Business Accountants: Boosting Your Business’s Value: 3 Proven Ways to Cultivate a Thriving Company Culture
In the realm of business value, one critical factor stands out: your company’s ability to thrive in your absence. To achieve this, you require your team to demonstrate owner-like dedication. Fostering such commitment hinges on creating a dynamic and vibrant culture within your organization. Here are three effective strategies to inspire your employees to care about your business as much as you do:
1. Cast Your Employees as Stars in a “David vs. Goliath” Epic:
Gavin Hammar’s journey with Sendible, a social media management platform, provides a valuable lesson. When faced with a sales plateau due to a formidable competitor in 2016, Hammar rallied his team. Instead of sugar-coating the challenge, he encouraged his employees to embrace the role of underdogs in an “us-against-the-world” battle.
Hammar took steps to portray his company as smaller and more relatable, such as starting a podcast, showcasing employee photos online, responding to customer inquiries through video, and sending personalized LinkedIn messages to new customers. The result? His employees aligned with his vision, humanizing themselves and the company in the process. Sendible’s growth resumed, culminating in a successful acquisition by ASG in 2021.
2. Offer Unique Perks:
Natalie and Chris Nagele, the brains behind Postmark, a software as a service (SaaS) company, opted for a different approach to foster a thriving culture. Instead of succumbing to external pressures from investors, they chose self-funding and aimed to create an exceptional workplace.
Inspired by research from the Henley Business School advocating for a four-day workweek to promote a healthier workplace culture, the Nageles decided to implement this idea independently, as they owned the company outright. Transitioning to a three-day weekend proved transformative, creating an environment where employees genuinely enjoyed their work. This culture of contentment led to consistent growth, culminating in a life-changing exit in 2022.
3. Gamify Your Business:
Josh Davis, the founder of Speedee Transport, a freight brokering company, took a unique approach to boost employee commitment. In an industry driven by gross margin, Davis didn’t just instruct his team to focus on this metric; he turned it into a game.
Davis designed quoting software that featured a virtual gross margin scoreboard, enabling employees to monitor their daily performance transparently. To elevate the stakes, he tied employee compensation directly to gross margin, sparking healthy competition within the organization. The outcome was remarkable growth, with Speedee Transport expanding from two to forty-five employees within two years, ultimately attracting an acquirer in 2019.
Elevating your business’s value necessitates harnessing your employees’ dedication to match your own. Achieving owner-like commitment involves fostering a shared mission and crafting an environment that unleashes your team’s full potential. By casting employees as heroes in their own narrative, offering distinctive perks, and gamifying the workplace, you can cultivate a thriving company culture that propels your business towards lasting success.
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