Most companies, and more specifically successful ones, believe they have a unique culture and possibly a set of values that is a determinant of the success they have enjoyed to date.
The reality is that this belief is not unique, one only needs to consider a few companies vision or mission statement and it becomes apparent that the “unique” culture is always focused around its people, its customers and in some cases innovation or a “can do “attitude. The commonality across companies is not however important; the fact that there is that belief is what drives the outcome required by the company.
Having said that, I do believe it’s important that some substance is put behind the company culture and values and that they can be demonstrated in the business – as opposed to being a few words that were conjured up at a “team building” conference a few years ago where most can only vaguely remember the fun that was had at the bar the night of the conference as opposed to the actual conference itself.
At Silver Chef we have adopted a set of Core Values and display a company culture that is suitable and aligned to what we are all about as a company. Our Core Values are Teamwork, Respect, Attitude, Flexibility, Integrity and Communication (TRAFIC) and our culture is an internally nurturing one blended with a can do and innovative attitude.
A few initiatives we have in place to ensure there is some substance behind the core values we have are:
- Every day all teams at Silver Chef meet for a daily huddle – the huddles follow a set agenda and one agenda item is nominating a person who the previous day displayed one of the core values mentioned above in the workplace. The nominee could be within or outside that team or even a non executive company director. That person is then advised that their display of a core value was noticed and is recognised and valued by the company.
- Each month all employees “vote” for a person who has consistently displayed a number of core values and that person is recognised at the monthly staff meeting. Monthly results culminate in an employee of the year recognition statement.
The above two initiatives ensure the core values are alive and well in the business and recognised and rewarded on an ongoing basis.
Culture, is a bit more challenging as it’s not specifically defined but there is a general feeling of consensus that it exists. A few examples of how we ensure there is substance behind our culture are:
- We nurture our people by putting substance behind the employer/employee relationship – the company invests a significant amount in training and development for all of our people. We even have our own training academy – rather unique for a company our size. We invest in an annual Leadership Conference attended by our people where we create and share our company vision and develop our leadership skills.
- We share our success with our people – everyone shares in the profit of the company,
- We do everything we can not to behave like a traditional financier. We consider clients needs and apply flexibility to meet their specific business needs. Our product offering is inherently innovative and we are constantly delivering new solutions to the market.
So, in summary, yes most companies profess to having a strong culture and values. At Silver Chef we invest in putting substance behind the statement – which delivers a good outcome for our clients, investors and staff.
Regards Charles