Ram V Chary: How to Change Your Company Culture

Company culture is a combination of attitudes, beliefs, and interactions that establish an overarching feeling within an organization. Employees spend a lot of time with their colleagues and supervisors at work. A positive company culture can help keep them loyal to the organization in the long term. Knowing how to change and improve your company's culture can help you retain good employees and maximize your recruiting efforts.

The actions and behaviors of business leaders shape company culture. Employees look up to and model their interactions based on how leaders treat one another and the rest of the team. Additionally, company policies and the level of transparency within the organization also play a significant role in influencing the overall culture and atmosphere. These factors collectively contribute to the unique identity and character of a company, fostering a positive work environment and a sense of belonging among employees.

How to change your company culture

Business executives may set the tone, but supervisors and managers can shift and improve company culture, notes Ram V. Chary. If you want to improve your organization's company culture, use these strategies to help you:

Understand the current culture.

Before you can make any changes to your organization's culture, you need to understand what works and what doesn't. Spend some time observing employees and reflecting on your own experiences to determine the positive aspects of your current company culture.

Talk to your employees.

Engage in conversations with your team members and peers to gain valuable insights into their perspectives on your company culture. Foster an environment of openness and transparency, encouraging discussions about areas that warrant improvement. By fostering open communication, you can gain a deeper understanding of how your company culture impacts everyone involved.
Identify where you want to go.

Once you've established areas for improvement, determine what you'd like to see instead, notes Ram V. Chary. For instance, if your organization struggles with communication, then a goal might be to develop transparent communication processes that involve everyone in the organization.

Veteran business professional Ram V Chary has written a series of blogs on improving businesses. Access them here.