Company culture: how to create it and why it’s the most important part of any startup

As the founder or leader of a company, knowing ‘what’ you’re doing is essential, but so is ‘how’ you’re doing it. Thankfully, the ‘how’ is influenced by the culture of your business, so if that’s in good order, you’ve nothing to worry about. A healthy company culture has significant benefits that can inspire innovation, progression and accountability and, quite honestly, makes people feel valued.

But first things first: what the heck is a ‘culture’ anyway? Put simply, it’s the personality of your business — the good vibe that other people want to be a part of. That doesn’t mean free snacks and fab parties (at least not solely), but initiatives to encourage and reward employees, clear communication and admirable values to work by.

Your company culture should be established before you even have employees. Not only will it go a long way to attracting individuals with a similar mindset, but can also make all the difference in the beginnings when you’ve got little room to move on salaries. Plus, you have to consider the impression you’ll make on potential investors, as they’ll be looking at the entire team, not just the founders, before making a decision on whether or not to back you.

Often founders are so focused on building their product that a dozen people can be hired before the question of culture even arises. Of course, while it is important that you hire people who fit your organisation’s values, don’t fall into the trap of hiring the same type of person, as you’ll need diversity in your agency.

The accountability of your founding team is key in creating a healthy company culture. In fact, at Demium we believe it’s the most important factor in the success of any startup, which is why we form them from scratch. That way the founding teams can ensure everyone is on the same page and determine core values that will guide the development of their culture from the off.

Communication and transparency are your next key priorities. It’s all well and good laying out a bunch of goals, but if your employees don’t know what they are, they won’t be setting out to achieve them. Share KPIs and let people know what metrics you think equate to a good performance. Discuss failures as well as successes. We hear about more and more startups almost celebrating failure and in doing so, pinpointing mistakes and learning how they can be overcome in the future. This approach not only encourages problem solving, but will give you the edge on your competitors. It’ll also help foster a culture of ‘fail fast’, which is significantly better than failing slowly, as you’ll eat up fewer vital resources such as time and money.

Be sure to offer regular feedback on everybody’s performance. Good employees will always want to hear how they’re doing and what, if anything, they could be doing better. It doesn’t need to be over-engineered: start out with an informal catch-up over coffee and, as the company grows, start to use a more formal basis to measure employees against performance goals.

You might also want to try technology showcases. Demos of a company’s product are becoming popular in large organisations, because it ensures that everybody in the company understands any new features or services. After all, knowledge is power.

And as for the fun stuff? Well, if Silicon Valley has proved anything over the last decade or two, it’s that free stuff pays off. Obviously stay within your limits — nobody will miss what they never had — but if you can afford it, offer complimentary breakfasts, games rooms, quiet zones and beers on Fridays… Think about what would benefit your employees and make them feel not just supported, but like work is a place they truly love to be.