How does one check Culture?

I wrote a short post a few weeks back - Choose culture not the company !

There were many likes and comments on that post. In one of the comments, someone asked how do we know what is the culture of the company, we may be choosing to work. It has been a few weeks I have been thinking about this comment. How does one know?

While there are many websites to check, the best way is to speak with a current employee or ex-employee to understand a company's culture. Here are the 4 aspects of culture one needs to check. Asking open ended questions may be a good way to explore culture.

Recognition in the culture

This shouldn't be confused with reward and recognition programs of a company. Some questions you should ask are...

• Does your manager / leaders appreciate your effort and work?
• Is there an informal pat on the back or a thank you said on an on-going basis?
• Are your fellow colleagues compassionate and supportive towards you?
• Do your colleagues enable you to succeed or enjoy watching you struggle/fail?

I believe, money as a reward is over-rated. While employees value money, they value personal recognition more than money. If an employee has to endure an environment that is continually demanding, impersonal, lacks empathy, mistrusting, high on control, disempowering, lacks recognition but monetarily rewarding; the employee isn't going to like the work place.

Trust in the culture

This is a complex word and many of us interpret this word very differently. I would restrict my exploration to only "personal trust". How do you know if people in the company you wish to work, trust each other? When you do our due diligence here are some questions you should ask...

• Does your manager/leader believe what you say?
• Do you hesitate in speaking your mind in the presence of your manager / leader?
• When you made a mistake, how did your manager/leader react?
• Do you watch your back with your colleagues at work?

As much as people loosely speak about trust, this is one ingredient in culture that is mostly absent in most companies. In my entire career of 30 years there was only one company that accepted me as I was; that was Sapient. In every other company I was told what I should not be doing or what I should not be doing in order to fit in. It was at Sapient I learnt the meaning of trust.

Respect for the Individual

The subtle aspects of respect needs to be noticed more than the broader element of respect. At an Uber level people aren't disrespectful. Respect if examined at a behavioural and environmental level in an organisation will enable people to understand if it exists or not.

• Does your Manager / leader value your time? Eg. Are you made to wait long hours for a meeting?
• Does your Manager / leader value your work / efforts? Eg. Does he attempt to understand what you have done before dismissing it?
• Does your company respect your personal space and time? Eg. Are you called for meetings at late hours or on public holidays or while on vacation?
• What feeling/taste does the tone and body language (beneath the spoken words) leave you with, after a meeting with your manager/leader? Eg. How do you feel after you leave such a meeting?

Respect is not what you say but how you make the other person feel.

Autonomy in working

People mostly use the word empowerment. I prefer the word autonomy. One of my core beliefs is that, employees are like kites. If you want them to fly high, you must loosen the grip and allow them to sail for a bit.

• How often are you required to seek permissions / approvals at work?
• Which aspects of your job do you have complete autonomy to make decisions on?

When you work in a highly controlled environment, you lose the ability to make decisions because you get so used to seeking permission. On the contrary if you have grown up in a highly autonomous culture, you are likely to feel suffocated in a highly control driven environment.

When we make choices as professionals, it is important to understand ourselves before we understand the company or its culture. As much as we find it very hard to change ourselves, it is much harder to change the culture of the companies we work for. Some of this is hard wired, just like we are internally. A company is unlikely to change its culture to accommodate you. The question is having understood the company's culture, have you critically assessed if you are likely to fit in there?

If the answer is YES, you are in the right place. If the answer is NO, you may have work to do. Remaining in a culture that is anti-nature to your personality, is going to be a daily drain on your mental and physical well-being. It's likely to feel toxic, even if it is not for others, who fit in well. No amount of money earned is going to compensate you for the loss of mental and physical health. Its a choice to make !

I would always choose "peace of mind" over "money". What would you choose?

Anand Bhaskar

Note: Views expressed are personal from one's own experience & reflections.