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3 Keys to Developing Your Corporate Culture

Your corporate culture is the essence of who you are as a business. It refers to those characteristics that define your people and set you apart from your competition. You can directly impact your corporate culture whether you are in Cincinnati, Ohio, Kentucky, Jacksonville, Florida or anywhere in America. In fact, there are 3 keys to developing your corporate culture. And I incorporate these into many executive coaching and strategic planning relationships.

Define your corporate culture

It all starts with a deep understanding of who you are. Look for those unique aspects that separate your team from everyone else.

It can start at a high level. A good beginning may be words like hard working, driven to succeed, customer-oriented, continuous learning or safety-minded. Then dig deeper. Ask questions. Think about not only what made you great but also what you need to be great in the future.

Find the critical elements

Once you have defined your culture, you begin the process of finding new employees who share those values. Will that put you at risk becoming a homogeneous group with no diversity of thought? Hardly. You will have a very diverse team of employees who share your values and believe in your corporate culture.

We have successfully used a simple, inexpensive assessment to help many companies identify candidates who fit a defined corporate culture. Once we know the desired characteristics—which vary from company to company—we set up easy ways to identify them. Our assessment isn’t a pass/fail. Yet it gives the hiring manager a window into how well the candidate matches up.

Reinforce your corporate culture

Once you’ve defined the culture and assessed new employees against those standards, then it’s time to reinforce it. That means management needs to applaud employees who exceed expectations. Reiterate the values the company stands for. And showcase how important the corporate culture is to the company’s success…and the success of each employee. In other words, leadership has to live it.

Krissi Barr and Barr Corporate Success

Krissi Barr and her team at Barr Corporate Success know how to do this. She has helped hundreds of companies define, find, and reinforce their corporate culture. That’s because she’s one of the top executive coaches and strategic planning facilitators in America. She’s helped businesses in Cincinnati, Ohio, Kentucky, Jacksonville, Florida. Contact Krissi today to learn more about the 3 keys to developing your corporate culture.