Strong Culture is the Face of the Organisation - 1

Published by Value Add Consultancy Pvt. Ltd. in Strengthening Bonds · 27/8/2014 12:03:29



A
s I write, I reflect back on my 1st day at work. Fresh out of college high on hope and spirit. As I entered the premises I was struck by the indifference of my colleagues to be, was taken aback by the aloofness which hung around the place like dead moss.

Believe you me now I understood what "Culture Shock" was all about. Having heard so much about how Organizations nee Companies take care of their employees specially/more so of those who are absolutely raw in the system it was a complete damper, with a whole week passing by without having any of my so called colleagues leave alone any senior making an attempt to make me understand what was it all about and where did I fit in. Frankly speaking that was an end of a beginning.

Sounds familiar, how long do you think I was with that organization! Your guess is as good as mine.

My next shift was a complete opposite of the experience I had during my 1st brush with corporate culture.

Day 1 started on positive note with an
Induction Programme, which helped me in not only understanding the organization better but also the team I was going to be a part of. The whole induction part eased my apprehensions which haunted me given my 1st experience in not so recent past.

Now the question here is what role had Induction played? The answer is quite simple, it’s like you are newly married and how you are treated from day 1, what with your new family members either taking you for granted that being a mature person you would understand it all or they hand hold you till you are comfortable in the new setup. Small gestures like a senior coming and welcoming you, being briefed about the Organization, its roots & beliefs, being taken on tour of the facility and introduced to people at all levels on the way, laying forth the HR polices etc. It’s like a 360 degrees virtual tour of the entire organization. In short making you feel special on your 1 st day, now that’s what I call building a bond with your employee.

Next came the
Core Values which brought to the fore Values followed by the organization, values ingrained in each every employee and restricted not within the Organization but beyond it.

How do I describe Core Values, they are like the values you inherit from your parents, values which give you some semblance in today’s chaotic world and keep you anchored to your beliefs or principals. Core Values are the heart and soul of any Organization, distinguishing it from others and are based on the belief system or guiding principles of that Organization. What the Organization wants to be and how it is going to achieve that, what I am pointing towards are basically the Vision and Mission which form the base of deriving the Core Values. Entire belief system of the Organization thus should revolve around these Core Values with each and every employee breathing in day in and day out, thus taking the organization a step closer to its goals.

For e.g. some key Core Values of the Organization I ended spending time of my life were – Ownership, Customer First, Profitability followed by Growth.

Similarly the Core Values of Value Add Consultancy are driven by our belief that an Organization can become a most preferred by strengthening the 2 key pillars i.e. Customer and People (Internal) alike.

Our Core Values thus are -

  • People – Our Assets

  • Customers – Our Guests

  • Strengthening Bonds

  • Best among Equals


The Core Values were followed by the most important aspect for an employee like me, something which is very close to our heart when it comes to deciding our career with a particular Organization, i.e. my future prospects. Let me put in this way what’s in for me or in other words why should I place my future in this organizations hand. All my apprehensions were put to rest when a clear
Career Path which gave me a glimpse of what I could achieve within the organization was shared with me.

It is not only from an employee’s perspective but equally in an Organizations interest to share a clear and tangible career path as this leads to strengthening trust between both. The career path should be such which is not only realistic but at the same time achievable. This infuses an employee with a zest / zeal to not only strive for but go all out to reach for the sky as he/she can clearly see a future up the ladder.

It is thus very important for an Organization to have a merit based clearly defined career path for its employees as not only propels the employee to give his/her best performance, but also takes the organization a step closer to its goals step of the way.  

Having said so this is what I term as building a long term relationship with an employee and it all begins with great on boarding, having a strong set of core values followed by having a clear career path for an employee to look forward to. Well this is not that is all about building a great culture. In fact, these are only a few initiatives that an organization needs to incorporate to earn the loyalty of its people.


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