Cultivating A Company Culture Is The Strategy To A Successful Company

Ben Simkin, CEO of BusinessNET

Company culture in the workplace should be the key focus for companies looking to attract top talent to drive their business. CEO of BusinessNET, Ben Simkin, explains how to do this effectively in the article Entrepreneur article, "4 Ways to Cultivate a Culture Worthy of Top Industry Talent".

Company culture in the workplace should be the key focus for companies looking to attract top talent to drive their business. CEO of BusinessNET, Ben Simkin, explains how to do this effectively in the article Entrepreneur article, “4 Ways to Cultivate a Culture Worthy of Top Industry Talent”.

Simkin highlights the publicised quote, “Culture eats strategy for breakfast” and goes on to ask the question many other will be asking ”but what does it mean?”

In a traditional sense, most people will put their focus towards a business plan, Mr Simkin states, “That might sway a business school professor, but to real world professionals, the "business plan route" is just plain wrong”.

The issue of attracting and retaining top talent is a big one, for companies. Simkin identifies a great example of a CEO creating an excellent company culture, Tom Villante, CEO at YapStone -- a leading FinTech payments company. When interviewed, Mr Villiante put the success of his company culture down to 4 main things.

1. Relationships are key:

Villiante shares, “Culture is really just another word for your employees’ relationships, with each other and the customers they serve, and how healthy they are determines the success of your business.Strong, co-operative relationships are motivating, energizing and foster great mental health which is important for productivity.”

The CEO of YapStone emphasize personal service and says to “make them (your customers) feel valued” as these relationships function across a wider network” and “your industry peers will sit up and take notice”.

2. Know what and who you stand with:

“The most crucial part of a great culture is involvement: if they don’t feel their ideas are being heard, your best minds will drop you like dog mess,” states Mr Villiante.

Through his experience, Villiante says, “The easiest way to unite a team is through strong branding. Embrace your brand to its fullest extent in everything you do: what defines your business, what doesn’t define it, and why each member of your team belongs. You will find they gravitate naturally to strong ideas that appeal to their sense of identity, and feel an increased sense of loyalty”.

This is what cultivates and forms a strong culture that not only attracts, but maintains top industry talent.

3. Change yourself, change your culture:

The very notion of a successful business or brand stems from its leader, changing yourself will change your culture.

Tom Villiante highlights, “Your staff look to you for guidance and leadership, so you should be the catalyst for any change that takes place. Treat your staff and customers exactly how you would have them treat each other and you will witness a trickle-down effect that will transform the entire atmosphere of your workplace.”

It’s important to note, action begets action: don’t let yourself fall behind your own plans.

Simkin shares that at YapStone, Tom makes a conscious effort to lead his team from within, and it shows in the progress they’ve made.  

4. Commit to the process:

 ​If your workplace culture needs improving: admitting it is the first step.

 ​Mr Villiante knows, “the ‘normal’ way of doing things may not be the ‘right’ way -- after all, if it was truly ‘right’, you wouldn’t be thinking about revitalizing your workplace culture in the first place”.

 ​Assess your company’s existing culture by hiring a specialist consultant, or circulating anonymous, incentivised surveys to your staff. Don’t just have a vague notion of doing ‘something’ in the future -- commit to an action step, right now.  

 ​As Mr Simkin ends in the article, “It’s crucial to foster a great workplace culture, no matter the size of your team, your business goals or your budget. Nurturing an enjoyable environment not only helps you retain your best team members, it also takes a lot of stress off your plate -- make it a priority today”.

To learn more about Ben Simkin and his company visit www.businessnet.com.au, or follow him on his active Facebook page www.facebook.com/benjaminsimkin - And to learn more about Tom Villiante and his company YapStone visit www.yapstone.com.

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