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18 tips to inspire a crazy good company culture

How do you want your employees to talk about your company? How do you want them to feel when they walk in the door? While this touchy-feely stuff may make you feel a little light-headed, when it comes down to it, company culture matters.

Many business owners are taking a second look at their company culture to make sure it’s the one they envision – one that supports their company’s mission, vision and values.

Insperity has spent the past 30 years building a human resources company committed to helping businesses succeed so communities prosper. In that vein, our leadership team offers these tips on having a great company culture.

Why company culture is so important 

1. “Culture is like the oil in the engine that makes it all run smoothly but effectively. It’s where you get the power from. If you don’t have oil in the engine, everything breaks down and locks up and you can’t move.”

– Paul Sarvadi, Chairman and CEO

2. “A company’s culture has to be something that’s embraced by every employee. They have to say, ‘There’s something special here, and I like this. If I see something that isn’t consistent with our culture, I care enough to go confront that.’ If they don’t care, you’re not going to have that.”

– Steve Arizpe, Executive Vice President and COO

3. “To be successful in operating a business, it’s important to build a culture that is based on understanding and empathy.”

– Jay Mincks, Executive Vice President of Sales and Marketing

4. “It’s set by the senior leadership at the company. The way it’s set is by how you conduct yourself day in and day out in front of other people in your company.”

– Richard Rawson, President

5. “Building, fostering and cultivating relationships with others in the organization is one of the most important aspects of a company.”

– Betty Collins, Senior Vice President of Corporate Human Resources

6. “If you understand your own culture, that’s 90 percent of hiring the right people to fit into it.”

– Sam Larson, Senior Vice President of Innovative Technology Solutions

7. “A company’s culture should be deliberate, and not something that happens to it. Values and culture are established by the senior leader. It won’t be believable and it won’t thrive if it’s not demonstrated and supported with consistent behavior, starting at the top.”

– Kathy Johnson, Senior Vice President of MidMarket Operations

8. “The defining quality of leadership is communication. Realize that your words and communication are powerful and therefore should be intentional and not reactive.”

– Larry Shaffer, Senior Vice President of Marketing and Business Development

9. “Competing agendas and unclear expectations are a recipe for disaster.”

– Ross Astramecki, Senior Vice President of Sales

10. “Mission, vision and values set the platform for your business and recruiting talent.”

– Charlie Hartland, Vice President of Market Development

11. “If you don’t focus on creating one by design, the people you hire will institute their own by default.”

– Tom Gearty, Regional Vice President of Sales

12. “You don’t get a company culture by happenstance. It should be part of a very defined business plan that is shared with everyone to get the business to the next level.”

– Linda Jones, Director of Corporate Communications

13. “You have to manage your culture just like any other business asset. You need a great mission, vision and values. Then be sure you hire to those.”

– Scott Eastin, Regional Vice President of Sales

14. “The culture of a company will make or break an organization. It should be inviting, collaborative and supportive in order to have your business be profitable.”

– Cynthia James, Director of Service Operations

15. “If you get the culture right you can overcome a lot of challenges.”

– Paul Sarvadi, Chairman and CEO

16. “Communicate your culture frequently; if you don’t, it will change into something you don’t want it to be.”

– Kim Scott, Director of Corporate Compensation

17. “Do pulse checks to see if your perception of the environment matches what employees are feeling.  Culture is feeling.”

– Susan Barr, Managing Director of Corporate Human Resources

18. “With their limited capital, small businesses are trying to get a specific job done. Culture is typically not pre-eminent in the beginning phases. But that’s a mistake.”

– Charlie Hartland, Vice President of Market Development

Get more tips on how your people strategy affects your business strategy

If you’ve enjoyed these tips about company culture, find more good advice in our Insperity Guide to Business Performance: Pearls of Wisdom, Lessons Learned from 30 Years of Building a Business.



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