Creating the Right Culture Takes Humility

By Roberto Muñiz

How do we create a great company culture?

I recently discussed this very topic with other CEOs and executives at the last Culture 2100 gathering in California. Culture 2100 is a mastermind group that brings together leaders from both non-profit and for-profit organizations to discuss ways of improving company culture in the aging services field.

Our discussions centered around the question: how do you continue to grow while making company culture a top priority?

What I learned is that all of us are doing a few things well, but very few of us are doing ALL things well. That’s why it’s so important to move forward together – not with a spirit of competitiveness, but with collaboration and openness. We must be continuous learners on best practices of improving culture and be willing to learn from each other.

Our group paid a visit to the headquarters of one organization that seems to be doing this right with a record low turnover– the legendary In-N-Out Burger. At this company, the expectations are clear: everyone is responsible for culture. I marveled at how company pride can be seen from the servers to the top executives. In-N-Out Burger has some out-of-the-box processes for integrating everyone into the culture such as encouraging employees to hold each other accountable and I admire this.

We also discussed ways of integrating new employees into the culture, which includes ideas like having a good orientation and onboarding process, and how to continually integrate employees who have been with the company into a culture that may be changing. Many times, they just need to feel like they are part of the organization’s evolution.

At Parker, we are relentless about finding what works, shedding what no longer works and identifying what is unique about our organization. Culture is the foundation on which we build an engaged, productive and fulfilled workforce.

I believe that a big part of being #WithIt is establishing a strong company culture. Let’s learn from each other and continue this conversation. What are some best practices you are using that help bolster your company culture?

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