10 examples of corporate culture to learn from

2024 Author: Malcolm Clapton | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:44

Get inspired by other people's experiences to increase your chances of success.

1. Platform for video communication Zoom

Zoom has a reputation for being deeply concerned with the wellbeing of its employees. For example, it invites people to bring loved ones to work so that colleagues can get to know those who inspire and support their team members.

Zoom CEO Eric Yuan describes the company's mission in two words: delivering happiness. They even have a “happiness team” that ponders what it takes to keep employees feeling deeply satisfied and joyful as the company grows. Volunteering opportunities, training, mentoring programs are all secondary to the question "What will make you happy?"

This attitude extends to customers as well. During the coronavirus pandemic, the company became famous for its generosity. Shortly after the imposition of strict quarantine measures, Zoom announced that it was lifting the conference time limit for schools that switched to online learning.

2. Intuit is a software developer for business and finance

Here employees are divided into small cross-functional teams, passionate about their work. Each team tries to feel its customers and "fall in love" with their problem, and not with their own solution.

Then clients are involved in the development process by conducting short experiments and creating prototypes. So until a solution is found that will delight customers so much that they will tell friends and family about it.

Intuit calls this principle “Design for Delight”. And it doesn't just apply to customers. The company tries to please its employees as well. Few other places have the same bonuses and benefits.

3. HubSpot is a marketing and sales software developer

The company is ranked # 1 on the 2020 Employer List by job search site Glassdoor. The reason is simple: people are at the heart of HubSpot's corporate culture.

In the description of the company's mission, there is a curious phrase: “We believe that business can grow with a conscience and achieve success with a soul.” Sounds like pretty, but empty words, but in the case of HubSpot, they are really guided by them.

Another important factor is making employees feel appreciated. This is done, for example, by the "no door" policy. Its essence is that all employees have access to financial, strategic and marketing information of the company, everyone can talk to any of their colleagues and everyone's opinion is appreciated.

4. Film Studio Pixar

Here's how to summarize the organization’s approach: If you strive for creativity, be creative in everything you do. This is manifested in the results of the work of the animators and in the arrangement of the office. Employee workstations are often made in the form of small houses and are better decorated than some apartments.

This is not for everyone, but you can borrow other ideas from Pixar. For example, regularly show colleagues your unfinished work. It helps to get rid of perfectionism and teaches you to accept criticism. People interact more, feel more comfortable with each other. As a result, the end result is even more creative.

5. Network of wholesale stores Costco

According to co-founder James Sinegal, 75 cents of every dollar spent at Costco goes towards employee salaries. The employee turnover rate in the company is 7%, while in other retail chains it reaches 60–70%.

The employees themselves put it this way: “I like that when I'm at work, I don't feel like I'm working. Most of my colleagues enjoy doing their daily tasks, which creates a very happy atmosphere."

This is because Costco tries to look at things from the customer's point of view. They believe the company will thrive by creating a culture that provides a positive customer experience, offers great prices and returns, and guarantees high salaries and good employee benefits. And they prove the correctness of this belief by their own example.

6. LinkedIn - a social network for business contacts

It focuses on five principles: transformation, honesty, collaboration, humor, results.

Let's consider the first one. The company makes efforts so that employees can grow and develop in all spheres of life, personally and professionally. And if you think about it, shouldn't this be common? When employees are happy, progressing, and feel supported by the organization, they will perform better. This means that the company will become more successful.

7. Spotify streaming service

Spotify has several unique methods for creating products and organizing your workflow. In particular, the company does not use a traditional corporate structure. Instead, there are "brigades", "tribes" and "guilds".

These are all different ways of organizing and doing work that give more transparency and autonomy. Guilds, for example, bring together members of different teams with common interests, regardless of position. This strengthens the bonds between employees and helps them get to know each other better.

In addition, the HR department has a team that organizes joint leisure activities for employees. She tries to offer something for everyone, choosing events for different interests and preferences. This approach creates a strong foundation for collaboration and makes people feel appreciated.

8. Wistia - Video Marketing Software Developer

In this company, creativity is considered the main thing, as well as the development of a culture that supports it. And this can be seen in everything: from customer-oriented content to a general approach to business. Moreover, they try to cultivate creativity in all departments. To do this in Wistia:

• encourage employees to create their own projects;
• do not micromanage, but know how to ask the right questions;
• when making decisions, they suggest pretending that we are talking about someone else's company.

The last point may seem strange. But for him, Wistia has its own explanation.

It's easier to take risks when you don't think of a company as your own. Sometimes it's enough to ask yourself, "What would Company X do?"

Chris Savage founder of Wistia

Creative results require unconventional approaches.

9. Trader Joe's supermarket chain

Here, the corporate culture is based on seven core values:

1. Honesty.
2. Product orientation.
3. Striving to create a “wow experience” for shoppers every day.
4. Lack of bureaucracy.
5. Creation of a federal chain of grocery stores in the neighborhood.
6. Kaizen.
7. "The store is our brand."

Everyone in the company understands these values and believes in them. They really can be called exemplary. Separately, it is worth stopping at kaizen.

For us, this means that everyone in the company owes everyone else better work, every day and every year. Because of this, we are essentially not making budgets. We just expect our stores to do a little more each year. Employees set their own goals.

Dan Bane Head of Trader Joe's

This is radical thinking!

10. SMM ‑ agency Buffer

Buffer has a completely remote team. Recently, this has ceased to be a rarity, but the main difficulty has not gone anywhere. How to create a corporate culture when all employees are far from each other? In short, it takes a lot of effort.

A focus on corporate culture and values will help build an outstanding company. This allows you to move away from a rigid course of action and start to be guided by principles.

Leo Widrich co-founder of Buffer

A tool like Slack helps with this. It replaces the common workspace and is absolutely essential for all teams working remotely. At Buffer, employees use this tool for everything from important discussions to informal conversations.