How Your HR Team Can Build Company Culture

A common thread among successful organizations is strong and sustainable company culture. 91% of managers in the U.S. say a candidate’s alignment with the company culture is equal to or more important than skills and experience. It’s safe to say, company culture is integral to all aspects of an organization. But what exactly does that look like – and how is it developed?

Thanks to the advancement and automation of HR technologies, HR teams no longer have to spend most of their time handling systematic tasks manually. Now, HR teams are uniquely positioned as leaders and influencers of positive change within their organizations; they can exert their efforts towards more strategic and people-focused goals for the betterment of the entire company.

Your HR team can do the same, so we outlined a few key steps they can take to strengthen your organization’s culture.

Determine What Your Company Stands For

Start with the basics when determining your company’s culture. Does your organization have a specific and original mission statement, vision and set of goals for the future? If not, start there. Upper-level management may already have these ideas in mind, but your HR team can offer additional support with evolving concepts into concrete company values.

Company leadership doesn’t always have the time or availability to lead the organization and implement culture initiatives. Oftentimes, the executive team comes up with a company’s values, messaging and overall culture, but HR implements it across the organization.

Benefits are another impactful way HR can influence company culture. The types of benefits allotted to employees can determine the culture of an organization.

For example, a generous paternal leave program develops a culture that is encouraging of working parents.  Or, a flexible or hybrid work from home policy portrays the company’s emphasis on a healthy work-life balance and creates a culture of accountability for employees to work productively without always being present in a physical office with supervisors nearby.

Other policies that HR can implement to influence culture include conflict resolution, harassment incidents, criteria for key performance indicators, onboarding and continuous training for employees of all tenures.

Give a Voice to All Employees

HR departments may be the vehicle that drives a company’s culture. Still, an even bigger impact can be made if other company employees have the opportunity to be involved in the conversation surrounding culture.

According to a Forbes article, employees who feel their voice is heard are 4.6 times more likely to feel empowered to perform their best work. So, inclusive company culture is directly tied to boosting employee productivity and resulting in more successes.  

Encouraging or providing an outlet for all company employees to share their opinions and perspectives regarding company culture will develop an environment of transparency and inclusivity and make employees feel valued and heard.

Work with company leadership to determine the most effective way to open the conversation about culture to the rest of your organization – conversations could occur in the form of designated task forces, town hall meetings with executive leadership, online forms or other open forums.

Practice What You Preach

When all is said and done, company culture can’t exist without employees putting it into action every day. As a collective HR team, set an example of embracing your company’s core values, mission, and goals in everything you do at work.

While it’s nice to have eloquently worded company statements surrounding culture, inclusivity and other core values, those statements mean nothing if they aren’t implemented in all aspects of the organization. It takes a village to foster company culture – including everyone from HR to the C-suite and in all other departments.

Not only will a solid culture unify and strengthen your organization internally, but it will also be evident to business partners, clients, customers and other external parties, which will make working with your organization more appealing.

Build Your HR Dream Team

94% of executives and 88% of employees believe a distinct corporate culture is important to a business’s success, according to research conducted by Deloitte. The time to find your HR team – or company culture curators – is now.

For over 20 years, Addison Group has specialized in finding and placing top tier candidates in a variety of roles within HR departments at organizations of all sizes and different industries throughout the U.S. Whether you’re looking to develop a robust company culture from the ground up or add valuable teammates to your existing HR division, we’re here to simplify the candidate search process for you. Reach out today.