Author: Adam_Admin

Company culture has become an important part of how businesses are perceived. Businesses with a positive culture are more likely to attract clients and customers. Statistics also show that over 50% of executives believe that having a good culture can influence productivity, creativity, profitability, firm value and growth rates. 

However, while it can be easier to describe and quantify a company’s products and services, defining culture is a lot more difficult. It requires capturing the company environment, values and relationships. 

Identifying what your company culture is, or what you want it to be, will determine your work processes, hire new people into your team, and how you and your employees interact with clients. 

The first thing to do is to identify key traits that describe your culture. Bring together a diverse group of people from across your company and brainstorm words and qualities which describe the culture. Collate the words which you hear the most so that you end up with a list which is representative of the culture that employees most relate to. 

The next thing you need to do is distil this list down to the core values you can see in it. You can conduct surveys (if you have a large company) or talk to your employees (if the company is small) and ask them whether the values you have chosen resonate with them, and if not, which ones do. At this point, you should aim to have around 5 values, but this is a flexible number. 

Last of all, once the core values have been established, share them throughout the company. Employees should relate to these values and they should also feel motivated to embody them. Communicate with your employees about why these values may or may not be working/suitable. 

Remember that this is a process. You may not get it right the first time, which is why it is important to be receptive to feedback from all members of the company. 

Given how confusing and stressful these times have been for individuals, you might find that employees are not performing at the standard you expect them to. This can prevent the company from meeting its goals and slow down growth. 

It is important that you critique yourself before you start questioning the employee. The employee should be aware of what is expected from them, both in terms of role and the standard at which it should be completed. They should also be aware of the consequences of underperforming. You should also ensure that you are not expecting them to complete tasks which they have no training for, and be prepared to provide training if you find this to be the case. In some cases, the employee may not be aware that they are not performing to expectations, in which case, having a conversation with them might be more useful than confronting them about their failures.

Rather than confronting them emotionally, where the conversation is accusatory or potentially threatening, you should prepare what you have to say beforehand and keep it specific to their work and what needs to be done. This will help you address the exact issue of underperformance rather than getting sidetracked with any other factors. 

As mentioned above, the current times have led to a lot of anxiety and stress throughout the public. This sheds light on the fact that an employee may be experiencing personal issues which are causing a decline in their performance. It might be worthwhile to discuss this with them. You may not necessarily be able to help, but it will help you understand the cause. 

Creating performance goals that outline what tasks the employee needs to complete and what expectations they need to meet might be a helpful process. Through this method, you might be able to arrange follow-ups which can indicate to both the employee and you whether those goals are being met and what further steps can be taken if they are not. Additionally, if the goals are being met, then you should consider rewarding their improvement to let them know their efforts are valued. 

While the above considerations and strategies are valid, you should also prepare yourself to let the employee go. You should learn from the experience and think about what you could have done differently as well as what individual circumstances caused underperformance in the employee. 

A business loan can give you the support you need to fund growth or temporarily relieve cash flow pressures. These are some things to know before applying for the loan:

• Understand the purpose of your loan: You should be sure about why you want a loan and what you will be doing with the loan. 
• What loan amount do you need: Realistically calculate how much money you need and how you’ll be allocating it to your needs
• What can you afford to pay: Consider the length of the loan, payment options and other details before you apply. Think about what you can afford to pay so that you can discuss which of these features can and cannot be adjusted to suit your needs. 
• Secured or unsecured loans: A secured loan means that you provide an asset for the loan, your interest will be lower than for an unsecured loan and the lender may be able to sell your asset if you are unable to pay the loan. An unsecured loan means that you don’t provide an asset so that the interest rate is higher. It may be difficult to get approved for an unsecured loan. 
• Fixed or variable interest: If you are confident that you can meet the repayment requirements even if the rate increases but a fixed rate makes it easier to manage your cash flow as all your repayments are the same. 
• Fees and charges: The true cost of any loan is only apparent when you take into account all the additional payments that are incurred. These could include early repayment fees, exit fees, valuation fees (to secure your loan), etc.
• Paperwork: Planning your paperwork ahead of time will make it easier for the lender to approve your loan, this will also make the entire process faster.
• Consider speaking to an expert: You may want to discuss with an advisor about whether a loan might be the best option for you and what alternatives are available if any. 

Having a strong relationship with your partners is extremely important, but sometimes it isn’t enough. Having a document which covers all aspects of running the business, both those which are liable to disputes and those which are not is essential. 

If you haven’t done so already, the following are some reasons why you should create a written agreement now:

• You and your business partners have a clear understanding of the rules and regulations which will apply to the business and to your business relationship.
• If there is no agreement in place, then all the partners share equal profits and cover losses equally. This will be regardless of how much time and effort each partner contributes to the business. Creating an agreement will allow partners to tweak these aspects and create a unique division which represents the partner contributions more accurately.
• If there is no agreement in place, then the terms of the partnership will be covered by the legislation of your state or territory. These have a one-size-fits-all approach which might not suit your business. Creating an agreement specific to your partnerships will mean it is tailored to the specific circumstances and relationships within your business. 
• Minor disagreements can lead to bigger problems if there is no set method to resolve them. A written agreement will allow you to create clear and unambiguous procedures to deal with those sorts of matters and allocate roles to each partner so that there are no confusions about decisions-making. 
• Creating an agreement will allow you to focus on the business end of things as opposed to spending time on dealing with specifics of the partnerships. 

A written partnership will help streamline the nitpicky processes so that you can focus on the growth of the business. 

Businesses may be questioning whether they need to create a website if they have a social media presence. However, each plays a distinct role in the formation of a brand identity and therefore, both are important. 

Social Media

Social media is straightforward and simple to set up, with no maintenance costs. It allows businesses to build brand awareness and interact with their customers in a more casual and relaxed way. Social media is essentially an in-depth marketing strategy which allows for paid advertising and has the capacity to reach many prospective customers from across the globe. 

On the other hand, businesses could spend many hours working on content that does not end up reaching the expected audience. A lot of time is required to continually create and post content which receives engagement and loyalty from customers. Although there are no costs with having an account, if you want your content to be targeted to your audience, this requires payments which can be expensive. 

Although social media gives access to customers you might not have otherwise had access to, it is difficult to convert these interactions into sales or use of your business services.

Website

Your website means you have full control of the platform. You can create a platform that reflects your business and your values. This also means that there are no external terms and conditions you are required to follow, instead, you determine those conditions. A website is also perfect for referrals, as it demonstrates professionalism and builds confidence in your business. 

Owning your own website means that you are able to track all incoming traffic and monitor the characteristics of your audience. This will provide you with a clear indication of what facilities you need to have on your website. 

However, maintaining a website that is heavy in content can be time and money consuming. There are also a lot more details to be weary about when it comes to marketing – but considering the amount of customisation you can have on a website, this is no surprise. Finally the design and set up of a website can be quite complex, and isn’t necessarily something you can or should tackle on your own. 

In summary, you should have both a social media presence and a website. Social media is an excellent marketing tool but a website is the heart of your brand’s online presence.