Ask HN: What is company culture and why my company needs one?

[forcer]

I run a small software company - about 7 full time employees. The business is 3 years old but I only started hiring people 8 months ago. Originally I started as a web developer and so does not have really big experience in managing companies, I am more of a product person than manager.

From that perspective, being the CEO I always question what I do and If I do it right. I read and listened to countless articles, interviews (mixergy etc) and many successful CEOs talk about company culture, how it affects hiring etc..

However, I didn't yet grasp a concept of what the culture should be. What I focus on is hiring people that can do job well. What I am missing? It is just a buzzword that everyone uses?

[Peroni]

CEOs talk about company culture, how it affects hiring etc..

It's essentially the personality of your business and more importantly, how other people perceive that personality.

Two key ways to find out: Speak to your staff & speak to your customers.

Provide your staff with an anonymous method of providing feedback on what it's like working for your company, what are the best bits, worst bits, etc. Approach some of your customers and ask them essentially the same questions, what was it like working with your company by comparison to others they have worked with before, etc.

What I focus on is hiring people that can do job well

That's a great first step. The best follow-up to that is to ensure you do everything within your power to keep these people working for you. How you do that ultimately defines your companies culture. Listen to your staff.

I visit a lot of different companies in my line of work (IT Recruitment Consultant). I deal with small, niche software houses, global telco's, etc. and the atmosphere between companies varies immensely. Some places you will walk in to the floor where the developers are working and you could hear a pin drop, others can be vibrant, energetic and loud.

There is too many different schools of thought on what a companies culture 'should be'. The fact is, every company is different. If your staff & clients are happy and your company is making a profit then you are doing well. If you have ticked those boxes and you get really good people approaching you looking for work because they have heard good things about you & the company then you are doing great.

[forcer → Peroni]

Thanks! I like that analogy that culture of the company is like a personality and how it is perceived rather than enforced :)

From your experience do most of the companies care about surveys and culture?

My problem is that I never saw how this was done successfuly, as an employee in previous companies, we had some performance surveys etc.. but the reality was that it was just a time-waster for everyone involved. As a business owner now I can't loose focus from the core business with unneccessary distractions. Altought I have a feeling it may bite me in the a.. in the future :)

[Peroni → forcer]

It can be difficult when you're a big corporate and no-one cares about the CEO sitting at the top of the ladder. You are still a small business, surely you speak to your staff on a personal level still? Next time you all get together for a meeting, tell them you will be sending them a form with a few simple questions, emphasise the fact that it's completely anonymous and make sure you point out what you want to accomplish which is essentially a better place for them to work. Everyone likes to believe that their opinion matters so this is your way of proving it to them.

Also, exit interviews are brilliant. When a member of staff quits, gets fired, comes to the end of their contract or whatever, hold a no strings attached exit interview and let them tell you everything they liked and didn't like about working for you and your company.

[bartonfink]

I see culture as a hygeine factor, meaning that as long as it meets minimum standards for my ability to get work done, I don't particularly care. Make sure I get paid on time, make sure I have something worthwhile to do and don't screw with my benefits or my ability to have a life outside of work and I'm fine.

I don't particularly care, for example, for places that have free beer on Fridays (I don't drink). Company parties and other events seem like a waste of time that I could spend with my real friends or my family. I enjoy a company that espouses employee autonomy where I can get it (think Southwest's customer service), but that's just because it makes it easier for me to get work done. Basically, I come to work to do something I find interesting and get paid for it. If I meet interesting people while there, that's icing on the cake, but I want to introduce them to my non-work life on my own terms and not in the name of "company culture."

[forcer → bartonfink]

thanks. I think your post + the others makes me realize that everyone prefers different things.

what's hard though to figure out what those things are in the hiring process :) I think people often say everything about the interviews, or sometimes they dont realize what they actually want.

[bartonfink → forcer]

I agree, it's not an easy problem, and I think you're right that many people don't feel comfortable speaking up in an interview. I've never let my thoughts slip in a job interview the way I did above, because it makes me look like an asshole and that's a great way to not get a job. I am brutally honest in exit interviews,

Whatever culture you decide to push, I think intentionality is the best policy. If you want people to get lots of work done, make that clear and then set things up to reflect that. For example, you might tell people you're looking for results, and as long as they can get results you don't care if they go home early. If you want people to feel "at home" when they're at work, make that clear and think of perks that would minimize the "pain" of being at work instead of taking care of "real-world" problems. If you aren't intentional about culture, though, the message is just going to get lost in the noise of day-to-day operations.

[_yzuk]

This talk about organizational culture is interesting : http://www.infoq.com/presentations/Hacking-Your-Organization

It's from Lloyd Taylor who was Director of Global Operations at Google during their growth. He explains the model he uses to shape cultures.

[eengstrom]

No early manager's education is complete in my opinion without reading Marcus Buckingham and Curt Coffman's "First Break All The Rules".

Do yourself a favor, order a bunch of used copies for your staff to read. I've probably bought 200 or more copies of this book new and used and no other single book published in the micro-computing era has shaped my thinking more about running an organization.

I will add that starting from a good base of effective working culture, then working on culture as a theme will yield significant benefit.