Many companies have been functioning according to the same principles for decades: top-down management culture, lengthy processes, and antiquated corporate values - anything but contemporary. Above all, the IT industry, which in itself already stands for the future and progress, should also assume a pioneering role when it comes to ‘corporate culture’. A modern ‘corporate culture’ also provides numerous advantages, especially in the IT sector – not only in employer branding. The reason for this lies in the specific characteristics of the line of business:
More than any other industry, the IT sector is characterized by a chronic shortage of skilled workers. Many entrepreneurs now know that in the ‘war for talent it is often not exorbitant remuneration that tips the scales, but the corporate culture of the company. How is work done? How is the atmosphere in the company? Does my work make sense? In the IT sector, in particular, it is important for companies to react quickly to new developments and to adapt, because the technological change, the great dynamics and the associated high flexibility of the company characterize the industry. Digitization is also increasingly changing work structures and corporate culture and also ensures that knowledge, especially in IT, is quickly outdated.
The 360° Cultural Fit study shows how important a contemporary IT corporate culture is: Of the 370 employees surveyed in the IT sector, a suitable corporate culture is basically ‘very important for 81 percent and ‘important’ for 18 percent. The ‘ cultural fit ‘ (the degree of agreement between employer and employee with regard to values and behavior) plays a decisive role, because: The less the corporate culture of your company fits the values and norms of your IT employee, the greater it is Willingness to change jobs: 95 percent of those surveyed are willing to change jobs if there is no cultural fit. 70 percent have even changed jobs for this reason.
It is therefore all the more important for you as an entrepreneur to adapt your corporate culture to the needs of your employees. But what exactly is part of a sustainable corporate culture in the IT sector? What do IT professionals attach particular importance to? How is a corporate culture structured in general and what is the scientific basis behind it? We want to pursue these questions in the following and present you step by step with an optimal strategy for the development of corporate culture in your company. The first step is to take a detailed look at the term ‘corporate culture’, which is very versatile in its definition.
Step 1: What exactly is meant by the term ‘corporate culture’?
In order to trace the definition of the term ‘corporate culture’, it is first necessary to take a closer look at its individual components. ‘Culture’ is basically understood to mean the way people live together, which is based on certain values and behavior and thus forms the basic condition structure for social interaction. The term ‘company’ stands for an economically independent organizational unit that represents a miniature society in society as a whole and establishes its own rules for social interaction.
Corporate culture – or ‘corporate culture – is understood in the Gabler Wirtschaftslexikon as “ the totality of common values, norms, and attitudes that shape the decisions, actions and behavior” of the entire company and its workforce in a sustainable manner. The culture of a company thus describes a system of commonly shared norms, values , and symbols, but also overarching patterns of thinking, feeling, and acting within a company. This universe of common values, norms, and attitudes significantly influences the decisions, actions, and behavior of everyone working in the company.
A corporate culture always works reciprocally – i.e. reciprocally. The corporate culture not only shapes the employees of a company but also vice versa: employees produce, define and convey the culture of a company through their behavior and their habits. Ultimately, every action taken by an employee is culturally influenced and at the same time influences the corporate culture.
Step 2: Develop a corporate culture in the IT area – the basics
Your very personal mindset is particularly important for establishing a corporate culture in the IT sector. If you are an entrepreneur with a ‘fixed mindset ‘, you believe that basic human traits such as intelligence or talent are fixed traits that cannot evolve or change. Due to your rigid way of thinking, you are reluctant to accept challenges that carry a certain risk of failure. For the development of corporate culture, it is therefore essential to throw rigid ways of thinking overboard and adopt a growth mindset’ (growth thinking), a changeable mindset that allows you to continually adapt to new challenges. The ability to change everyone through commitment, good strategies and appropriate support should therefore be your very personal starting point for your corporate culture, because: Only if, in addition to structures, processes, and technologies, you also change the way of thinking, the ‘mindset’ of the company and the associated culture change, your company will be crowned with long-term success.
In the IT sector, in particular, the will (and courage) to change is essential. This fast-moving industry in particular has to fundamentally adapt to innovations and remain up-to-date – and also express this to the respective corporate cultures. The acronym ‘ VUCA ‘, composed of ‘volatility’, ‘uncertainty’, ‘complexity’, and ‘ambiguity’, describes the characteristics of the modern ( working world and thus sets the tone to which a contemporary and sustainable corporate culture must adapt.
The central object of a VUCA-compliant corporate culture in the IT industry are, on the one hand, the values of the company (“What is important in my company, or what should be important in my company?”) and, on the other hand, a fundamental conviction and self-image (“What does my company?”). This is followed by two core tasks: on the one hand, the corporate culture must react to the requirements of external changes in competition and the market, on the other hand, it is important to ensure internal cohesion in your company through a VUCA corporate culture. Corporate culture is therefore an indispensable contribution to the satisfaction of your employees, but also elementary for your entrepreneurial success.
But how exactly does a corporate culture develop? And what factors influence this?
Step 3: Five processes in the development of a corporate culture
Corporate cultures cannot be developed overnight and imposed on a company. Rather, it is a procedural process in which various factors and circumstances work and which result from certain behavior patterns that have been practiced over time.
Which values and norms come into focus for your company usually results from a (1.) historical dimension: experience and knowledge of the personal, but also entrepreneurial past influence the actions of the present and future. The development of corporate culture is also a highly (2.) emotional process: The norms and values represented in society should be reflected in order to create a positive image of the company. The be-all and end-all are conformed to a societal perspective.
In addition, a common corporate culture is the result of communication within the company: whether it is an actual verbal act of speech or non-verbal communication between employees, in (3.) interactive interaction there are always mutual requirements from which fixed points of the corporate culture can be derived. The latter generally only works if all employees accept both implicit and explicit ‘rules of the game’ in the company and thus (4.) work can be done collectively on corporate culture. Much more important than an explicitly written internal company culture is the implementation in everyday work life. Corporate culture can only establish itself if all existing assumptions and habits – although only (5.)implicitly developed – are internalized by all employees so that they become fixed standards in the work process.
Step 4: Corporate culture: Which factors have a decisive influence?
The development of corporate culture is influenced by various external factors arising from economic, social, and political contexts.
An important factor is, for example, growing globalization and the associated increasing internationalization. These ensure increasingly complex economic interdependencies, which must be taken into account in companies. In addition, the pace of social, private, and cultural changes continues to increase – and corporate cultures must be able to keep up. In addition to globalization, the social constitution also has an influence on corporate cultures: We live in a performance-oriented society that is increasingly leading to pressure to perform and psychological stress in many sectors. This has a measurably negative effect on the health and motivation of employees in the company and must be actively tackled in the corporate culture.
Another challenge is demographic change: the retirement age is getting higher and higher, which on the one hand has noticeable effects on the (age-appropriate) design of the workplace and health care in the company. Generation Y, on the other hand, has completely different expectations of everyday working life: Here the focus is increasingly on a healthy work-life balance. It is therefore important to harmonize different generations and their ideas of work in the company in the corporate culture. But not only do age differences have to be bridged satisfactorily but the still mostly lacking equality for women also has an influence when it comes to developing a corporate culture. In most cases, companies have to be completely restructured and the personnel strategy changed in the long term,
Step 5: What Does the Science Say? Different corporate culture models
The development of corporate culture in the IT sector is not an easy undertaking and requires a well-founded theoretical foundation in order to be successful in practice. There have long been models and theories in the field of corporate management that deal with the science behind a corporate culture.
In his theory, the American organizational psychologist Edgar Schein assumes that a corporate culture consists of three main levels: The (unconscious and invisible) basis is formed by the ‘basic assumptions’, which consist of basic behavioral patterns, worldviews, and learned basic social norms that are no longer questioned. In contrast, the second level represents (partly visible, partly unconscious) values and norms that are derived from the basic assumptions and offer behavioral standards and guidelines that are lived in the company – consciously and unconsciously. Artifacts (visible but in need of interpretation) settle on the third level, which as a result of the second level become a symbolic system of behavioral patterns and artifacts.
A second model does not divide the various components of a functioning corporate culture into levels but assumes a visible-invisible dichotomy. Edward T. Hall calls this theory the ‘iceberg model’(1976). The part of the iceberg (symbol of corporate culture) above the water represents the visible elements of corporate culture, such as a mission statement, strategic objectives, the company’s premises, the demeanor of employees, and spoken and written words. But the far larger part of the iceberg is known to be underwater – so the structures of the corporate culture are also largely hidden. It is precisely those invisible elements that guide and drive the visible ones – these include, for example, hidden rules, relationships, attitudes and ways of thinking, values, a sense of truth as well as individual human strengths and weaknesses.
Tom Peters and Robert H. Waterman conceptualize their theory of corporate culture as a 7-S model ( In Search of Excellence, 1982), which consists of three hard and four soft factors that depict the seven pillars of corporate success. The hard factors are like the visible part of the iceberg: they can be disclosed and are tangible or understandable. This includes ‘Strategy’, ‘Structure’, and ‘Systems’ – in English the strategy, the structure, and the system of the company. In contrast, the soft factors are more abstract and are subject to a continuous adjustment process. The four soft X-factors are ‘Shared Values’, ‘Skills’, ‘Staff’, and ‘Style’ – ie common values, skills, employees, and the way the company is managed.
As you can see, from a scientific and theoretical point of view, every corporate culture has a similar structure: there is a common denominator of ‘invisible’, unconscious values that are lived without being able to really name them. On the other hand, there is a large part that is visible and tangible and can be articulated explicitly – both internally and externally. If you want to develop a corporate culture in the IT sector, you should try to integrate four thematic pillars : (1) leadership (employee-oriented, organized structures, motivation), (2) equal opportunities & diversity ( diversity management, bringing generations together, respecting individuals), (3) health(physical and mental support) and (4) knowledge & competence (personnel development, talent promotion, knowledge transfer, lifelong learning).
Step 6: Develop corporate culture in the IT sector – status quo analysis as the starting signal
After you have acquired theoretical and scientific background knowledge, it is time to analyze the status quo in the company. At which points are already visible values and standards that are part of your everyday work in the company revealed? What is important to you and what do your employees value most? Are there already fixed structures that can be adopted into corporate culture? During the analysis, you should take a close look at the entire way of everyday life in the company and reflect on all processes and regulations.
#1. Everyday life in the company
Ask yourself: What is the atmosphere like in the company and among the workforce? What characterizes the way you deal with your employees? How are we dealing with each other? Is everyone motivated and happy to work in your company?
#2. conflict management
Your current handling of conflicts not only reflects part of your corporate culture (which has not yet been worked out) but also predicts how you will deal with major difficulties or crises in the company. Are conflicts openly communicated or kept secret? Do your employees make an effort to resolve conflicts? How do you communicate in conflict situations? Is mutual respect maintained and is each other listened to?
#3. Inventory of working conditions
Of course, not only the way of working together is decisive, but also the fundamentals of the work: Do all your employees have enough space? Are the workplaces equipped according to the requirements of your employees? Is the technology up to date? Do you have employee benefits like coffee or fruit? Are working hours recorded?
#4. culture of ideas and feedback
Be sure to ask yourself how much say your employees can bring to the company. Are your employees allowed to suggest their own ideas and implement them? Do they have the courage to realize their own ideas or are they more afraid of making mistakes? Do you provide regular feedback and if so, how? How do your employees take your feedback?
#5. status quo of communication
An important part of your corporate culture to be developed is the type of communication in the company. How do you communicate personnel decisions, new developments, innovations, or changes in the company? How much do you talk to each other? Is only the most important thing communicated or do you approach others openly in the company?
Step 7: Develop corporate culture – Seven things you absolutely must incorporate in IT
So that you can finally develop your corporate culture in the IT sector and put it down on paper, we want to give you seven things that you should definitely consider and integrate into your conception.
#1. Your visions form the basis of your corporate culture
The vision of your company is your trademark, your unique selling point on the market – and the basis of your corporate culture. In any case, a vision must last for several years and, above all in the IT industry, must also go along with the ups and downs of various trends and technological innovations and retain substance. It is therefore important that you formulate your vision clearly and create a basis for your employees’ work motivation. Is it important to you that your managers also support your vision? Get them on board as a source of inspiration and formulate a clear vision and a motivating mission statement together. Don’t forget: A vision should always be realistic and suitable for everyday use.
You can then derive clear goals and strategies from your vision, which will convince all employees and ensure more potential for identification in your company. Connect your vision with the here and now and set concrete goals for different periods of time, because: Without a defined project, the work focus is lost. A clear, common purpose, which stands above everyday work and thus declares a fixed intention of the company, also legitimizes the work and existence of your company. When you formulate goals, visions, and strategies, you should make sure to use clear terminology and choose simple, understandable, and yet inspiring words in order to reach all employees.
#2. Offer flexibility
An important tip to follow when developing a company culture is the point of ‘flexibility’. Your employees will only feel at home in the company and identify with the values and standards represented there if the work (and the corporate culture) suits their personal circumstances.
Flexible working hours and work locations should therefore definitely be part of your corporate culture. In most cases, more flexibility means that your employees are more motivated and balanced because they can easily combine their private lives with their everyday work. Various working time models and remote solutions are possible: (a) Flexitime: Your employees can freely choose the beginning and end of their working day within a certain time frame, but are always at the workplace during a fixed core working time. (b) If you have a lot of project work in the company, the working hours can also change the worth model. There are no fixed working hours with compulsory attendance, only the result of the project-related work counts – the time quota is negligible.
(c) The job-sharing model is also a flexible working solution. Two people who harmonize well with each other and have comparable qualifications share a position. This variant is often particularly interesting for young mothers who want to continue working in a management position and thus hold a job together. (d) At least since the Covid19 pandemic, the fourth strategy – the home office – has arrived in everyday working life. Through home office agreements, you not only offer your employees flexibility in terms of time, but also location independence. Modern techniques such as video conferences, cloud-based programs, etc. create a remote office that satisfies your employees and makes you a modern, attractive employer.
#3. Promote your employees
Your employees are known to be your most important asset when it comes to business success. That’s why promoting the individual development of your employees should be an integral part of the corporate culture and your day-to-day work as an entrepreneur: you need to know your employees’ mindsets, strengths, and weaknesses in order to promote their talents and use your employees efficiently for the company’s goals be able. Use the ‘Triple-A-Method’ as a basic concept for employee management, which is based on attention, recognition, and encouragement towards the employees. You should also focus on supporting weak employees.
You should also give your employees enough freedom to work independently when you develop a corporate culture. The more your employees get involved with their own ideas and plans, the higher the motivation and the more successful the entire company. If employees can get involved and specialize in terms of their strengths, they become unique and irreplaceable links in your success story. So don’t just offer your staff the opportunity to continue their professional training, but also let them see the sense of purpose in their day-to-day work. In addition, younger generations in particular place increasing value on sustainability and transparency as well as the opportunity for personal development – these aspects should also be represented in your corporate culture.
#4. Health as the be-all and end-all of the corporate culture
Of course, when developing your corporate culture, you should not only think about the well-being of the company but also about the employees and their health. Whether it’s an office job or hard physical work, every job has certain health risks that you as an entrepreneur should counteract. This is even provided for under tax law: you can invest up to 500 euros per employee tax-free in their health – for example in the form of nutritional advice, sports courses, measures for stress management and relaxation, or even addiction prevention.
You also promote health in your corporate culture by equipping your workplaces with the right equipment. Look for ergonomic chairs and height-adjustable desks, as well as keyboards, screens, etc. tailored to the needs of your employees. Both parties benefit from active health promotion: You are happy about agile employees who have fewer sick days, your employees are more motivated and feel valued, which increases their loyalty to the company.
#5. Talk, talk, talk – and anchor it firmly in the corporate culture!
It is a well-known fact that rules of communication are indispensable in interpersonal dealings – also in professional interactions – and are therefore part of the core of every corporate culture. In addition, the type of communication has an effect on the atmosphere in the office and thus also directly on your employees. As an entrepreneur, it is up to you to exemplify the rules of communication every day in the company: Actively listen to your employees, speak clearly and constructively and convince them with a positive attitude. It is crucial that you communicate regularly with all employees and leave no one behind.
This aspect also includes that everyone in the company is assigned and assumes a clear role and position in the team. Only when every employee knows their place in the company and tasks are clearly communicated can inefficient discussions be avoided and overall productivity increased.
A good feedback culture should definitely also have a place in your corporate culture. With regular feedback, you keep your employees up to date and can appreciate and praise them on the one hand, but also address any need for improvement on the other. You should always create a constructive discussion atmosphere and make sure that both parties leave the discussion with a positive feeling.
#6. Elementary values: transparency, trust, and openness
Part of developing a corporate culture, especially in the IT sector, is to incorporate values such as transparency, trust, openness, and a good error culture because these are decisive factors that influence the growth of your company. Therefore, rely on transparent communication, open discussions, and trusting cooperation. Even typical ‘taboo topics’ such as employee salaries have no place in a transparent company.
In addition, there should be no fear of mistakes in your company: Today, an error culture is part of every modern corporate culture – especially in the IT sector. In this way, you can strengthen the courage and willingness to take risks in your employees, so that they will be happy to accept new challenges. Incidentally, this promotes employee motivation and commitment on the one hand, but also the productivity and innovative strength of the entire company on the other.
#7. Develop and live corporate culture: You are a great role model!
Every corporate culture must be lived so that it really arrives in everyday work. That is exactly your job as an entrepreneur: you are the role model and you have to exemplify exactly what you expect from your employees. Inspire your employees every day and work together with them towards a goal that brings everyone together. Remain flexible, in the flow of change, and, above all, consistent: what you announce should also be followed through – this is the only way your employees can learn to assess you and to trust your word. Bring a positive attitude into the company every day, ask how your employees are doing (not just clichés!), and keep calm even in stormy times.
Conclusion
Developing a corporate culture is – as you have read – quite a challenge: many different steps have to be taken into account, scientific background and self-reflective analyzes must find space and your very personal vision of the company is also decisive. Especially in the future-oriented IT area, your corporate culture must also contain and adhere to the values and standards of a fast-moving time in order to make your company fit for the future (keyword VUCA).
Our guidelines for developing a corporate culture already provide you with important topics and discourses that your corporate culture should definitely include or take into account. In addition to clearly articulated goals and concrete visions that allow the entire workforce to pull together, the personal needs of your employees are also firmly part of the corporate culture: flexible working hours, individual support, and a focus on health are good starting points. In addition, regulated communication, error culture, and transparency create trusting cooperation in the company, which has a positive effect on the motivation of the employees and the company’s success in general.
As an entrepreneur, you take on an essential task in the process of establishing a new management culture, because: A corporate culture cannot be imposed, but must be lived. Namely top-down: The corporate culture begins in top management and then runs through all levels. Corporate culture can only be established and your company crowned with success if you and other managers live the defined values and norms.
A study by Heidrick Consulting from 2020 also proves this: On average, only 16 percent of the CEOs of 500 companies surveyed were sure that there was a connection between economic success and active corporate culture. Measured over a three-year period, those of the 500 companies analyzed worldwide that place particularly great value on a living corporate culture achieved growth of 9.1 percent. The remaining 84 percent grew by only 4.4 percent in three years. Financial and thus also entrepreneurial success go hand in hand with your corporate culture.
Editorial Team
