Corporate regulations (or codes of corporate ethics) exist in many companies, each of which has concluded that it is necessary. How to write it and what needs to be taken into account?
The need for corporate regulations
Before you start drawing up this document, you should decide whether you need it. If the company employs more than 10 people and there is a desire to formalize relationships in the team, such a document has a right to life. As a rule, this document prescribes moral and ethical standards of relationships between employees, as well as between employer and employee, that are inappropriate for an employment contract and labor regulations.
A corporate charter should be created early in the development of an organization.
For a small company, this document may seem optional, but if the plans include increasing staff and you want to maintain established corporate standards, then a corporate charter should be created at an early stage of the organization’s development.
Sometimes the decision to create regulations is made by the management of a company with already established traditions. Unfortunately, very often these documents are downloaded from the Internet - as a result, you can end up with regulations that are so far from the company’s established traditions that the adoption goals will not be achieved.
For example, a rather large company decided to adopt regulations 16 years after its creation, when the number of people in the Moscow office alone was gradually approaching a hundred people. The regulations were not discussed with employees, were not structured, and contained absurd passages about how one was not allowed to enter the manager’s office on one’s own (jokes about bringing in bodies had become almost routine), as well as escorting a guest to the meeting room—for such a super-intellectual action, one would certainly have to find secretary, leaving the guest at the entrance.
The company was lucky; the regulations were never approved by order, although some initiatives from them were put into practice. In particular, employees were advised to communicate in formal terms, and this greatly puzzled those people who had worked together for many years and suddenly suddenly learned that for five or six years they had been communicating “not according to the regulations.” Of course, such initiatives began to be carried out only by the department whose head found this very “charter” on the Internet: they simply had nowhere to go.
Corporate regulations are most often needed to remind employees: even with the best relationships in the team and home environment, they are primarily at work, where there are rules and regulations. Therefore, when writing regulations, it is preferable to be guided by existing corporate relations, so as not to create a document that will not be executed by anyone.
It must be borne in mind that ordinary employees receive this document in an already approved form, and some instructions may cause rejection. It makes sense to get feedback from employees before making an approval: motivating staff is much more difficult than demotivating them. We must remember that now (unfortunately or fortunately) both qualified legal assistance and information about workers’ rights have become available to almost everyone - everything you need can be found using any search engine on the Internet.
When drawing up corporate regulations, it is advisable to remember that the purpose of creating this document is not to organize a maximum security colony within the office of a particular employer, but only to regulate existing relationships in the team.
And, of course, you need to write the regulations yourself. The company does not recruit expensive specialists so that local regulations can be downloaded from the Internet: for this, it could hire students part-time, saving money on paying salaries.
The larger the company, the stronger the desire to limit the actions of employees to certain boundaries that sometimes seem generally accepted.
Typically, the regulations write the goals and missions of the company, the rules of behavior of employees in relation to guests, clients and among themselves, and may stipulate behavior on the company’s territory and the presence of a dress code.
What should be regulated and to what extent?
The goal of any commercial organization is to make a profit; this is stated both in the legislation and in the charter. But the corporate regulations must indicate what exactly the company can offer its employees and how it will achieve this. If we are talking about the health of employees, then, as a rule, as a measure to ensure care of it, it is indicated that the company provides employees with voluntary health insurance. Or the desire for corporate unity, which is achieved through joint events, team building, and congratulating employees on various holidays.
When writing a company mission, you should consider ensuring that it is developed by all employees.
Of course, you need to write the regulations yourself
A very important place in any regulation is occupied by the behavior of employees during the working day - coming to work, communicating with colleagues, dress code, telephone and written conversations.
The internal labor regulations say everything about the employee's working day, but the employer always has a predictable desire to add additional sanctions for lateness and somehow motivate employees to stay overtime.
For example, in one large construction company the official working day ended at 19.00, but the head of one of the divisions of the legal department held planning meetings at 20.00, and a reduction in bonuses was provided for lateness and no-show. That is, it was necessary to ask for time off from work in order to go home on time - just like in the famous joke. The employee makes excuses to his colleagues, who are offended that he is already leaving, and they are still at work: “Guys, what are you doing?! I'm on vacation."
The corporate regulations of another Moscow company stipulated that the secretary must remain at work until the end of all meetings. Meetings could end after 20.00, no one paid for a taxi for the secretary, she had to get home for two hours, and at 6.00 the next day she had to get up.
No incentives were provided in either the first or the other case. It was believed that an employee should be so grateful for the work provided that there would simply be no room for dissatisfaction.
It is the corporate regulations that provide for all the rules for using plastic cards to enter and exit the office. They are usually used to track working hours. Since corporate regulations are rarely introduced to employees against signature, and most often they are sent by email, employees do not always pay due attention to the rules for using plastic cards.
Thus, in one company it was forbidden to transfer plastic cards to other employees. The regulation mandating this was sent out by email. After sending the regulations, one of the employees gave his card to an employee of another department to enter the canteen. The card was immediately seized by security officers, citing regulations.
Any employer wants an employee to devote himself to work as much as possible throughout the working day. Therefore, sometimes there is a desire to prescribe in the regulations rules and regulations that violate the rights of employees. For example, introducing a smoking ban during the working day. Of course, this is a bad habit that wastes working time. But there is no legal ban on the distribution and storage of cigarettes. As a rule, adult employees are hired and have the right to decide for themselves whether to smoke or not. Smoking becomes a physiological need. The employer also has the right to choose: he needs an employee at the workplace who thinks only about the end of the working day and a cigarette, or an employee whose thoughts are not occupied with the sole desire to smoke. The employer is responsible for organizing smoking areas. It would be a contradiction to create such places in order to prevent employees from using them.
One company first banned going out for a smoke break with colleagues, then limited the number of possible exits from the office for this purpose to three per day, then they began to talk about a complete ban on smoking. No other measures other than prohibitive ones were introduced, and employee dissatisfaction with the company’s policies began to grow.
Some employers, instead of repressive measures against smokers, use incentives for non-smoking employees - such steps are more conducive to quitting smoking at least during the working day.
Thus, some employers, in addition to the almost traditional social package in the form of voluntary health insurance, introduce bonuses for non-smoking employees. One company began paying small cash incentives for quitting smoking, and as a result, far fewer employees smoked during the workday.
These types of prohibitions include a ban on storing, for example, an employee’s own tea. Employers are not always ready to buy tea and coffee for employees, rightly believing that the availability of coolers should be sufficient. It does not take into account that there are “night owls” who simply will not be able to work without morning coffee or strong tea. Sometimes the same green tea will help someone cope with stress, but someone cannot drink black tea, and so on.
If there is a fear that the presence of tea, coffee or cookies in employees’ desks will lead to some undesirable consequences in the form of a violation of the sanitary situation and the appearance of cockroaches, then it is worth providing a special place for storing such items.
Lunch at the workplace also irritates the employer, from the smells in the room to the fact that any food generally has no place near work documents.
Some companies solve this problem by organizing rooms where employees can have lunch and drink tea. Employers, whose premises and budget allow it, organize centralized meals for employees, hiring a cook or ordering lunches to the office, which complements the social package guaranteed by the Labor Code of the Russian Federation. In this case, as a rule, less time is spent on a lunch break, since there is no need to leave the office.
A special place in the life of any company is occupied by the introduction of a dress code. Once you start writing about it in the regulations, it’s almost impossible to stop. With men everything is quite simple, but girls can be prohibited from so many things: long nails, bright varnish, deep necklines, certain types of jewelry (for example, hand-made).
Some companies specify the possible length of nails and provide examples of shoes that are advisable to wear to the office. It is worth noting that usually a strict dress code is compensated financially, since the strict requirements of employers require certain “sacrifices” from the employees’ budget.
The dress code does not always look logical and thoughtful. Let's say that the personnel service downloaded the regulations translated from English from the Internet without proofreading them. And there the eco-friendly company prohibits the wearing of shoes and clothing made from natural materials. Employees will have a logical question: will girls really need to wear synthetics, stop thinking about fur coats, and even men will have to throw away all their office leather shoes?
When introducing a dress code, you need to think about the purpose for which you want to make it mandatory. And it is not always worth regulating the material from which employees can wear clothes in the office. Sometimes it is enough to write down general principles that take into account climatic conditions and, on this basis, select office clothes.
Communication and behavior in the office are also given a special place in the regulations.
Similar rules should be introduced for those employees who communicate with clients and counterparties. But sometimes communication between employees on company territory is regulated. One of the most useless and negated rules will be the need to address an employee by name or by first name and patronymic, depending on the position. It is especially absurd to introduce this rule in a company where employees have worked together for many years. Most ordinary and non-ordinary employees will not simply ignore such a clause of the regulations. They will question the adequacy of the people who included it in the document, since usually adults are able to decide without regulation how to address each other depending on the situation and status.
Usually a strict dress code is compensated financially
Of course, there may be employees who will find it important to be addressed by their first name and patronymic, even by those colleagues who have previously been with them on their first name for many years, but this will surprise most of the old employees and is unlikely to contribute to unity team.
Sometimes the regulations include not only rules for communication with colleagues and clients, but also rules regarding places for business meetings. For negotiations with counterparties, any company tries to provide a guest area or a meeting room itself, but the rules regarding places of communication for employees will most likely be ignored.
It is practically pointless to prescribe in the regulations a ban on discussing any topics
It is also practically pointless to prescribe a ban on discussing any topics in such regulations. Any prohibition must be accompanied by a sanction, otherwise it does not make any sense. Sanctions for workers are provided for by labor legislation. To prohibit employees from discussing any issues with colleagues, such issues should become a trade secret, the non-disclosure agreement of which the employee must sign.
In particular, in one of the companies, such regulations included a ban on discussing the appointments of employees within the company, and the company’s financial policy regarding employees. If the second can be somehow justified, then it is difficult to include the transfer of an employee within the company as classified information, as well as to prohibit employees from discussing such issues.
It is logical to include in the regulations rules for telephone conversations with clients and for correspondence on work issues with clients and within the company. This helps most of the company's employees work with mail.
Numerous norms and prohibitions should not become the foundation of a company’s corporate culture
Sometimes, some employers prohibit employees from using work email to send any personal messages, including to their own colleagues. If such a ban is related to traffic restrictions, then it is worth informing the employees about this, and they will treat the ban with greater understanding.
Corporate regulations may prohibit the use of the Internet for personal purposes. If the company does not have unlimited Internet, this is also understandable. In practice, such prohibitions can be implemented in very strange ways.
In one company, an employee who held a leadership position for several years had the Internet blocked on the eve of his dismissal. The employee was not warned about this and, as a result, was unable to fully complete all of his tasks, since for some the information could only be taken from the network.
Numerous norms and prohibitions should not become the foundation of a company’s corporate culture. The corporate regulations must indicate which holidays are usually celebrated in the company, how and at what time employees are congratulated.
If it is customary in a company to write event scripts independently, then it is worth indicating which department is responsible for this and at what time the organization should take place, because you cannot send half of the company to some kind of rehearsal if, for example, some of the employees involved have urgent work issues .
If, at the time of adoption of the regulations, there are, for example, traditions of congratulating employees on their birthdays, it is better to legitimize them than to invent new ones, which will most likely cause confusion among employees and may not take root in the company, destroying a good tradition completely.
In the corporate regulations, you can indicate information about mutual assistance funds, if the company has any. In one of the Moscow companies, to support employees and unite the team, an internal charity project was created, in which any employee could participate, and the funds were directed to expensive operations for employees and their loved ones.
Sometimes such projects are useful for society, but not all employees can participate in them. Thus, in one Western company that has a representative office in Russia, it is customary to spend a certain part of the salary on charity. To raise funds for the funded funds, regular corporate events are held, which do not take into account the fact that the income levels of employees can vary greatly.
Unfortunately, downloading regulations that do not correspond to what is happening in the company is not the only problem. A common problem with almost all documents found on the Internet is the inability of the authors to write in Russian. For some reason, it does not occur to anyone that in a local regulatory act, read - in corporate regulations, commas and dashes must be in their places, the document must be logically structured and, preferably, checked by the legal department for compliance with labor laws. That is, it should be written in such a way that it would be embarrassing to send it to the general director and his own colleagues for review.
Instead, for some reason, illogical and illiterately written documents are downloaded, to which the life of the groups is then adjusted.
Any document intended for a large number of people with different levels of education should be written briefly and accessible. If the regulations must be as detailed as possible, then at the beginning it is worth drawing up its contents - this will help maintain the structure and logic of the document.
Any document should be written concisely and clearly
Very detailed regulation can create difficulties for employees in following the rules, and also creates a risk of violating the rights of employees provided for by labor legislation - to reduce such risks, the regulation must undergo preliminary approval by the legal department, which, in case of problems, will have to defend the interests of the company in the prosecutor's office or court.
Sometimes regulations are drawn up taking into account the fact that the main shareholder is a Western company, but even in this case it is worth monitoring compliance with the law.
It must be remembered that prohibitions must be compensated for by something that will motivate employees to respect the prohibitions. And there can be no restrictions without sanctions: it is impossible to control absolutely everything, therefore, when introducing new rules, it is worth thinking about who will monitor their implementation. Some employers resolve such issues with the help of special departments and employees, motivate old employees to perform such functions, or use the information technology department to read and check mail, including personal mail, install security cameras and listen to telephone calls. To implement such a practice, you must again consult with the legal department so as not to find yourself in a situation where the employer’s authority is not sufficient to process such personal data.
The regulations need to be written in such a way that employees do not feel that its main purpose is to control their behavior in the office. The document should be aimed at creating a unified corporate culture, and this can only be done with the support and approval of employees and the preservation of established traditions and customs.
For ideas on creating regulations, you can also contact company employees, especially those who have been working there for more than one year. Of course, newcomers have a lot of fresh ideas, but sometimes these ideas are very different from what is actually accepted in a given team.
When writing corporate regulations, you need to remember that its final goal is to create rules and norms that will not only limit employees, but also help them feel part of the team and the traditions accepted in it, which ultimately should lead to a more comfortable and means better quality work. If the new rules are rejected by the majority of the team, then it is wiser to discuss this with employees and, perhaps, change the rules - this is easier to do than to recruit staff to comply with the new rules.
Anna Shirokova – expert of the magazine "Kadrovik"
- Personnel policy, Corporate culture
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· Each person knows what specific goal is set for him and has an idea of the goals facing other employees and departments.
· Each employee assumes that his colleagues treat their areas of work as responsibly as he does his own.
· Employees are not afraid that colleagues will discuss them behind their backs.
· People sincerely wish each other success. If one of the employees notices that his colleague is doing something wrong, he will point it out immediately and will not wait until the mistake is made and then gloat to his heart's content.
· There is mutual trust in the company. Everyone assumes that none of the colleagues abuses their position and capabilities.
· There is a general sense of desire to succeed. Everyone understands that the small daily activities of their colleagues - drafting documents, phone calls, meetings - matter to the overall result.
· Everyone knows that they can ask a colleague for help. The work is organized in such a way that no one has to do everything alone.
· People can cross departmental boundaries to help each other.
· People come to work with pleasure, and not just to feed themselves and their families.
· If desired, anyone can make a proposal or participate in work that is not within their competence.
· Everyone knows that they can talk to anyone at the top of the company without risking the wrath of their immediate supervisor.
Rituals and traditions in the organization
Euroset is the largest network of communication stores in Russia, operating in a discounter format (a store with a wide range of the best products at wholesale prices) and a leading dealer of the largest cellular operators. Today the company has more than 5,000 communication stores in Russia and abroad.
There are certain traditions in the work of Euroset; we will name and explain the essence of the most important of them:
"Social guarantees and benefits"
Euroset values its employees and provides all social guarantees in accordance with the Labor Code of the Russian Federation (paid leave and sick leave, paid study leave, “white” wages), an additional compensation package (benefits and compensation).
"Career growth, development and training"
It also provides training for employees, the opportunity for personal and professional self-expression, each employee has the opportunity to gain professional experience in the company.
"Requirements for candidates and employees"
The main requirement for candidates is youth, energy, ambition and a desire to gain professional experience. The company provides an opportunity for young people who are receiving education or have already received it, but do not have work experience, to start a career and acquire knowledge and skills for further professional activities.
"Corporate culture"
There are traditions in the company, we celebrate holidays together, relax together, hold corporate events (parties, sports competitions). Motto: “Euroset is a leader, I work here - that means I’m the best!”
The company widely uses spiritual elements of corporate culture, such as corporate congratulations, written messages to company employees - informational and congratulatory letters. The sensational messages of the head of Euroset, Evgeny Chichvarkin, to the army of his many thousands of employees can already be called classics of the genre. To some, these texts seemed too cruel and even bold, but there was an audience who read them.
Myths, legends of the organization
People create their own little worlds in organizations and enterprises where they work throughout their entire lives. This is essentially a second life. And if it doesn’t have its own special culture, living and working will be a bit boring. This is how the construction of corporate legends begins!
A corporate legend is not only an escape from boredom. It unites the team and sets the rhythm for common impulses. Where does the construction of a corporate legend begin? From the same place as the usual culture – from spiritual and material values.
"Spiritual values"
Based on the fact that it is ideas that move the world, we will consider spiritual values to be primary. After all, the construction of any company begins not with an office, but with the thought of its creation, with an idea - in general, with an idea, with a legend. As a rule, the whole idea ends with the implementation of the business process itself, and Euroset records the main points that moved the company at the beginning of its journey. We can say that such legends have already become the Constitution of the company, like its Corporate Code, that is, a fundamental document, after reading which every employee and client can understand with whom he is dealing. This is how like-minded people are found - the most faithful and reliable partners.
"Branded exclusive music"
A very modern element of the legend is the branded exclusive music. In many branches of Cherepovets, it is placed on call waiting at the telephone exchange; with its help, various corporate holidays are opened and closed. Euroset has already acquired a corporate anthem. Corporate music has the ability to connect people's hearts. “The music has connected me! ." – remember?
"Material assets of the company"
Various diplomas, awards, letters of recommendation, medals won at various competitions necessarily become part of the company’s legend. It is important to present it to people correctly. For this purpose, a special section has been created on the corporate website, which is regularly updated.
"Let's keep quiet about Nokia"
This is also a kind of legend. Since Euroset requires special conditions for the supply of cell phones from Nokia, none of the sellers offered a phone from this company. The Finnish company's devices are placed in distant display cases, consultants do not receive bonuses from their sales, and they themselves are prohibited from using Nokia phones. In order to find out the reaction of the consultants, you can ask to see a Finnish brand pipe. Most sellers will remain calm. However, when a buyer talks about a specific Nokia model, sellers are forced to demonstrate it. If the “client” makes it clear that he has not yet decided on the model, and he is no more interested in Nokia than, for example, in Samsung, the consultant in most cases criticizes Finnish phones and in every possible way praises Korean or any others.
Communications in the organization
Internal:
· A unique discovery of the Euroset company is its internal communications system. All employees of the retail network and office departments are constantly in a single communication field. Back office employees visit retail outlets, observe the work of sellers, and communicate with them. This allows you to quickly adjust business mechanisms. On the other hand, any employee of the company can contact any of the top managers if he has a problem, and for some reason it is not resolved at the level of immediate management.
· In the spring of 2009, the company launched an internal corporate social network. It's called "Euroeverything". For our employees, Eurovse is a communication channel that allows them to communicate in real time, regardless of their location. Participation in EuroVse depends only on the desire of the employee. And, since the network now accounts for more than 50% of all company employees, the project is a success. “Evrovsyo”, which has full-fledged social network functionality, can become a serious competitor to public networks. At least among the company's employees. Each user has a personal profile, with their personal data, information about their hobbies and interests, and personal photographs. The social network includes a “Ours” section - a kind of “treasury” of places that are of interest to all employees. Here you can find information about various establishments (from a nightclub to foreign countries) that you have visited, give your assessment and advice to your colleagues. The service is popular and allows you to evaluate areas of concentration of social life and interests outside of work.
Instructions for making signs16.01.2007
Corporate culture is an integral part of the functioning of any company. Partner at the Step consulting center Vladimir Khomutov tells Alexander Sapolnov, a partner at the Step consulting center, about what basis it should be built on, what obstacles there may be during its formation, and what the role of HR and PR departments will be in this regard.
Vladimir, it is known that corporate culture is the general identity of the company, its certain standards. Tell me, how does this manifest itself and who should set these standards?
Corporate culture is the rules, traditions and values that are accepted in a given company. Therefore, companies without a corporate culture do not exist. After all, any company is created by people. And people (even if they themselves do not realize it) are carriers of certain values. And when owners negotiate among themselves, creating a business, when they hire employees, they consciously or subconsciously take the “suitable” people - those who share their values. For example, the owner or hired CEO of a company who is a champion of a healthy lifestyle will not hire those who smoke and drink alcohol. Most businessmen understand that it is easier to fire employees than to rehabilitate them. So, in the course of natural evolution, the company acquires a certain core of “co-religionists.”
Corporate culture regulates not only basic values, but “daily practices”: what employees look like (“dress code”), how they communicate with each other and with clients, how interaction is structured between boss and subordinate.
In a family, when children grow up under supervision, they absorb the values of their parents. When children grow up as street children, they learn “street” values and rules. Corporate culture also does not tolerate a vacuum. If owners or managers do not drive the corporate culture, then other employees take over the steering wheel: “informal leaders.” In such a situation, “one morning” managers may come to the office and not recognize their company: employees walk around looking like salesmen on commuter trains, there is dirt in the toilets, and “ruin” in their heads.
In small companies, where “everything is in plain sight,” there is usually no need for any formalized documents containing a “set of corporate rules.” When a company's office begins to occupy several floors in a business center, divisions appear in different cities (and sometimes countries), the "personal example" of the company's top managers is not visible to most employees. Therefore, there is a real need for a code of corporate ethics.
- What problems in the field of corporate culture formation are relevant in our country today?
Our business, unlike foreign ones, cannot yet boast of a hundred-year history, so for Russian companies the main and most pressing problem in corporate culture is its formation (laughs). Seriously, the company first goes through the stage of “survival” in the market. Here, corporate culture is rarely the focus. Then the company matures, takes its place in the market, positions itself and its products. Here corporate culture becomes a significant market factor.
Another situation when corporate culture becomes one of the central issues is a merger or acquisition of companies. In our practice, we worked on supporting the merger of two retail companies. One of them was purely Russian. In it, as is often the case, the main values were speed and efficiency in obtaining results. The people there were “not smart,” but very focused on business results and “not fed” with money. The second company traced its roots back to one of the first joint ventures. In a fairly short period of time, it went through several owners. Moreover, each time the buyers were companies from different countries and even different continents. Accordingly, people there were accustomed to a leisurely, measured rhythm, to foreign top managers who made all the key decisions, to a “decent” salary that was 99% fixed, despite the fact that the retail company had never shown an annual profit in its existence. The employees of this company are accustomed to looking condescendingly at the proteges of the “new owners.” At first glance, it was clear that the managers from the second retail company needed to be removed, because they were carriers of a completely “perpendicular” - “non-commercial” - corporate culture. But it is impossible to remove them all “overnight”: people are tied to them, these employees are carriers of information that only they know. We had to start with changing wages, which immediately led to layoffs, but this became part of the “cleansing” procedure. In some cases, it was possible to introduce directors of the first retail outlets into the retail outlets of the second chain. Work to create a unified corporate network was carried out systematically and in parallel with the unification of logistics, financial and IT systems.
Unfortunately, company management often believes that in order to create a corporate culture among its staff, it is enough to “drill” into their heads the postulate about the superiority of their organization in the market, equality of employees, the impossibility of conflict situations, etc., whereas in reality this is far from not this way…
One of the common mistakes is the desire to tell beautiful lies about your company. For example, we cannot try to convince employees that we are leaders if this is not true. It will be more effective if the owner or top managers find the truly unique qualities of their company. For example: “We are not kind, we are not loyal, but here the strongest survive. If you can work successfully in our organization, this means that you are a strong personality and a highly qualified specialist. And we appreciate you for that.” Such a message will not only be true, but will also allow you to clearly understand what you want from your current and future employees.
Another mistake is to speak general words without deciphering them. Values such as “professionalism”, “customer focus”, “innovation”, “conservatism” and other similar general words can be understood differently by each employee. It is important to decipher what the speaker means by them. For example, to the thesis “the employees of the company “Horns and Hooves” are customer-oriented...” you need to add something like: “they are attentive and patient with clients, sincerely want to help him in resolving his issue and are always happy to see him, because our salaries are in their pockets clients."
- Describe the roleHR services andPR department in the corporate culture of the organization.
In a large company, two departments may be relevant to the topic of a corporate company: HR and PR. HR filters candidates at the entrance to the company. If the HR department works properly, the ratio of employees who fully share the company’s values to those who share them can partially reach 80:20. This is a good, realistically achievable result. The task of the HR department is to maintain this balance by personal example or authoritative opinion, to help “in word and deed” those who unintentionally violated the rules or “play on the brink of a foul.”
The task of the PR service is information flows within the company: it is necessary to convey the owner’s message to every employee in the company. A striking example of such work, in my opinion, can be the letters of Evgeny Chichvarkin, the owner of Euroset.
Corporate culture is an enterprise resource, the importance of which is difficult to assess. It acts simultaneously as an indicator of the image and an element of its formation, the formation of the company’s brand. This resource is not only a marketing tool, but also a means of personnel management in general.
Modern realities dictate their conditions for doing business, which is increasingly becoming customer-oriented. In this regard, corporate culture in companies plays a key role and allows them to achieve success in promoting a brand and making it recognizable.
This resource can be generated:
- Spontaneously - without the participation of company management, based on communication models chosen by company employees.
- Purposefully - when the general model of corporate culture is formed by the company’s management and makes changes to it as necessary.
You should not rely on the spontaneous formation of this resource, since at any moment the entire system can go downhill. Therefore, great attention must be paid to control over the formation and development of corporate culture.
Concept and elements of corporate culture
The concept of corporate culture implies a certain behavioral model that all company personnel adhere to in the performance of their official duties. It contains norms and rules, traditions and values accepted at a particular company.
The basis of the behavioral model is the general philosophy of the enterprise, taking into account the specifics of its activities. When developing it, management focuses on plans for the further development of the company and relationships.
If we summarize all of the above, we can highlight the main elements of corporate culture:
- General direction of enterprise development;
- Core Values;
- Traditions and rituals that have developed at the enterprise during its operation;
- Standards of behavior are rules prescribed by management or spontaneously developed, business etiquette that determines how an employee should behave in a given situation;
- Company style - dress code provided for employees, external design of premises, symbols inherent in this company;
- Internal communications – rules of relationships between various departments, as well as all employees of the enterprise;
- Team unity in achieving common goals;
- Rules for conducting business negotiations, contacts with clients, competitors;
- The employees themselves, who are both subjects and objects of the application of corporate culture.
Main functions
Corporate culture performs several important functions that contribute to the development of the company and promotion of the brand. Among them:
- Motivational – helps improve labor productivity, inspires employees to achieve their goals and overcome obstacles.
- Image - competent internal culture of the company has a positive impact on the external image of the enterprise, attracts new partners and clients, and sets the company apart from its competitors.
- Adaptation – allows new team members to effectively and quickly enter the team and get involved in work.
- Involving - stimulates the active participation of all employees in solving collective problems and the life of the enterprise as a whole.
- Identifying – employees realize their own importance in the team and at the same time belong to it.
- Management – determines the norms and rules for organizing the work of departments and managing employees.
- System-forming - allows you to systematically organize the work and interaction of departments, making them more efficient and orderly.
- Marketing – corporate culture is taken into account when developing a strategy for promoting a company in the market.
Corporate culture is also divided into 3 main levels: external, internal and hidden. The first represents how the company is seen by clients, partners, competitors, and its general image. The second is manifested in the form of norms and values reflected in the actions of the enterprise’s employees. The third is expressed in the form of beliefs shared by all employees of the company.
Types of corporate cultures
The development of corporate culture and the active implementation of this concept began in the twentieth century. Since that moment, a lot of time has passed, approaches to this technique have constantly changed and improved. Some of the classical elements on which they were previously based have lost their relevance today.
The following corporate cultures are actively used in the modern business sphere:
- “Role” model - this type is based on a clear division of responsibilities between all employees of the company. Each employee acts as a cog in a large mechanism that works smoothly to achieve common goals. A distinctive feature of this corporate culture is the presence of a strict hierarchy, job descriptions,
Control at all stages of the labor process and a thorough workflow scheme ensure the smooth operation of the enterprise. Most often, this model is used in large companies with a large staff.
The cornerstones of this type of corporate culture are reliability, stability and rationality. Due to the strict hierarchy and rules, this company model is not flexible enough, which makes it difficult for it to adapt to work under unstable market conditions.
- “Dream Team” is the complete opposite of the previous model. There are no strict restrictions, as well as a strict division of responsibilities and, as a result, job descriptions. The horizontal hierarchy inherent in this corporate culture assumes that all employees are equal participants in the process. The atmosphere in such companies is friendly, and communication is informal.
All issues that arise are resolved jointly by employees interested in completing the task. At the same time, division of areas of responsibility between employees is allowed. The responsibility of a manager is assumed by the person who has accepted the solution to a specific task and is responsible for it.
The main values of this model are openness, freedom, creativity and team spirit. The main idea of this corporate culture is teamwork, which allows us to solve even the most complex problems. It is typical for startups and progressive companies.
- “Family” is a kind of mixture of the first two models. There is a vertical hierarchy, but managers do not act as bosses, but as mentors to whom any employee can turn for help. The model is characterized by a friendly atmosphere, devotion to “family” traditions, unity of work and customer focus.
People are at the forefront of this model. The company's employees and its consumers have the highest value; all work is focused on them. Due to the emphasis placed on staff comfort and rewards, this type of corporate culture is characterized by a high level of motivation. Due to this, the productivity of workers increases significantly.
Family model companies are supported by loyal customers and dedicated employees.
- “Market” is a type of corporate culture focused on profit. In it, each employee fights with everyone else to receive preferences. This model is aimed at ambitious, purposeful employees, each of whom is a separate and independent unit. Personnel have value only as long as they bring profit to the company.
This model has a clear hierarchy that is flexible enough to change depending on the market situation. Employee leadership skills play a key role as they enable them to readily make decisions, take risks and take responsibility.
The main values of the market model are leadership, profit, competitiveness, and determination. This type of corporate culture is characteristic of business “sharks”, it is quite cynical and in many ways has signs of despotic management.
- “Result-oriented” is a fairly flexible model, the distinctive feature of which is its focus on development and achieving goals. All work of companies operating according to this type is focused on achieving certain goals.
In this model, there is a vertical hierarchy of power, but managers are determined based on their qualifications and performance, and are not appointed “from above”, and therefore the composition can often change. Job descriptions are present, but do not delimit the company’s personnel, since employees have opportunities for development and active participation in solving strategic problems.
The main values of this model are focus on results, freedom in work and solving labor issues, and corporate spirit.
In some cases, enterprises may exhibit signs of several patterns at the same time. This is common in fast-growing companies that frequently change leaders, change directions, or are acquired.
Introduction
Our Company employs more than 250 people. And all together we are doing something very good and necessary. Otherwise, our Company would have died long ago. But we live. We've been living here since 1993. During this time, we underwent many reorganizations and internal revolutions, which each time helped us reach a new level in development.
Yes, we are developing. Moreover, every year, without stopping. And such development, of course, requires not only increasingly close interaction between employees, but also an influx of new players into our team.
It is not enough for us to be a close-knit, friendly team. We also need to be able to accept newcomers into the team who will help us grow further, help us develop and achieve even more and even better together.
To ensure that everyone - both old-timers and newcomers - lives and works with us in a cozy and comfortable manner, and so that our Company can develop effectively, there are certain norms and rules. Rules of the game together. They were developed over the years, by trial and error. And over many years, the formed code has absorbed everything that is necessary so that those 8-10-12-16 hours that we spend together every day are not a hard routine, but an interesting, important and rich part of life. Complying with these rules is a sign of basic respect for your colleagues and your Company. These rules are so natural that they are not included in the job descriptions of employees. But, nevertheless, compliance with these rules is a necessary condition for working in the Company. Because if one person doesn’t play by the rules, then he interferes with everyone else’s play, destroys our team and drags it down.
To prevent this from happening, everyone needs to know and follow these rules together. And so that they are not forgotten, we officially publish them for all employees to see.
Other rules of life in our Company, explanations from management and important notes on work are published on the Company forum. Employees need to regularly visit the forum and know the information that is published on it from “Official Representatives of the Company”(information from any forum visitors who do not have this status is simply a private opinion).
Since these rules were not created for the peace of mind of management, but exclusively for the comfortable and efficient work of employees, anyone who considers it important to propose some changes to these rules can safely do so. These are our general rules. We created them together, and in the same way - together - we will create them further.
Priorities.
The simplest and most natural rule: in all your actions and decisions we must be guided by what is best for our Company. Moreover, if at some point the interests of any of the departments or employees of our Company are in some way contrary to the interests of the Company, then it is necessary to understand that the interests of the Company take precedence. Including because the benefit of the Company as a whole is a benefit for each of its departments and each of its employees.
At the same time, the employee must not violate his job duties. and taken to yourself obligations. If at some point during the course of work an employee still fails to avoid violating obligations, then he must do everything possible to ensure that the negative consequences from this are minimal.
Interaction with colleagues.
To live in peace and harmony, you need to behave in such a way that your colleagues feel support and understanding from you. Necessary treat your colleagues with respect, including from other departments. There should be a special attitude towards newcomers. They really need the help and support of experienced employees. Therefore, if they contact you, do not refuse them advice or consultation.
If an employee (and especially a newbie) asks you to help him with his work in something that does not conflict with your powers and responsibilities, then do it- after all, his work is no less important for the Company (and therefore for you) than yours.
At the same time, it is important to remember that you, as a person whom the Company trusts and who is entrusted with responsible work, may be given access to important commercial information of the Company. And you yourself cannot always appreciate its value and secrecy. So remember: not everything you know can be shared with others (even our employees). You can provide information to an employee of our Company only if this information relates to his work.
If you undertake any obligations to other employees, then you are obliged to fulfill them(But if you are unsure whether to make such a commitment, ask the employee to discuss this with your manager).
If another employee made a commitment to you, but did not fulfill them, or simply refused to help you with something that you really counted on him for, then you need to inform your manager about this so that he can influence the situation and, if possible, prevent its repetition.
Likewise - If you feel that any of the employees are being dishonest, breaking rules or interfering with the work of the Company, then you should also report this to your manager or the Internal Control Department ( HVAC), because dishonesty on a team is dishonesty towards everyone. Therefore, we all need to fight it together. The only exception is the work of sellers. If you suspect dishonesty or negligence in the work of one of them, then you must report this to the head of the HVAC.
If you feel that your manager is not fulfilling his obligations to you or is being dishonest, then this is urgently needed. discuss with your manager's manager.
Managers should also not forget that ensuring the comfort of their employees is an important part of their job. Since our team is friendly, good, even informal, relationships often develop between the manager and the employee. However, it is important to remember that even if you are friends, you are still the boss and the employee. And existing relationships should not interfere with work. So, for example, if an employee gives his manager a gift (for his birthday, etc.), then it is important that this does not become a subconscious “bribe”, after which the manager will not be able to strictly demand that the employee fulfill his work obligations. It is important that friendships improve work relationships rather than destroy them. The manager is obliged to inform his supervisor about cases of receiving a gift from his employees. so that he always understands whether this could lead to difficulties in his work, and, if necessary, suggests the correct line of behavior.
Fortunately, our team is friendly, colleagues often help and support each other. And these good deeds should also not go unnoticed. Therefore, if one of your colleagues did something good to you (especially something that was not part of his duties) or simply approached your request informally - don’t forget to tell his manager about this so that he takes it into account as an additional “plus” for his employee and may have encouraged him.
Interaction with partners.
There is no dress code within the Company, i.e. employees can go to work in any clothes that suit them(the only condition is that it does not interfere with the work of other employees). However, if you have a meeting with partners of our Company, then your the appearance must be presentable and, if necessary, respectable.
Often partners give our Company gifts. Including gifts are given personally to employees, since they are official representatives of the Company when communicating with this partner. You must understand that you are receiving this gift not as a charming man or a sweet girl, but as an employee of the Company (even if it is framed as a personal gift). This means that all gifts, money, souvenirs, etc. received. - even those donated by partners or clients outside of working hours - do not belong to you personally, but to the entire Company. Therefore, if during or outside of work one of the Company’s partners gave you a gift, you must give it to your manager so that he uses it in the way that is necessary for the organization.
Interaction with the outside world.
Since we work and make a profit, naturally we have competitors with whom we compete for this profit. Since we are one of the leaders in our field, naturally, competitors often try by hook (and often by crook) to obtain information about our Company, its structure, means and methods of control, revenue or profit, employees, their salaries, telephone numbers, about our partners and relationships with them, about development plans, etc. It is important to understand that communicating such information to anyone outside can cause direct harm to the Company. That's why Communication of this kind of information is possible only in agreement with your manager.
Without approval from the manager, only open information about the Company can be reported. Information published on the Company’s official website is considered open.
An even more difficult situation is when inspection authorities come to the office. There is nothing wrong with this if you behave correctly. To make it easier for you to pass a possible inspection, to meet it calmly, with a smile on your face, we have developed a number of recommendations for behavior during an inspection in the office. Respectively in the event of inspection bodies coming to the office, each employee must act in accordance with.
In addition, people from the outside world do not always clearly understand which of our Company employees should be addressed with what questions. Therefore, if you receive a question (in writing, orally or by telephone) that is not within your competence, then even if you know the answer to it- forward the question to the person responsible for this area. For example, by forwarding a letter or calling and reporting it. At the same time, you can give any coordinates of another employee only in agreement with this employee. The same applies to other employees asking you questions. If the question you receive does not apply to you, do not ignore it, but redirect it to the right employee.
Emerging problems and difficulties.
In the process of work, any employee has many questions: about the structure of the Company, about its activities, about their prospects in it, as well as about the correctness of performing any task, about solving difficulties that have arisen, etc. To answer all these questions and to help you in difficult situations, the Company has a special person - your manager. Don't hesitate to contact him with questions, thoughts, ideas, or ask him for advice or information. A leader not only swears sometimes, but also very often helps solve problems and defends your interests and answers emerging questions.
At the same time, it is important to remember that your manager can not only give you instructions, but also cancel, if necessary, some rule in force in the Company, or the instructions of another manager (including a superior). If your manager does this, then it is necessary in the circumstances, so his instruction is mandatory for the employee to carry out, no matter what it contradicts.
If at some point you urgently need a manager's decision to complete a task, and you understand that delay can cause serious harm to the Company, but your manager is not available, then you need to contact a senior manager to coordinate your actions. If all managers are unavailable, and you are absolutely sure that this particular decision is correct, then you must act in accordance with this decision, even if this requires exceeding your authority. However, it is necessary to inform your manager about the decision of your superior manager and about your actions at the first opportunity..
In the event of emergency situations or force majeure, on which the activity or development of the entire Company may depend, the manager may require the employee to leave during non-working hours, on weekends, or even while the employee is on vacation. Naturally, the manager understands that such actions are unpleasant for the employee, and will try to somehow compensate for such a violation of rest. But this will happen later, but first - we all need to fight the problem together in order to prevent serious damage to our Company. It is especially difficult for the key employees on whom the Company rests. Their importance is difficult to overestimate, and therefore it is they who bear the main burden in the event of critical situations or emergencies.
Office and other jobs.
Our office (warehouse, store, etc.) is our common home. We spend a lot of time there. And we not only work there. We also communicate there, eat (outside working hours, of course), relax, and do many other interesting and necessary things. At the same time, it is important to remember that in this house, besides you, there may be several dozen of your colleagues. And for them, as for you, it is important that no one interferes with the flow of work and respects their workplace. It means that basic rules of behavior must be observed: do not make noise and do not distract other employees from work; do not litter and clean up after yourself after eating; smoke only in designated areas, treat the Company’s property with care ( and entrusted to you , and public), do not take or use other people’s things unless you have received the consent of the owner of these things. And try to maintain your workplace in such a way that working in it is comfortable for you and those around you.
Vacation.
Our Company operates 365 days a year, seven days a week. And to ensure the smooth operation of the Company, the participation of all our employees is necessary (after all, if someone were unnecessary, then why would we need extra employees?). This means that any employee going on vacation causes disruptions in the coordinated work of the team. Due to this, When going on vacation, an employee must first think through and agree with his manager, who will replace him during his absence, and try to make sure that his vacation does not harm his work. Then the Company will not suffer, and the employee will be able to rest peacefully and not think about the rubble that he will have to clear out after returning.
Going on vacation must be agreed upon in advance with your supervisor. Besides, you must inform about your absence and who is replacing you during this time: to your employees, secretary, partners of the Company, for communication with whom you are responsible. The most convenient way to do this is through the forum, since the forum must be viewed by all company employees.
Good luck with your work!