Five Companies Changing Their Company Cultures for the Better
To succeed in today's competitive business environment, a unique, compelling and appealing company culture is essential and is a crucial part of a strong employer brand. Almost every business today has a reputation and a personality that customers, employees, and potential employees can relate to and buy into. In order to stand out from the crowd, sell your product, attract qualified workers, keep them happy, and retain top talent, you need a company culture that rises above the rest.
Here are five brands who excel at not only building and communicating their company culture, but also ensuring that it’s changing for the better.
- Virgin Atlantic. The British airline company has taken great strides towards a gender inclusive work environment. As of September 2022, their cabin crew members have the freedom to choose their uniform – allowing anyone, regardless of gender, to wear skirts, heels or suits. As part of Virgin’s commitment to diversity, individualism, and self-expression, the company has also changed its tattoo visibility and make-up policy to encourage choice and acceptance over inflexible clothing policies. We hope to see more of this over the coming years!
- Dishoom. Dishoom has always expressed its strong values outwards, through its brand messages, actions, and employees. Their company culture emphasises community, togetherness, open-heartedness, care, belonging, and exchanges – whether of cultures, ideas, or recipes! This brand cares about people – not only in their outward relationships with customers, but also in their internal work culture. Dishoom is deeply committed to its employees. There is a confidential advice helpline available 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, all managers are trained in mental health first aid and they offer discounted gym memberships, classes, and yoga sessions to promote physical and mental well-being.
- REI Co-op. American retailer and outdoor recreation services company REI Co-op believe a life outdoors is a life well lived. REI reflects its external brand mission – getting more people outdoors – internally, too, by giving their team more opportunities to be outside. By offering programs geared towards getting employees outside, REI is taking a stand against all-encompassing digital work culture. During ‘Yay Days’, they encourage employees to engage in outdoor pursuits, learn a new activity, or participate in stewardship projects. Their campaigns allow their employees to balance their work and life while inspiring a love of the outdoors.
- Getir. Responding to growing issues relating to society’s growing need for on-demand groceries, food delivery service, Getir, developed mandatory traffic lessons for its riders in the Netherlands in collaboration with Veilig Verkeer Nederland (the Dutch association for road safety) to help prevent accidents and injuries. The company not only ensures the safety of cyclists and members of the public, but also that of its employees. As the demand for speedy service grows, Getir promotes a culture of safety first and ensures the well-being of customers and employees.
- Hornbach. DIY retailer Hornbach is redefining flexible working hours into new types of benefits and offers.Their new company model emphasises flexibility and promotes work-life balance in response to regimented shift patterns, and consists of five key components. To begin with, employees can take advantage of holiday allowances or end-of-year bonuses to earn extra time off. A second option is to move to part-time employment. Thirdly, employees can reduce their working hours by converting their annual salary increase. The fourth option is to switch to a four-day work week, and finally, employees can increase their full-time weekly working hours from 37.5 to 42.5 for a period of three, six, or nine months.