By Joao Pedro de Sousa
Take a closer look at some of the most successful businesses on the market and you will find one thing in common among them: they all have a strong corporate culture. Building a corporate culture is more than just about setting norms and regulations. It is about turning employees into a big, effective team that really represents what the company – and the brand – is all about.
Disney is a classic case in point. According to an infographic by Washington State’s online MBA department, Disney employees are trained to treat guests like royalty. Their main focus is to make guests’ dreams come true.
When an employee found a lost doll, she washed the doll’s hair and made new dresses for it. She then photographed the doll having a tea party with other Disney princesses, before returning the doll with a photo album of the doll’s adventures. The girl who owns the doll was really happy.
While customer retention amongst most Fortune 500 companies is key, having a strong and well-established corporate culture, provides a sense of structure, identity, brand awareness and a sense of unity amongst executives, shareholders and employees.
Companies such as Google, Netflix, Starbucks, Apple and Nike all are well-established big-name brands that are well known for having very good corporate cultures. The key, is not only keeping customers happy, but employees motivated and actively engaged in their day-to-day tasks.
If you look at the companies that are most profitable and have high customer retention, chances are, they have a firmly established corporate culture in place.
The value of having a strong corporate culture is even more important in today’s Social Media age, as prospective clients, customers and sponsors are always looking to find out how well a company treats its employees and staff.
If word gets out that a company has a high retention rate and low morale, chances are prospective companies will not do business with that brand. If a company does have a good record of offering perks such as paid sick leave, maternity leave pay and child care, then that company will likely get more business.
You can find out more about Why Company Culture Matters from the complete infographic from Washington State University.
