Corporate DNA

The American Management Association (AMA) defines corporate culture as “the shared values and beliefs that help individuals understand organisational functioning and that provide them with guides for their behaviour within the organisation”.

It is certainly a succinct definition, but various companies practise organisational culture in different ways – from defining workplace values and mission statements to setting aside a recreation room for various group activities to even practising a ‘bring your pet to work’ policy.

Whether the company has been operating for only a few years or over decades, employers agree that corporate culture helps them set their company apart from others and gives their employees a common identity.

In addition, employers and experts agree that a good corporate culture will help attract talent and even help the organisation identify a person that would be a right fit for the organisation. As an example, American apparels retailer Zappos.com has a policy called ‘The Offer’ – a person could work during the probationary period, after which time if he or she did not want the job, they would still be offered US$2,000 bonus and a salary for the time worked. Though it seems as if new employees are being paid to quit, its CEO says that it helps identify those who would not be a right fit for the organisation.

The corporate DNA

Pete Elroy, Vice President of HR, UPS Asia Pacific says that “corporate culture is the DNA of an organisation, giving it a distinct identity”. He explains that though two companies may serve customers with the same product, the companies can be set apart by the differences in their corporate cultures – essentially the values of the company.

Besides giving an organisation a distinct identity, another employer says that organisational culture helps to set the tone of the company. “It establishes the tone and parameters within which employees can understand their organisation, its values and ambition,” states Sean Straton, Head of Westpac Private Bank (Singapore). Also, he says that it gives employees an understanding of their role in the company and appropriate behaviours within the culture.

The different companies HRM spoke to practise distinct workplace cultures. Elroy says that UPS has certain fundamental values that all employees follow, which were established by the company’s founder Jim Casey over a century ago. The company was founded on “values of honesty and integrity and this legacy is fundamental to UPS’s continued success”. Moreover, he says that a characteristic of the UPS culture is to see “our people as our greatest asset”.

Straton of Westpac says at the “heart of Westpac’s corporate culture is the belief that our employees must enjoy their place of work and can expect a supportive and positive environment”. He says that this motivates and engages employees as there is pride and ownership among employees for their work.

Google Inc. appears in the Great Workplace Institute’s list of 100 Best Workplaces for many of its workplace practices, including its corporate culture. Sarah Robb, Head of People Ops for G&A in JAPAC, Google Inc., says that employees have a moniker for the company’s culture – it is called being ‘googly’. “Being googly means being resourceful, honest and humble. You can’t be arrogant. It means navigating ambiguity.” She says that not all people would fit this type of culture as she says that it is “more of an organised chaos kind of mentality”.

Walking the talk

There is no point in mounting mission statements and values on a plaque when they are not practised day to day by employees and managers alike to keep the culture alive. Employers say that the culture should especially be practised by the management and be led top-down.

Straton of Westpac says that the organisation has five core values – delighting customers, one team, valuing each other, achievement and integrity – that all employees take seriously and work hard to ensure that they are practised. He says that the work culture in Westpac “espouses a collegiate atmosphere” and team members are respectful and value each other.

“On a yearly basis employee satisfaction surveys are conducted anonymously to ensure we’re on track. These aren’t done just to tick the box of having issued them; if we see that there’s dissatisfaction that need not be there, we work hard to change it,” he explains.

At UPS, all employees know their company values through the UPS Policy Book and Code of Business Conduct. “Everyone at UPS has a responsibility to ensure we live up to those values every day,” Elroy says. Moreover, the company’s culture focuses on the safety of its employees – not surprising since it is a global delivery organisation. Under the Health and Safety policy, Elroy says that UPS “conducts training every year, has safety committees involved in prevention activities, and audits to ensure that any unsafe practice or equipment is immediately corrected.” The organisation also keeps track of the safety of its employees by measuring ‘Auto Accident and Injury Frequencies’.

The organisation is also involved in corporate social responsibility through charity work and green initiatives. The employees are very much involved in community work – UPS Asia Pacific employees and family members contributed over 23,000 hours of volunteer work to 68 non-profit organisations across the region.

Robb of Google says that the googly culture is practised and known by all employees. “What is striking to me is that you can walk up to any Google employee and ask what the mission statement is and they can say it.”

The googly culture can be observed in the company’s disregard for a strict dresscode, to providing free food for its employees at breakfast and lunch in its canteens. In fact, the company is very visible with its values and ethics stating them in its website including a statement – “You can be serious without having a suit.”

“The dresscode is that there is no dresscode. We want to know what’s on your mind rather than what you’re wearing,” states Robb. Even though she candidly says that this weird culture works for the company, the main idea is for employees to be as comfortable as possible since a person spends too much time at work and “not being yourself”.

In fact, she relates an amusing story: the idea of free food is so ingrained in employees that one almost walked out of a store without paying for the crisps, remembering at the last minute to pay.

Google also allows its employees 20% project time, letting them spend this amount of time working on projects outside of their job responsibilities.

Robb does admit that there could be a misconception about some of the company’s work culture practices, such as the dresscode and even the massage chairs. “Just because we have a quirky culture and can bring our dogs to work in some offices, that doesn’t mean that we don’t take our work seriously,” she states.

In order to keep this type of culture alive, Google pays attention to feedback. “The hiring process is robust enough that we identify people who are going to do well in this culture. That will chip away if we are not careful. So we take a lot of feedback. We get 360 degree feedback from every employee and we get upward feedback from managers to see if they are googly.”

Top-down effect

Employers and experts alike say that management plays an important part in perpetuating the corporate culture within an organisation by being a sort of ‘corporate role model’.

“Senior management has the responsibility to set the example and coach others on what is expected as part of the UPS culture,” states Elroy. Company managers start all meetings with a discussion on one of the policies in the UPS Policy Book. He states that “this tradition serves as an opportunity for team members to discuss the policy from their perspective and to reinforce the core values of UPS.” In fact, Elroy adds that having worked 25 years in the organisation, he takes pride in “sustaining the legacy of UPS’s core values.”

Robb says that Google’s founders as well as managers play a great part in perpetuating the culture of openness and transparency. “We have a weekly TGIF which can be likened to a town hall where our founders, Larry Page and Sergey Brin, stand up in front of everyone and answer questions from employees. This is videotaped, unedited, and available to anyone who wants to watch it,” she explains. Moreover, Robb says that transparency is vital to the organisation as it keeps employees engaged and fosters mutual respect between management and employees.

The business case for good corporate culture

Employers say that a great corporate culture not only helps promote the brand but attracts and retains employees.

Robb says: “We have been very fortunate that the Google brand is attached to mostly positive employment.” She explains that employees in the Google environment feel engaged and appreciated. This is through the compensation, perks, as well as transparency and “having the option to do what you like to do”. She also adds that it helps that the company’s products are good, which in turn assists in attracting talent.

“I definitely believe that a strong corporate culture can help retain talent,” states Elroy. He says that UPS enjoys a high retention rate due to a number of policies including the promotion-from-within policy. He notes that this helps sustain the culture as employees work their way up and will be able to coach them to the younger generation.

Moreover, Elroy adds that many of the senior management have worked their way up from entry-level positions. UPS recently recognised and rewarded more than 2,000 people who have been in the organisation for five, 10 and 20 years.

“The company culture of Westpac is in fact a major reason that we attract and retain top talent,” says Straton of Westpac. He explains that the bank regularly gets feedback from employees and they say the organisation is known for its positive and productive working environment.

Citing relationship managers as an example, he says that many of them have been working in the organisation for more than 10 years. “A good corporate culture therefore results in stability and continuity of staff tenure,” concludes Straton.