Startup Needs to Create a Culture Handbook
Startup Needs to Create a Culture Handbook
It’s a lot of effort to create it, but doing so will make a significant impact on the growth of your business.
Startup growth is exciting and fun. When I hired my first employee, I was beyond excited. But, as you start to hire more people, the culture of the company takes on a life of its own. Every new hire adds a bit of their own flair, and many times the culture gets lost in translation.
It’s easy if it’s you and a few people in a small office space, but once more people start joining the organization, it becomes really difficult to define exactly what the culture of the company was intended to be.
The best way to dictate how you would like the culture to be is to document it for everyone in the company to see it in writing, as a company handbook. I truly believe every organization needs one. It’s more than just an on-boarding document or a “policy handbook”, it’s a definition of how the company wants and expects you to act, in very explicit terms.
Netflix has its culture document online for everyone to share and Basecamp published its company handbook, which is a great example of a culture document in action.
If you want to create a culture handbook, keep vague language out of the document. Be direct and concise. You shouldn’t speak in a way where something can be interpreted for something else. It should be clear and direct on what you’re asking from them.
For example, instead of saying “Work from home is okay”, it should read “Working from home is great, but if you have meetings, you should definitely be in the office. Getting complicated things done is hared from home.
When you’re going to work from home, please make sure to reschedule meetings for when you’re in the office. Use this time at home to focus on your more creative tasks.”
