Culture Capital, our exclusive series by Nikhil Dey, Executive Director – Adfactors PR and founder of soul2sole coaching, is about making people [email protected] Nikhil calls it ‘The Firefly Effect’.
What does it take to make people light up from within? What can organisations do to help people get in touch with their inner light? When a group of people find a space that allows them to shine, their light touches the world. Culture Communication is the catalyst that can ignite this spark. What binds people together or tears them apart? How are some companies able to attract and retain people while others get a bashing on Glassdoor as their best talent heads out the door forever?
The answer lies in the Culture Capital, and in this piece, Nikhil shares why he believes Culture Communication is a process, not a project. Read on.
What is this thing that we call company culture? It is easy to experience but difficult to define or create. To borrow from the world of science a culture is something found in a Petri dish that either promotes growth, retards it or kills. This is the equivalent of a good culture Vs a toxic culture and what it does to team employees in an organisation.
If culture plays such an important role in talent attraction, their growth and retention, then exploring the kaleidoscope of elements that must come together to create these unique cultures that help some companies thrive while others can barely survive is an interesting area to delve deep into.
Looking at the various elements that contribute towards a robust reputation the Reputation Institute arrived at 7 drivers of corporate reputation. They are (1) Products & Services (2) Innovation, (3) Workplace Environment (4) Governance, (5) Citizenship, (6) Leadership and (7) Performance. An area that till recently has received only occasional attention from the Public Relations Industry is related to the workplace environment. Culture Communications is closely linked to employee engagement and internal communication. As companies find their way back into the post pandemic work place, this is going to be an area that takes centre stage.
Culture is defined as “A way of life of a group of people–the behaviours, beliefs, values, and symbols that they accept, generally without thinking about them, and that are passed along by communication and imitation from one generation to the next.” The Texas A&M University
The foundational element of a strong culture is:
- Arriving at a unique and differentiated Employee Value Proposition (EVP).
- Building a strong employer brand around the EVP
- Ongoing employee engagement and involvement so that it becomes “of the people and for the people” or to put it another way ‘Culture Communication’
It is important to understand that Culture Communication is a PROCESS NOT A PROJECT. It is a perishable commodity that needs to be nurtured and cared for every day, every week, every month and every year.
This column called “Culture Corner” is about exploring the Petri dish of employees work environments, to shine a light on what’s working and what is not when it comes to Culture Communication. By engaging in a dialogue with others on this journey, may we all grow and flourish together.
Next time: Decoding Culture Communication – Structure, Story, Self and Social Connections.
Nikhil Dey, Communicator & Coach, and Executive Director at Adfactors PR and Founder soul2sole Coaching, has over 25 years of experience in both, the agency and corporate sides of communications.
Nikhil is focused on finding ways to value-add to client campaigns, drive creativity in PR, and build a culture of continuous learning in the industry. He is also a big believer in the power of coaching to catalyse positive change.
Having benefited from the support of professional coaches for many years, it was a natural next step for Nikhil, a post-graduate in Economics from Loyola College, Chennai and an MBA from International Management Institute, Delhi, to get certified as a life and leadership coach from the Coach for Life institute, which is recognized by the International Coach Federation (ICF). Nikhil has also won the ICF India coaching excellence rising star award 2022.
He is a volunteer coach serving CoachesForYou a support initiative of the ICF coach community in India. Nikhil likes to refer to himself as a communicator by profession and a coach by passion.