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Cover Feature
Making culture a piece of cake
General Mills' HR Director for Europe & Australia speaks to myGrapevine magazine about the firm’s company culture, and the role that its values played in helping create it...
HR Grapevine
13
/13
We Ask the Experts
What does a good company culture look like?
Creating and maintaining a good company culture is key for organisational success. Statistics have pointed towards the benefits that this can have on attracting and retaining great talent. For example, data from Indeed found that 47% of active jobseekers cited company culture as their main reason for looking for work, and 46% cited company culture as ‘very important’ when choosing to apply to a company.
Secondly, according to Grant Thornton and Oxford Economics’ 'Remote on Culture' study, executives who say that their culture is healthy are 1.5 times more likely to report average revenue growth of more than 15% over three years. So, as the stats have suggested, it can also have a hugely positive impact on company finances.
With the statistics in mind, not only can a good company culture carve out a more enjoyable working environment for staff, it can bring about multiple benefits for the business too. This is why, for this month’s burning HR question, we turned to our Advisory Board experts to find out what a fantastic company culture looks like. Hear from our panel of experts below.
Clive Smart,
Head of Talent Acquisition,
Sky Betting & Gaming
“I see a good company culture as the environment where all employees feel accepted, valued, and everyone has a sense of belonging within the company. A great company culture isn’t always about the rewards and the perks (but they help play a part too); often it’s that Sunday feeling where you don’t dread having to work the next day. If the culture is great, you have smart, connected and engaged colleagues that are looking to achieve a shared goal at work.
“A strong and approachable leadership team plays a huge part in driving the company culture. If they are not visible and approachable to all colleagues, they can undermine the company culture just by not being visible.
“Transparency and fairness [are also key]. The most successful company cultures I have observed always have a higher level of transparency and also have a level of fairness, to put people first ahead of policy and profits, with a people-centric approach.”
Clive Smart,
Head of Talent Acquisition,
Sky Betting & Gaming
“I see a good company culture as the environment where all employees feel accepted, valued, and everyone has a sense of belonging within the company. A great company culture isn’t always about the rewards and the perks (but they help play a part too); often it’s that Sunday feeling where you don’t dread having to work the next day. If the culture is great, you have smart, connected and, engaged colleagues that are looking to achieve a shared goal at work.
“A strong and approachable leadership team plays a huge part in driving the company culture. If they are not visible and approachable to all colleagues, they can undermine the company culture just by not being visible.
“Transparency and fairness [are also key]. The most successful company cultures I have observed always have a higher level of transparency and also have a level of fairness, to put people first ahead of policy and profits, with a people-centric approach.”
Jeanette Wheeler,
Chief HR Officer,
MHR
“A good company culture is at the heart of every successful business and typically comes with three main principles; communication, collaboration and challenges.
“Open communication between employees and employers will promote a healthy work environment and boost inclusion of staff members across all levels of the company.
“Team collaboration comes in all forms but ensuring that every individual feels their work is valued, and that they are contributing to a joint goal, is essential.
“Lastly, organisations must engage with their employees to ensure that their personal expectations are met. By offering new challenges that meet their own development goals, employees will be motivated to put in that extra effort to help the company thrive.”
Jeanette Wheeler,
Chief HR Officer,
MHR
“A good company culture is at the heart of every successful business and typically comes with three main principles; communication, collaboration and challenges.
“Open communication between employees and employers will promote a healthy work environment and boost inclusion of staff members across all levels of the company.
“Team collaboration comes in all forms but ensuring that every individual feels their work is valued, and that they are contributing to a joint goal, is essential.
“Lastly, organisations must engage with their employees to ensure that their personal expectations are met. By offering new challenges that meet their own development goals, employees will be motivated to put in that extra effort to help the company thrive.”
Claire Metcalfe,
Deputy Director of People and Culture,
MTR Elizabeth line
“A good company culture should represent your organisational DNA – the way you express your personality, collective values and behaviours, and the many ways you work together to achieve your business objectives. The culture should ensure everyone feels psychologically safe. It should signal a vibrant and inclusive place to be, and inspire others to want to join you.
“Your culture should represent your purpose and values, and should be demonstrated in the behaviours colleagues choose to adopt among themselves, and with customers and stakeholders too. Everyone should understand they have a vital role to place in how the culture is developed, enhanced and evolved over time.
“Ultimately, the company culture should help everyone to thrive and perform at their very best.”
Claire Metcalfe,
Deputy Director of People and Culture,
MTR Elizabeth line
“A good company culture should represent your organisational DNA – the way you express your personality, collective values and behaviours, and the many ways you work together to achieve your business objectives. The culture should ensure everyone feels psychologically safe. It should signal a vibrant and inclusive place to be, and inspire others to want to join you.
“Your culture should represent your purpose and values, and should be demonstrated in the behaviours colleagues choose to adopt among themselves, and with customers and stakeholders too. Everyone should understand they have a vital role to place in how the culture is developed, enhanced and evolved over time.
“Ultimately, the company culture should help everyone to thrive and perform at their very best.”
Rebekah Martin,
SVP Reward, Inclusion & Talent Acquisition,
AstraZeneca
“A good company culture comes from an inclusive environment, made up of diverse teams, where all employees feel they belong. It places importance on embracing one another’s differences, and actively seeking out alternative perspectives – encouraging employees to learn every day, challenge the status quo and make a difference in line with their organisation’s shared purpose and values.
“At AstraZeneca, we have a collective responsibility to build an inclusive culture where differences are valued and people feel safe and accepted as their authentic selves. Creating this element of psychological safety supports the feeling of belonging, which helps people to feel confident speaking their minds.
“Irrespective of career level, it’s important that everyone works in this way, practising something we call inclusive leadership. By working together to ignite our diversity of thought, we enable our people to reach their full potential, perform at their best, and make a meaningful contribution to delivering life-changing medicines to our patients.”
Rebekah Martin,
SVP Reward, Inclusion & Talent Acquisition,
AstraZeneca
“A good company culture comes from an inclusive environment, made up of diverse teams, where all employees feel they belong. It places importance on embracing one another’s differences, and actively seeking out alternative perspectives – encouraging employees to learn every day, challenge the status quo and make a difference in line with their organisation’s shared purpose and values.
“At AstraZeneca, we have a collective responsibility to build an inclusive culture where differences are valued and people feel safe and accepted as their authentic selves. Creating this element of psychological safety supports the feeling of belonging, which helps people to feel confident speaking their minds.
“Irrespective of career level, it’s important that everyone works in this way, practising something we call inclusive leadership. By working together to ignite our diversity of thought, we enable our people to reach their full potential, perform at their best, and make a meaningful contribution to delivering life-changing medicines to our patients.”
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