The Secret to Preserving Your Company’s Culture in the Hybrid/Remote Workplace

Pam Harper (00:00): So Scott, I have a question —Should you preserve culture as your company evolves? — I have an opinion. What do you think?

Scott Harper (00:08): It depends... Let's talk about it.

Pam Harper (00:10): Join us for Episode 195 of Growth Igniters Radio with Pam Harper and Scott Harper.

Chris Curran (00:25): This episode is brought to you by Business Advancement Incorporated — enabling successful leaders and companies to accelerate to their next level of growth. On the web at businessadvance.com. And now, here's Pam and Scott.

Pam Harper (00:41): Thanks Chris. I'm Pam Harper, Founding Partner and CEO of Business Advancement Incorporated. And sitting right across from me as always is my business partner and husband, Scott Harper. Hi Scott.

Scott Harper (00:54): Hi, Pam. It's always a pleasure to join you again for Growth Igniters Radio. And as always, our purpose is to spark new insights, inspiration, and immediately useful ideas to help visionary leaders accelerate themselves and their companies of course, to their next level of game-changing innovation, transformation, and growth.

Now, Pam, we're coming up on the 4th of July holiday here in the U.S. — Independence Day — and today, let's declare our independence from our usual format.

Pam Harper (01:26): Yay! Let's do that. No structure today.

Scott Harper (01:29): Well, some structure — but let's talk about this idea of preserving culture as a company changes and evolves.

Pam Harper (01:36): The thing, to me, is that people can get very hung up on the idea of "we have a culture and this is the culture that we must preserve at all costs." It would be very similar to saying "we have a family and that family has to stay exactly the same over time," and that's not going to happen. Too much goes on. And this is especially important for us to talk about right now because we're in the post-pandemic world and we've got a remote workplace-

Scott Harper (02:10): Or hybrid workplace.

Pam Harper (02:14): ... or a hybrid workplace, and we're all trying to figure out what the best way to evolve is when you don't know what you don't know. And one of the big things that we don't know is how to preserve what makes us special — the culture.

Scott Harper (02:31): This is a big deal because so many leaders, including us, make a big thing out of culture. Culture is what makes a company tick. It's what gives it its personality. It's what makes one company different from another company — more effective or less effective.

Pam Harper (02:47): Right. First of all, a good question is, “What is culture?” I hear people all the time talking about “culture,” but I don't think we all mean the same thing. So I want to just put this forward right now in terms of what I believe about culture —

Scott Harper (03:01): Go ahead...

Pam Harper (03:01): ... which is that culture is the values, beliefs, and practices of people. And therefore, we all have a culture in our businesses from Day 1, whether you're consciously shaping it or not.

Scott Harper (03:17): So it's not like the CEO who said, when you asked, "Tell me about your culture." He said-

Pam Harper (03:23): He's, "I haven't put one of those in yet." And of course, what he was talking about was he had not been focused on culture-building programs. But now I hear a lot of people talking about their concern that as the remote workplace and the hybrid workplace evolve, that they won't be able to have the foosball tables and other special in-person kinds of events.

Scott Harper (03:51): Having lunch together...

Pam Harper (03:52): Yes; exactly. So the question is, is that really what makes a company special?

Scott Harper (03:59): Okay. You see, you said “values, beliefs, and practices.” So, what's really at risk in a lot of this remote and hybrid workforce is practices. They change…

Pam Harper (04:13): Right. Exactly.

Scott Harper (04:13): Practices change. So with that, because they have to, with that, do the values and beliefs that make the company special, that bring people together — do those have to change?

Pam Harper (04:26): Those do not have to change. And that's the point. We don't have to focus on practices. What we do need to focus on are the values and the beliefs that we have about working together. And there needs to be more conversation.

A lot of times we think that it's the practice that is the center of culture. It's how we have lunch together or how we have interactions at picnics or whatever it is that makes us special. But I don't believe that for a moment. Think about a company like Apple. This is a company that started out very small as a startup...

Scott Harper (05:02): Yeah. Two guys in a garage, so they say...

Pam Harper (05:05): That's right. But they had values, values, and beliefs about working together and —

Scott Harper (05:11): And what they were trying to produce for the world.

Pam Harper (05:12): ... what they were trying to produce in the world. And over time, they had many different types of practices. And I don't think we have to go into what those are, but the point is that Apple certainly today is not what Apple was in terms of their practices when they were a startup. But clearly, a certain set of values and beliefs have prevailed over time.

Scott Harper (05:38): Okay. So the value on the aesthetics of the products and the usability of the products, and how they make people feel, that has pretty much stayed over the past, what, 30 years or whatever it is.

Pam Harper (05:53): That's the business proposition, and you could say, that's not culture. But of course, the values and beliefs are driven by people.

Scott Harper (06:03): Now, certain other of the values and beliefs have evolved, have changed.

Pam Harper (06:07): They have to.

Scott Harper (06:09): They have to, I mean, it's a huge company now, and they're not making little... I remember my Apple II Plus. I was so proud of that thing in 1980. My iPhone is zillions of times more powerful than that.

Pam Harper (06:24): And yet there's a commonality. One of the things that people talk about — Steve Jobs, I think was quoted as saying that it's very important to him for people to have these accidental meetings so that innovation can happen. And of course, they can't have that the same way when some people are remote. So let's talk about that…

Scott Harper (06:46): Well, I mean, you can have an accidental meeting or informal meetings. Let's make an informal. We can say, you know what, I have a question. I'm going to Zoom you. And in fact, sometimes it's easier now with Zoom and other telecommunications practices to reach out to people that are far away than it used to be.

Pam Harper (07:11): I do this all the time. So in fact, if I feel like some idea comes to me, I might say to whoever it is that I feel like I want to reach out to, 'I have an idea. Can you talk?" And they may say, "About what?" And we'll talk about it a little bit and just say, "I can't talk now, but let's talk in 10 minutes.' I mean, very similar to what might happen in the hallway.

Scott Harper (07:35): Right. So you have a virtual hallway.

Pam Harper (07:37): It's a virtual hallway. Absolutely.

Scott Harper (07:38): Now, some people will talk about, "I'm all Zoomed out. I can't stand another Zoom meeting for crying out loud. Get me out of here." What do you say to that?

Pam Harper (07:48): I have had some of the best conversations with people on Zoom. There's a certain intimacy, undeniable intimacy about being in somebody's space. And yes, some people put the screen up so you can't see it, but other people, there can be a spontaneity in conversation on Zoom, if you know how to use Zoom. So what that really says is we have to get familiar with new tools. It's like being familiar with a new building.

Scott Harper (08:24): Yeah. Now, sometimes we talk about "well, we want to preserve our culture. Our culture is very important to us. We have an informality about us, or we're fast to react or whatever." But as companies grow, is it always right? And you said this at the very beginning, should you preserve your company's culture as it evolves?

Pam Harper (08:48): And the answer is “yes and no.”

Scott Harper (08:50): It depends.

Pam Harper (08:52): And I'm not trying to be a consultant about this, but the fact of the “yes” is, yes, it's important to preserve those aspects of your culture that are going to best serve your customers, your employees, your partners, and other stakeholders that you want to have. So for-

Scott Harper (09:15): For the basic outcome that you're delivering to the people you serve.

Pam Harper (09:17): Absolutely. So if you're talking about, say the ability to make decisions quickly, one of the things we saw with the vaccines, for instance, is how quickly the scientists were able to move when they were able to shift priorities and focus on the emergency. And so yet certain values were maintained and standards, absolutely were maintained, but maybe…

Scott Harper (09:43): Absolutely. I mean, here's the thing about the culture and the vaccines: for those who don't know me, I'm a microbiologist by training. I'm familiar with vaccine development. And I've heard so many people say, "Oh my God, they did it so quickly, it has to be crap." They don't know anything about it.

Scott Harper (10:01): The fact is that it was possible for these companies to put certain priorities aside and accelerate the COVID vaccine development without sacrificing a key, fundamental value for most pharmaceutical companies, which is “our products, our medications, our vaccines have to be safe and effective, and we have to have a really strong confidence in that.”

Pam Harper (10:25): Let's be clear about this. The decisions came from the top levels of the company. The CEO of Pfizer, for instance, was the one who said, "We have decided." So the board and the C-suite were in sync. They were aligned about the idea.

Pam Harper (10:43): We’re going to set aside some of our priorities about P&L, and we're going to focus on the key value of preserving lives. So now you're talking about the culture; you're talking about a business outcome. You're talking about the culture, and you're talking about certain practices that are being pushed to the side.

Scott Harper (11:04): Okay. That’s right. And now on a more general scale, we're saying that there are things that happen when a company is growing, or it's getting bigger, or it's developing more locations perhaps around the world — something has to give. How do we decide what is really important in our culture and what we can and should let go.

Scott Harper (11:26): To me, it comes back to practices are things we can sacrifice as long as we preserve the values and the beliefs that are at the core of being functional and having good value for customers and all the stakeholders.

Pam Harper (11:43): And that's where it starts. We need to have new conversations, more conversations, regular conversations about what our values and beliefs are about what our company stands for, and how we express it on a day in and day out basis. We need to be conscious about what we're doing and be thinking about. Asking, “is this really something that we must be doing?” Or could we let that go and still hold on to the values and beliefs, which is where the culture really lives.

Scott Harper (12:19): Hmm... So you're talking about having conversations. That's kind of like, “Let's talk about our relationship…” It can make some people really uncomfortable, and yet that's where the real stuff happens. When you get real and you go beyond, let's have a foosball table or let's have company parties, or what have you, and start thinking about what is our real secret sauce? What do those company parties do that we can get in some other way?

Pam Harper (12:49): Well, it doesn't have to be uncomfortable. I mean, when I'm talking with people, when I'm leading conversations, there are definitely ways based in neuroscience that you can diffuse the tension and the discomfort, and help people to talk about what really is important. And it doesn't have to be a marathon. There are ways to do this that are in line with what is right for a particular organization.

Scott Harper (13:17): A lot of times, it really comes down to listening, asking questions, being curious, right?

Pam Harper (13:22): Yes. And it starts with the C-suite and the board in alignment, because if the rest of the company is doing something that's very different, it's not going to be supported. Everything works together. So a culture is the same as having a family — again, where you have parents, and kids, and people who are seeing the world in complimentary ways. So we're not all doing the same thing, but we have similar enough values that we can communicate and get things done.

Scott Harper (14:05): Okay. So, this touches back on the last conversation we had with Peter Gleason, the president of NACD, who was talking about how to be ready for the future and move into this changing world. The CEO and the C-suite and the board must be much more integrated and more aligned on what they really think is... what's really important for the company, and how they are going to bring people together, engage them, and get commitment to move in that direction.

Pam Harper (14:35): Exactly. So Scott, let's wrap this up with three things that they can immediately do so that you can preserve your culture in a way that makes sense as your company evolves.

Pam Harper (15:04): First thing: ensure that your C-suite and board are aligned about your values and beliefs about your company, where you're going and your beliefs about how people should be working together. What makes sense, what are the most important cultural values that you have, and that are reflected in what you see every day in how people are behaving...

Scott Harper (15:22): And that reinforces what you want to have happen.

Pam Harper (15:26): Right. Okay, immediately useful idea number two, Scott.

Scott Harper (15:30): As your company is changing, for whatever reason — because of hybrid workforce, because you're expanding — be clear that the practices that may be cherished but that you have to put aside don't necessarily have to mean that you're putting the truly important parts of your culture aside. You may have to, though, think about new ways to foster whatever it is that's important, whether it's interaction, it's innovation, it is kicking around ideas informally, and then how to bring them to life.

Scott Harper (16:09): You've got to figure out new ways to do that. And sometimes it’s something that you've just evolved spontaneously, or sometimes it requires some conversations to figure ways around or workarounds that are practical and effective. And they may even be more effective in some of the cherished traditions that you've had.

Pam Harper (16:30): Okay. And I’ll take immediately useful idea number three that builds on what you just said…

Scott Harper (16:36): Go ahead.

Pam Harper (16:47): ... which is to have checkpoints about what you do decide to try, because it may or may not work. That's the nature of innovation, right?

Scott Harper (16:50): Yeah. Of course. Do experiments.

Pam Harper (16:522): And there has to be a way to tell, a metric for how you know that this is working, whether it's that work is getting done faster, it's that attrition is slowing down and that you have an acceptable level. Something that makes sense, according to what you're trying to accomplish.

Pam Harper (17:14): And when you can do this on a regular basis, you can then know that you're heading in the right direction and you'll hold onto some of these new practices, and you'll let go of others. And you're going to continue to do that as the company and the world keeps changing in ways that we don't even know how yet.

Scott Harper (17:35): So you can preserve your company's culture as it evolves, if you're focusing on what's the most important part of that culture that brings value to the world.

Pam Harper (17:48): Exactly. Until next time, this is Pam Harper...

Scott Harper (17:51): And Scott Harper...

Pam Harper (17:53): Wishing you continued success and leaving you with this thought:

Scott Harper (17:57): What new conversations do we have to have — and who do we have to have them with — so we can ensure that we can preserve the most important aspects of our culture as we evolve in this constantly changing world?

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