car chargers and providing shuttles and lift-sharing facilities are among the many things Dyson has implemented to support sustainability.
Education
Dyson has its own university. The Dyson Institute provides an engineering degree along with a paid job. It’s a fantastic opportunity for potential employees to graduate debt-free and gain professional experience all at once.
Good company culture takes time
Culture isn’t something you look at once and then ignore for the rest of time. It’s a growing and ever-changing beast that adapts to your business and your employees. What’s more, it requires everyone to get involved. Human resources can’t be the only ones working on improving your culture, you’ve got to get the whole company involved.
The companies above have a culture dependent on one thing: their staff. They take care of the people who work for them and, in return, they benefit from lower staff turnover, increased productivity, customer satisfaction and advocates for the company.
When exploring ideas to improve company culture, look at what is already obvious. Your mission, purpose, company values and employee opinions will dictate the state of your work environment, it’s just a matter of fine-tuning them. You’ll be surprised by what your company already embodies. We encourage you to take this and build on it.
