Paul Dodd

Having trouble getting everyone on board with a big corporate culture strategy?
 
A few months ago we talked about how corporate culture can have a big impact on recruiting, retention and the bottom line, and offered our tips for creating a fantastic culture.  

But we know that sometimes it can be difficult - kind of like herding cats, in fact - to get everyone on the same page, in the same room, and on the same timeline about creating or changing corporate culture.  It's the kind of thing that can fall to the wayside when more pressing concerns come along.

So here are our tactical tips for improving corporate culture.  These are simple, small changes you can make as a recruiter or hiring manager that can not only start the change process, but provide incentivve to other business leaders within the organization to see what a difference change can make.
 
5 Tactics That'll Make a Difference to Corporate Culture
 
1.  Revamp the look and feel of your employee handbook
 
This blog post about adding photos to your employee handbook is a good start, but it doesn't go nearly far enough.  Yes, definitely add photos to your employee handbook - but while you're at it, you might also want to add an interesting cover, a clever title, some compelling graphics and some case studies about great things your organization is doing. 

You don't have to substantially change the content, or get legal to approve a whole lot of new rules and regulations - just make the handbook more interesting to read and a little more dynamic.  Remember, the employee handbook is one of the first things that new employees read during the onboarding process, so wouldn't it be a good idea to start them off with vim and vigor rather than with 102 pages filled with 10-point text?
 
2.  Add some zing to your onboarding package
 
One of our recruiting managers used to have a 'survival kit' ready on the desk of all new hires on their first day.  It included a bunch of helpful items, like a few nice pens and Sharpie markers, a $5 Starbucks card, an energy bar, some fun post-it notes, and a couple of packages of gum or mints, among other things.  She packaged it all up in a nice container with some tissue paper.  It always had a big impact:  It made new hires feel welcomed, made it clear that someone had thought about them before they arrived, and set a positive tone right from the first day.  All for less than $20.  

3.  Create a weekly or monthly 'event'
 
One long-term Head2Head tradition is the 'Friday breakfast'.  Every Friday, two people in the office are responsible for bringing breakfast for everyone else (it's on a rotating schedule, so each person only has to do it once or twice a year).  Sometimes people bring cereal and yogourt; some people always bring Cinnabons; once in a while someone will go all-out and cook French toast.  I particularly like it when people bring in foods from their country of origin (the day we had homemade samosas was excellent!).

Other companies do a monthly barbeque (if they have access to a patio or can do it in the parking lot); even a monthly birthday party to celebrate all the employee birthdays in that month can be fun.  Anything that gets everyone together for half an hour to eat something tasty can be a move in the right direction.
 
4.  Get a team together to do a walkathon or other non-profit-related activity
 
If you're having trouble getting buy-in for an organization-wide corporate sponsorship or big event, consider something smaller:  We've sent teams to Food Bank Challenges, participated in Habitat for Humanity projects - we even had an  event in the office where people donated their new or gently used 'designer' products and then we held a sale, all to raise money for charitable organizations. 

These grassroots efforts are easy to implement, don't require a huge commitment, and can inspire the rest of the organization - while having a positive impact on corporate culture overall.
 
5.  When in doubt, try candy!
 
You might be surprised at the power of candy - everyone loves to come back to their desk to find that someone has left them a package of Skittles or a box of candy hearts (especially on Valentine's Day).  A good Easter egg hunt brings out the kid in everyone, and a bowl of Tootsie Pops in the lobby makes everyone smile.  Somehow, a good hit of candy (and it has to be something interesting, not a dusty bowl of weird wrapped hard candies!) makes everyone suddenly feel like they're working at Google or something.  

Little Things Add Up
 
None of these ideas are particularly groundbreaking on their own, but that's just the point:  A few months of consistent effort to inject a little more fun into the workplace - without spending a fortune or sucking up a lot of work time - can deliver great benefits that can take on a life of their own.  Which is how great corporate cultures are established and maintained.