This topic was addressed in a recent interesting article on the Harvard Business Review website. Bill Taylor, a founder of the Fast Company magazine and author of several books on leadership, described five "hard" questions about the "soft" side of corporate culture which all company leaders should ask.
1. Is your talent management strategy based on your business strategy?
Corporate culture is not just a selection of certain HR practices. It has to be based on the business principles distinguishing your company from others in the market. It starts with a clear definition of what the company represents and why it should be successful.
2. Do you pay as much attention to your staff as to the competition?
The most successful companies think differently from others; in this way they differ from their competitors. And, at the same time, they also care more about their staff. If you want to be stronger in the fight with the competition, you need to be more real, more authentic, more human.
3. Do you know what it means to be part of your business?
Corporate culture should support a sense of belonging and a common commitment to do and bring something. Leaders of companies with the strongest cultures invest a lot of time in showing what the company brings via their everyday behaviour.
4. Is your culture built not only on performance but also on learning?
Leaders of the most successful companies are constantly learning. They are looking for new ideas, practices and opportunities in their field. The same applies to their employees.
5. Can you keep your enthusiasm for change and innovation even when the company is struggling?
Maintaining high energy and employee morale when the company is thriving is relatively easy. Nowadays, however, long-term success demands trying new things despite the risk of short-term failures.
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