GUEST: Limeade’s Chief People Officer, Dr. Laura Hamill — https://limeade.com/
https://www.linkedin.com/in/laura-hamill-5972a44
According to our guest this week,the most important asset a company has is its people. And to be the best it can be, a company has got to consider, care for, and nurture this single crucial resource. When we waste resources, whether money, or time, or people, we pay the price.
There are real business reasons for companies to care about their employees. The big brands are noticing that.
- Talent recruiting and retention
- Business results as well from engagement
Organizational culture must be aligned with what you’re trying to do as a business. You can’t have goals and aspirations that conflict with other goals and stated values, or that friction will chaffe.
Culture is contagious. Behavior that happens leads to more behavior like it. You have to articulate what is the culture you want to have. You do have or will have a company culture, like it or not. Culture’s affects on the people and the business are so profound that you must be intentional about the culture you create if you want to thrive. Then, you’ve got to operationalize the culture you want to have. It’s got to be a part of what you measure, what you practice, and what you hold people accountable for.
Culture, because people don’t understand it, is often viewed as soft and unimportant. But culture is learned skills and habits, not a set of knowledge or instructions. If the culture is not universal within a company, and reinforced, then it holds no water, and garners no respect. Culture creation is never done. And keeping it on track requires feedback in every direction.
“At Limeade,” says Dr. Hamill, “We’ve created a culture of improvement. Each person is focused on improvement.”
She sees culture as a job benefit to manage, as a selling point in recruiting equal to health insurance and vacation time. It’s not something to leave to chance, or to create deliberately and then forget about it.