Rather than reward its employees with cash bonuses, cannabis marketing platform Baker Technologies hosts a four-day, staff-only Mexico trip for some relaxed team building.
“As a growing startup, culture is the lifeline of the company. Establishing a collaborative workspace, company norms and a strong recruitment process is only part of how we at Baker strive to maintain our culture,” CEO Joel Milton says.
“At the core, maintaining culture is really about instilling employee relations outside day-to-day tasks,” Milton says, noting that Denver-base Baker’s Mexico mini-vacations allow its staff “to interact across departments in a fun setting.”
Developing a strong culture can be vital to a company’s health, helping it attract, engage and retain talent and avoid the negative consequences of a weak or toxic work environment. Even entrepreneurs with limited budgets can take steps to build employee morale, loyalty and commitment.
“One of my favorite ways to strengthen our corporate culture is to have fun together. When you are able to share a laugh and a good time you are also able to collaborate and solve problems together,” says Jonathan Cherki, founder and CEO of digital experience analytics platform ContentSquare.
When the expanding, venture-backed French startup – a Deloitte EMEA Technology Fast 500 winner – added so many employees that not everyone knew each other, ContentSquare started having teams host inventive staff parties.
“Every month, a different team gets a small budget to organize a fun end-of-week party. The small budget forces them to be creative, and they must plan an activity or competition, and not only a spread,” Cherki says.
“We have had developers plan a treasure hunt, the customer success team throw a costume party and the marketing team organize a jam session. This way we get to know people we may have less overlap in the day-to-day and hope to create a feeling of belonging that goes beyond the team and builds a strong company culture,” ContentSquare's Cherki says.
Fast-growing Denver-based P2Binvestor, a crowdfunding-based lending portal for startups, uses a number of low-key tools to help its team bond.
“Implementing and maintaining a strong company culture is crucial to a motivated and engaged team,” says CEO Krista Morgan, who cites transparency, respect and boldness as key companies ideals. “At P2Bi, I have prioritized integrating our core values into inexpensive employee activities.”
The VC-backed firm purchased waffle irons so that each week, a different team could host breakfast and share an update on its work. To promote respect, P2Bi encourages employees to drop the names of “outperforming” colleagues into a fishbowl; at the office happy hour on “fishbowl Fridays,” the firm rewards the high performers with gift cards. The company also conducts an annual holiday scavenger hunt through downtown Denver.
Oakland, California-based online booking platform Suiteness, meanwhile, had an unlimited-vacation policy and instituted a minimum when leaders found employees weren’t taking off enough time.
The travel startup, which has a significant number of remote staff, assembles the team twice a year for a company-wide retreat, like one in the Napa Valley, where they took hot air balloon rides and dined in a restaurant garden.
“Holding the retreats twice a year allows Suiteness to provide its team with the luxury experience while staying on budget for the year,” co-founder Kyle Killion says.
The price tag for Baker’s Mexico trip “may seem daunting,” CEO Milton says, “however, when breaking down the cost per person it quickly becomes apparent that the benefits outweigh the comparison of a cash value bonus."
A healthy company culture can provide both measurable and intangible benefits – inspiring employees to do great work and helping a firm attract and retain top talent.
More than half of big-company CEOs and CFOs in a 2015 global survey conducted by Duke and Columbia business school researchers considered culture an influence on company creativity, profits, value and growth, and most said they could boost firm value by improving culture. Nearly 80 percent said culture was among their firms’ top five value drivers.
By the same token, a culture that drives employees away can hit the bottom line. Replacing an entry-level worker can cost up to half of his or her salary, according to talent management platform ClearCompany, which also found that half of employees in a recent survey planned to stay with their employers for less than two years.
Of course, there’s more to building corporate culture and developing employee loyalty and enthusiasm than sharing good times.
A Harvard Business Review article several years ago listed six components of great corporate culture – vision, values, practices, people, narrative and place – and said companies need to embrace their values in daily routines and in evaluation policies. A firm valuing a “flat” hierarchy, for example, should encourage junior employees to speak up without fear of reprisal.
In many cases, companies use their websites to introduce culture to prospective employees.
Baker, which has grown to nearly 60 employees from three in 2014, cites various benefits and practices, including monthly lunch-and-learn sessions and a 90-day onboarding process with product tutorials, a “new kid happy hour” and culture training.
P2Bi’s site says the firm doesn’t have a kegerator but offers various perks and fosters a “creative, team-centric” workplace that values diversity, trust, fun and hard work.
Whatever their companies’ values and practices, many leaders have come to realize that the right culture is more than window dressing.
“I believe that a strong company culture is imperative to success,” says P2Bi’s Morgan, “and for high growth companies, it’s absolutely critical to cultivate a rewarding and positive environment, even if you’re on a shoestring budget, because regardless of your product, your services, or your offering, your employees are what will make or break your business.”
