As we’ve discussed the options for swimming pool/spa construction firms looking to expand, we’ve identified a couple of product and service categories that can be added to the current business model to support synergy and growth. What we haven’t discussed is whether your company is ready for growth.
Essentially, the question isn’t can we grow, but rather is the timing right to grow the business?
Your company’s culture serves as an important indicator. In a 2015 survey conducted by The Moore Group, 400 chief marketing officers were surveyed on the topic of company culture. When asked what they believed was the No. 1 obstacle to revenue growth, 85% of the CMO’s responded that company culture was the culprit.
Company culture plays such an important role in the success of new revenue streams for two reasons: First, you need a staff that is on board with your plans. Second, if you start with something that’s unhealthy and then make it bigger, you’re just making your problem bigger.
Honest look
I recently sat down with a professional acquaintance, Elizabeth Tully, to discuss the impact of culture on a business. As a human resources professional with 15 years’ experience working in corporate environments, she has seen success in putting together plans for recruiting and retention. So she’s been a great source of information.
According to Tully, a company’s culture is usually not what you think it is, and it’s probably not what you want it to be. Managers often hold unrealistic notions of their corporate culture, in part because employees often say what their managers want to hear. Additionally, if managers just focus on the numbers, they assume everything is good with their team when they hit their revenue or budget goals. But company culture is based on the current reality of how the team feels and performs.
When trying to decide whether expansion is right for an organization, managers must take the pulse for where the business culture currently rests. If you have an environment where trust issues and morale deficiencies dominate, you should ask yourself if adding more employees to this mix would actually help or rather make the problem worse.
What steps can a business owner or manager can take to measure culture when trying to determine if the business is ready for growth?
According to Tully, there are a few items to consider when trying to define your company culture. First, do you have a culture strategy? Many businesses have a fiscal plan. Does your business have a plan to achieve a desired culture? It starts by looking internally, assessing morale and then devising strategies to improve it.
Second, does your business have truth tellers? These individuals speak their mind about important issues within the business. For the sake of developing a baseline for current company culture and then measuring improvements, every organization should have truth tellers. This is not solely the function of the HR position or department. Even in a small business, it is possible and important to have other individuals who feel free to report morale issues to management.
From all angles
Finally, do you have a good idea of what motivates your employees?
I often see businesses post Help Wanted ads. In these ads the perks of a job are usually listed as a recruiting point, 401k, insurance, bonus etc. I often wonder whether those perks align with the priorities of the people they are trying to attract.
Best-selling authors Gary Chapman and Paul White recently wrote a book called The 5 Languages of Appreciation in the Workplace. The concept is to learn what makes your employees feel appreciated, and then manage them accordingly. The book had a recurring theme: As managers, we often miss the mark in creating a positive culture. This occurs because we develop plans that are important to us and not necessarily our employees. To avoid this misstep, managers should stay abreast of how each employee feels and seek suggestions. A culture survey would provide one tool to help accomplish this.
During my conversation with Tully, she explained that many corporations have periodic conversations — say, monthly or quarterly — with their employees. This allows staffers the opportunity to provide feedback, share concerns and contribute ideas for how the company can improve.
Additionally, these businesses conduct culture surveys. To keep the pulse on the actual company culture, a simple questionnaire is administered at least annually to find out how employees feel about their jobs. This can be a challenge, because employees often worry about suffering blow-back or consequences for telling the truth.
A few tactics can help ease these fears. One is to avoid asking how they feel, but rather how they believe the team feels as a whole. Ask questions like: How engaged do you feel your coworkers are? How do you think they feel when they pull up to work in the morning? What do you think causes them to pause when getting out of their cars? This helps them redirect their own personal feelings without worrying there could be blow-back.
Some questions are less threatening to employees when asked directly, such as: If the company could add one employee perk this year, what would you like it to be?
When creating these questions, remember that it isn’t about you or your capabilities. As managers, we can make the mistake of formulating incentives based on what motivates us rather than learning what stokes our team. But culture is about creating an environment to attract and retain good employees, so understanding their perspective is crucial.
Perhaps the biggest drain on culture is when a manager asks for feedback or transparency and then doesn’t follow through on implementation. If your goal is to create a positive culture, then dig in and be prepared to do the hard work. Culture starts at the top and trickles down from there. Remember: Your corporate culture will largely determine how employees represent your company to customers. What do you want the message to be?
Final thoughts
When growing your business, you no doubt will need to create new positions. These hires can have a significant impact on corporate culture.
When evaluating candidates, businesses often search for skills rather than personalities. Tully recommends that we hire for the needs of the team. This doesn’t only mean a specific skill set — it should also mean the right mix of roles and personalities.
Communication is key with all employees to ensure an individual is aligned with the organization and vice versa. Does your culture strategy have the right mix of motivation for all personality types? What type of personality do you want for your new endeavor? Make sure you know what your culture strategy is and then hire accordingly.
It is common knowledge that our industry is experiencing a labor shortage. So with our organizations at a disadvantage in trying to recruit new talent, it is imperative now more than ever that we understand our employees and prospects then create desirable environments at our workplaces.
Then when trying to decide if your business is ready for growth, don’t just take a dollars-and-cents point of view. Make sure your current team is filled with employees who believe in the mission statement of the business and who want to participate in seeing it grow.
With the right culture and a good business plan the time may be right for you to expand. Good luck with your endeavor!
