Culture feels like somewhat of a buzzword right now, being bandied around a lot but not much understanding behind its purpose. Our Managing Director Leilani Reader thinks about how to build a positive corporate culture in four achievable steps.
Community
The very definition of culture is ‘the ideas, customs, and social behaviour of a particular people or society’, so you can’t build a culture without thinking about who your community is. You want to promote teamwork, collaboration and support, so focus on the people first, would be my advice. Ensure your staff feel valued, supported and at home in your firm. The community will build itself.
Continuity
Whether you’re an established firm or a fairly new addition to the high street, your firm cannot successfully implement a great culture based on ad hoc activity and one-off drink receptions. Build it into your people strategy, if you don’t have one, expand on your HR Strategy. Be sure to continuously review your culture, be continuous in your approach to your culture and continuously promote it.
Conviction
Own your culture, live it and make it clear to both those joining the firm and those outside of your firm what your values are.
Insincerity shows and if you are trying to present a culture that isn’t a true reflection of your firm, it won’t reflect well on you in the marketplace. Candidates talk, and competitors watch, so be sure that you are authentic.
Creativity
How do you make your culture stand out? Now you’ve built it, defined it and owned it, how do you make it different to everyone else’s? At this stage, I’d draw inspiration from the other 3 c’s. What would your community feel comfortable with and loyalty for? What can you do continuously? And what can you throw yourself behind with conviction?
For example, we had a client that had concerns over the lack of time away from the screen for their department. After some consideration of their community and what could be done continually, we suggested implementing internal walking meetings, allowing colleagues to get away from their desk, outside for a change of scenery and some fresh air and fresh ideas. It has been highly successful so far because it addressed the 4 Cs.
We have noticed considerable growth in candidates focusing on the culture of a firm as much as the benefits offered, so your culture is becoming an increasingly important asset when attracting top talent. Make sure you’re getting it right.
LR Legal is a bespoke legal recruitment agency, offering a comprehensive legal recruitment service for law firms and businesses, across all sectors. Get in touch to find out how we can help you.