When to start building your startup's culture?
The term workplace culture refers to a set of values, beliefs, and behaviour in an organisation.
Through rewards and disciplines it is formed and, over time, becomes the foundation of all human interactions happening within that workplace.
Why is culture so important to a startup?
The fast pace, greater risks and lots of constraints are among the most common reasons why startup employees are more susceptible to stress than those working in other sectors.
The ramifications of this can be disengagement, lack of loyalty and negative impact on performance.
While stress is inevitable, having a positive culture where your team feels valued, supported and nurtured can help alleviate it.
Most founders understand the importance of culture, though the biggest challenge is to build it. And there’s no better time to get started than now.
Why it’s never too early to focus on culture
Your first few hires are critical to building a culture from the ground up.
They will be part of the onboarding process for your future employees. What they do and how they behave will set the tone for the rest of the organisation.
So before you start recruiting, you should first determine the type of culture you want to create; then incorporate it in the recruitment process and use it as a basis for assessing candidates.
This way, you can build a core team to help champion your values and become role models for their subsequent members.
That said, no matter the type of culture you set out to build, don’t forget to start with trust.
Why start with ‘trust’?
Trust and psychological safety in the workplace allow for more direct and honest communications.
In turn, this will support the fast pace at which your team solves problems and grows.
Everyone should feel like they have a voice and can speak up. They should fear no repercussions for being clear on their capabilities and what they can or cannot do.
Most founders also agree that fostering trust will help overcome negative emotions such as hostility and defensiveness.
That said, trust goes both ways. Your responsibility as a leader is to believe in the value each team member brings to the table, and to empower them to take charge of their own work and be accountable for the outcomes.
How to create the culture you want
There’s no one way to create a culture that sticks, but below are several practices you can try if this is your first startup.
- Ask yourself: What culture am I building? How does it align with the values my startup stands for? How does it show up in the behaviour of my team members? How can I measure, recognise and reward these behaviours?
- Define your core values and purpose
- Reinforce them in all your communications
- Incorporate them into all people processes, e.g. hiring, reward, recognition, performance review
- Be a role model
- Educate your team members
- Take time to understand your team and how they can best work together; know how they operate under stress.
- Articulate what makes your startup unique
- Share your vision with all existing and prospective employees
- Ensure basic information is accessible everywhere, e.g., on your website, social media channels, networking events
- Create positive hiring and onboarding processes
- Showcase your employees and their stories.
Once you’ve got a clear understanding of how to build the culture you desire, you need to ensure it shines through in all your recruitment efforts, people processes and, particularly, through your employer brand.
Building your startup’s employer brand
Your employer brand is your startup’s personality and the package of functional, economic, and psychological benefits it offers.
Whichever way you choose to build your network of talent, this brand is key to attracting the right people, even at the early stages.
Your core team plays a significant role in developing and representing it. If you already have a dream team and a smashing culture, it pays to lean on them as a foundation of your employee value propositions.
Below are a few tips and tricks for building a startup’ employer brand successful founders vouch for:
- Ask yourself: What culture am I building? How does it align with the values my startup stands for? How does it show up in the behaviour of my team members? How can I measure, recognise and reward these behaviours?
- Define your core values and purpose
- Reinforce them in all your communications
- Incorporate them into all people processes, e.g. hiring, reward, recognition, performance review
- Be a role model
- Educate your team members
- Take time to understand your team and how they can best work together; know how they operate under stress.
- Articulate what makes your startup unique
- Share your vision with all existing and prospective employees
- Ensure basic information is accessible everywhere, e.g., on your website, social media channels, networking events
- Create positive hiring and onboarding processes
- Showcase your employees and their stories.
Want more information on finding the right people for your startup?
Download our free guide to learn more about how founders at Stone & Chalk have successfully recruited for their businesses – and how you can do the same.
