As you may know, we work with our Catalyst Team building model. This consists of various parts that show how you contribute to the development of your employees through team building. One part of this model is Activate Culture. In other words: how do you activate the corporate culture within an organization? Under the motto of practising what you preach, you can read how we activate our corporate culture today.
What is corporate culture again?
Before we delve deeper into how we activate our corporate culture, it is good to take a step back. After all, what is corporate culture again? First, it is an elusive concept because behaviour also plays a major role in addition to core values. As an organization, you can define the core values relatively easily, but the behaviour necessary to bring the core values to life is not. But in short, corporate culture is the interplay between core values and behaviour.
Why is corporate culture important?
Company culture is important because it gives direction to your organization. Employees are guided in their daily activities by recording the core values and the desired behaviour. An important detail is that these core values have been laid down so clearly that no ambiguity about the desired behaviour can arise. And you can also correct people if they do not display the desired behaviour.
How we activate corporate culture ourselves
As mentioned, activating the corporate culture is important in shaping our team building activities. But if you call a plumber because of a leaking tap, it is also nice to know that the plumber has everything in order at home. However? That's why we're giving you a look into our kitchen today—the kitchen where we are structurally working with the right ingredients for that strong corporate culture.
One way we do this is through giving. And not just randomly to a collector who comes by now and then. But by giving on a structural basis to goals that we support.
Buy one, give one
We do this structurally through Buy One Give One (B1G1): A charity that focuses on companies and offers projects worldwide. This varies from hygiene and education to offering help to girls who have been sexually abused. Because B1G1 works with subscriptions, they can pay the overhead costs from this so that every donation goes 100% to the relevant cause.
The projects of B1G1 are also connected to the Sustainable Development Goals of the United Nations. These SDGs have been drawn up to combat poverty worldwide and formulated with 17 goals. And all these goals can be found in the projects of B1G1.
Activate culture
Now a logical question is how supporting a good cause contributes to the corporate culture. And this is a very valid question because it is not obvious to use this as a means for a stronger corporate culture. With us, every team building activity ends with a kind of competition, a moment when a winner is determined. We started linking the winner's prize to a good cause seven years ago. It was only during the award ceremony that it became clear that no big trophy or bottle of champagne was going home, but the satisfaction of giving.
We noticed that this created a sense of togetherness and decided to take it to another level. We now link our business results to a project we support, which also happens individually. Is someone bringing in a new customer? Then part of this turnover is translated into a donation to a project of your choice. Is there a relationship that returns for a team building activity? The same story; the relationship manager chooses a project close to their heart and donates it.
Making a real impact
The long-term effect of this kind of donation is the intrinsic motivation that arises. People go the extra mile to achieve goals and know that they not only achieve business objectives but also impact the world around them. By jointly choosing a larger goal that will be contributed to for a year, you ensure that everyone feels heard. And that is the key to activating a corporate culture.
Conclusion
Are you also convinced that corporate goals are not just about increasing financial goals and satisfying shareholders? Think of a good cause as a way to both impact the world around you and increase your employees' intrinsic motivation. And thus activate that oh-so-important corporate culture.
