Business Leader Raef Hamaed on the Importance of Corporate Culture
The term “corporate culture” has steadily made its way into various headlines in the last decade. As global corporations and small businesses begin to rethink the viability, success, and effects of their established business culture, many leaders are shaking up the way that business is conducted. Recognizing the vast benefits of creating a positive workplace environment, already existing companies are evolving their practices to harness positive results. Innovative entrepreneurs and upstart leaders are proactively establishing intended corporate culture prior to the launch of their forward-thinking businesses. Business leaders like Raef Hamaed are leading the way to creating modern businesses that thrive from a focus on customers, streamlined practices, and a healthy work/life balance.
Establishing Corporate Goals
At the base of any successful business, there are specific goals that the business needs to accomplish in order to thrive. Whether measured by specific income levels, maintenance of long-term industry cooperation, or global customer satisfaction, businesses have bespoke methods of measuring success. By establishing concise goals in the inaugural stages of business development, entrepreneurs can ensure that all team members are on the proverbial same page. For Raef Hamaed, the inaugural goals for creating a successful business included building a positive consumer reputation, and providing exceptional customer service.
Thus, when developing his fledgling company’s business model, Hamaed ensured that these goals were ingrained in every facet of operations, and would be the measure of success upon the launch of his ventures. He created the infrastructure that would be needed to ensure these goals, including customer accessibility functions, educational programming, and ongoing staff training in areas that would directly benefit the customer service interaction. By placing importance on these goals prior to inception, Hamead successfully established the communal expectations that would propel the business forward successfully.
For team members, these concise goals provided a blueprint for their own jobs, operations, workflows, and daily activities. Having these goals and metrics already outlined provided employees with specific targets to aim for, and lent an understanding of what would be valued by the company.
For fledgling entrepreneurs and business leaders, establishing corporate goals is an excellent way to provide a framework for expectations, culture, communal goals, and mission statement for the company. As the business or company grows, these corporate goals will become the framework of the company, and build the external reputation and internal mission of the company on a daily basis. These goals will also eliminate confusion in a startup environment, and ensure that all staff members are on the same page.
Empower the Team
After expectations and goals have been concisely laid out for team members, it is important to provide the resources and infrastructure that employees need to successfully reach these goals. Without providing these resources and opportunities, entrepreneurs would essentially be setting up the team for potential shortcomings, increased stress, and an overall corporate chaos. With transparency and cohesion, business leaders should focus on establishing each team member’s goals and responsibilities, and ensuring that they can confidently move forward to accomplish these goals.
Helpful practices include establishing training sessions, mentorship opportunities, technical assistance, and any other considerations that employees may need. According to Hamaed, providing the tools for success for all employees generates a healthy environment focused on success, growth, and continued education. To ensure the ongoing success of these measures, and employee satisfaction, Hamaed also frequently engages in feedback opportunities for employees. These “check-ins” are integral to ensuring long-term satisfaction on behalf of employees, and maintaining positivity in the workplace. It can also provide an opportunity to leverage feedback to evolve training models, operational practices, and other factors to maximize success.
Proactively Communicate
In any upstart environment, or even within a globally established company, changes and evolutions will naturally occur. Choosing how to communicate these changes can set the tone for a positive corporate culture, or one that is rife with misunderstanding, mistrust, and lack of transparency. In order to ensure that all staff needs are met, and that employees have the tools and infrastructure needed for success, proactive communication must exist. Thus, in the case of any changes, all employees need guidance, training, and most importantly, communication efforts.
From new internal organizational software to changes in customer service policies, ensuring that all team members are aware of changes is integral to maintaining a positive corporate culture. Hamaed often points out the notion that in order to expect employees to accomplish any goals, they must be equipped with all of the tools needed to do so. This includes awareness of anything that could potentially impact their ability to complete goals, even indirectly. He cites transparency and proactive communication as tools to promote a positive corporate culture.
Build on the Basics
The phrase “attitude is everything” comes into play in the quest for maintaining a positive corporate culture. Thus, taking basic principles like attitude, and expanding upon them, is an excellent way to ensure that a positive corporate culture can exist. These guiding principles can include the maintenance of a positive attitude, swift and fair conflict resolution practices, ongoing training and advancement opportunities, and the maintenance of a healthy work/life balance. These basic building blocks are fundamental for the professional fulfillment of most employees across various industries, and can be customized to fit the bespoke needs of various businesses.
Active leaders like Raef Hamaed recommend regularly seeking feedback from team members, and making any adjustments as needed. By continuously striving to improve, Hamaed cites that business leaders can continue to evolve practices to harness a positive corporate culture, ensuring a positive experience for all employees in a fluid manner that is open to change.
Maintaining a positive corporate culture can increase employee retention, satisfaction, and maximize employee output. When team members feel professionally fulfilled, and recognize growth opportunities within their company, their output is positively impacted. They personally care about their performance, and feel genuinely connected to their employer. Not only does this go a long way to lending a positive general reputation as a fantastic employer and company, it positively impacts customer reputation. A company’s reputation directly impacts business relationships, consumer behavior, and therefore, financial success. By focusing on maintaining a positive corporate culture, company leaders can establish themselves as an industry leader, thoughtful employer, and community asset.
