Let's talk about a vital component of modern business — the corporate culture. Many companies in Russia do not pay proper attention to it, despite the global trend.

Last year has challenged entrepreneurs from a wide variety of industries. The anticovid measures dealt a blow right after the covid itself. Many of the usual HR tools that most companies used suddenly became useless. Companies began to expand their set and check the effectiveness "just-in-time".

As a result, the experience gained suggests that corporate culture will become one of the new tools for the growth of post-corporate international and Russian business. And, of course, this includes such important segment as international education.

In the understanding of modern business, corporate culture consists of values and beliefs, unspoken agreements and norms shared by all employees of companies. This is a powerful driving force that can both help and hinder the business goals achievement.

What's the thing?

When people are united by common ideas and values, when they understand one another, this multiplies their speed, immersion, efficiency, and allows to save the company's resources. It is a clear and stable motivation — to be a cohesive, friendly team. To do, not to pretend.

In companies with a developed corporate culture, employees are engaged in achieving common goals. They do not separate themselves from the company: what is good for business is good for themselves.

In order for the corporate culture to work for the good, one should learn how to manage it correctly, synchronizing it with the tasks and strategy of the organization.

The old paradigm is changing

In the brave new post-pandemic world, most companies have switched to hybrid office mode. Partially remote jobs become the new normal. The old Soviet habit of evaluating the effectiveness of an employee in the hours worked (spent at the workplace) is becoming less and less relevant.

The ability of employees to navigate in new and unclear conditions, to think outside the box and quickly make effective decisions are new drivers of companies' success. The time of balanced, measured, slow decisions has passed, it has been replaced by a period of rapid search for new ideas.

The Covid pandemic has taught us an object lesson: employees are able to be extremely creative, revealing their most unexpected qualities. Especially when the question of business survival arises. Here it is, a chance to take the initiative, go beyond the job descriptions, expand your capabilities. Many were able to use it by taking a step forward.

Young people in search of a suitable corporate culture

They belong to Generation Z, known as "zoomers". They are completely immersed in digital services and technologies. It is difficult to unequivocally answer the question of where they actually live — in the Internet or in the real world. People from Generation Z go to work not only because of interesting tasks and a good salary. Their priority is companies with a highly developed corporate culture, keeping up with the times and actively using the digital space. They are looking for a suitable, comfortable atmosphere. You should definitely find a common language with them, because one day they will become the main labor force of the Russian market.

What are the tools for creating and maintaining a corporate culture?
Landing pages and social networks. They are important part of an advertising campaign to attract new employees. Proper content allows one to create a positive, attractive image of the company. It increases the loyalty and interest of potential candidates and clients. Among social networks, the younger generation prefers TikTok, Instagram (especially the Stories function) and YouTube.
Online training. The IT department of a company, together with HR, develops a program for adaptation and initial training of new employees. Ideally, it is adapted for smartphones, which are the main and irreplaceable device of the modern generation. Usually the training has a few stages, and the employee always has access to the materials. Convenient modern interface, attractive design, chatbot, dynamic and interesting training — the employee acquires new information quickly and easily. One of the modern trends is training in an informal form using quests, videos, tests.
Corporate portal. Useful information: corporate values and accepted rules of conduct, company structure, information about employees, bonus system, training materials, documents, news, new and existing projects, employees' corporate life (online events, stories about their success, congratulations on birthdays, introduction of new employees) and much more.
Messengers for internal corporate communication. They have lots of advantages. Communication is prompt; there is no need to search for the employee's email address (relevant for beginners); the message status is visible; it is possible to communicate in groups in real time, organize video conferences, etc. This online mode supports the ability to solve the issue here and now, get rid of a large number of routine actions. Moreover, it is easier to maintain corporate values in the online space than to give every new employee a bunch of printed brochures which will be put away in the lowest drawer on the first day. Full awareness of an employee, their sense of belonging and the need for the company — all this increases their loyalty and efficiency.
Well-being and emotional intelligence. This is an important component of the corporate culture of many Western companies. The principle is to maintain a balance of physical, emotional, mental and spiritual energy of employees. A sense of well-being arises in an employee with a good combination of such factors as health, professional realization, financial stability, a favorable environment, and social ties. If you give an employee what they want, they will be ready to show the best results.
An interesting case
Once Philip Morris conducted a study and was surprised to find out that many of his employees are acutely experiencing the "fathers and sons" problem. The problem put pressure on the mental state, and, accordingly, affected the involvement and productivity of the staff. They decided to organize psychological webinars on the topic of improving the relations of children and parents. So unexpectedly! The intensity of family conflicts withered away, staff turnover decreased, involvement increased. This is a happy case when the employee's condition matters.
Emotional intelligence (EQ) is a concept that appeared relatively recently, after the publication of Daniel Goleman's book Emotional Intelligence. This is the ability of a person to control their emotions and manage them, the ability to control behavior and reactions, understand their needs, motivation, while feeling the moods, emotions and intentions of people around them. EQ determines how one would cope with stressful situations, build working relationships, behave in certain working situations.