By Marty Parker
Every 18 months or so, the Starbucks Coffee Company conducts a "Partner View Survey." Partners, because the company prides itself on having an organization of "partners" rather than "employees," and a corporate culture that's all about treating each other with dignity and respect. The Starbucks story is one of amazing growth. It operates some 10,000 coffee shops in 30 countries and over the last three years has seen revenue growth of 31% — well over twice that of the S&P TSX60. Starbucks is fanatical about maintaining its great work environment, retaining its committed partners, and providing the same in-store experience whether you are in Halifax, New York or Sydney, Australia. The Partner View Survey is a powerful way for senior management to keep tabs on the health of its corporate culture.
As part of Canada's Most Admired Corporate Cultures of 2006 Study, executive search firm Waterstone Human Capital asked participants from the leadership community whether they measure how they are doing with respect to corporate culture. While nearly every one of those executives saw a direct link between the company's values and behaviours and its financial performance, a startling 65% did nothing to measure corporate culture. Once you define your company's culture and have it working alongside your business goals, one of the simplest ways to stay healthy is to check the pulse of your employees.
Of those who told us that they collect employee feedback and regularly measure corporate culture, most, like Starbucks, chose to do this through surveys. In fact, 88% choose this tool to obtain feedback, while others measure employee behaviours as part of performance reviews. The other 12% that applied some form of measurement chose everything from focus groups, to formal interviews and round table lunches with the president and CEO. Regardless of the tool of choice, these companies did regular checkups to determine what the employees really thought about the organization and their place within in.
When Starbucks conducts its Partner View Survey, it sends out 50 questions that address various aspects of employee satisfaction and commitment to the company and its culture. While answering those questions is voluntary, the company has a whopping 90% participation rate. Part of the reason for this high return is because the survey is easily available online and staff can fill out the survey on the job. But more importantly, the survey comes directly from top management, and Colin Moore, president of Starbucks Canada, believes it's because the management team spends a great deal of time compiling and analyzing the data, and then acting on those results. "People have seen tangible results of providing us feedback," he says. "Our turnover is 40% to 60% better than our quick service [restaurant] peers. We are growing and opening a lot of stores, so we have a great need for great people. One of our retention strategies is ensuring we provide a great work environment, and part of that is getting feedback through the Partner View Survey."
Sometimes, the size of a corporation and the way it does business breeds a number of subcultures which may seem daunting when it comes to measuring corporate culture. As Gordon Nixon, president and CEO of the Royal Bank of Canada told a Canadian Business reporter in October 2006: "With a financial institution as diverse in its businesses as Royal Bank, culture becomes much more complex than if you're a company that just manufacturers one product." RBC has multiple subcultures from investment banking divisions that operate like partnerships, to stock brokerage businesses with an entrepreneurial feel. Nixon said RBC executives see the uniqueness of its different businesses as assets, but at the same time promote values such as customer service, teamwork and personal accountability that flow across all of its operations. "We try to nurture our subcultures, not squash them," he said.
As leaders of your organization, taking the measure of your company's values and behaviours through regular and systematic surveys, or more informal methods, will help ensure that your corporate culture remains strong. In our next article we will show you how to assess your culture and determine an action plan for changes or improvements. This assessment will ultimately lead to the emergence and transformation of your corporate culture.
