| EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR ’ S PAGE |
How Would You Define Your Agency ’ s Corporate Culture ?
Think it through because it matters .
DAVID HULCHER KAIA Executive Director
O ver the past six months the association has gone through some change , experiencing some staff turnover . As I was writing the job posting for an open position I wanted to share with candidates a description of KAIA ’ s corporate culture . So , what is corporate culture and why is it important ?
By definition , corporate culture refers to the beliefs and behaviors that determine how a company ’ s employees and management interact to service their customers . Oftentimes , corporate culture isn ’ t really stated , but it develops organically over time through the leaders of the organization . How staff approaches their work and treats customers , dress code , business hours , and office setup are all reflective of the organizations culture .
So , as I wrote the job posting , it occurred to me that I understood the culture I was trying to create and facilitate , but does my staff ( which is truly the important question )? While I ’ m constantly talking about who we want to be and how we want to serve our members , I ’ ve never specifically defined our corporate culture as this often is defined organically . So , I took the opportunity to walk around the office and ask everyone how they would describe KAIA ’ s corporate culture . Further , I asked them to write down their thoughts so I could compare their version of our corporate culture to mine .
Here were some of the thoughts they provided :
• Work hard , play hard .
• Committed to highest possible level of customer service to our members .
• Ideas are encouraged and welcomed .
• Encouraged to ask the question why .
• Strong work ethic .
• Family-friendly and flexible with time-off .
• Fun , energetic environment .
• Constantly in motion and never a feeling of stagnation .
• Pursuit of excellence through continuous improvement .
• Celebrate our achievements .
Now here ’ s my vision for our corporate culture :
Each day we bring a positive energy , working hard to serve our members , but never taking ourselves too seriously knowing that substance trumps form . We want to have fun along the way , providing employees with a balanced work / life environment . Always supporting each other , we are focused on the end results . We believe in continuous improvement and want staff members to feel empowered , think creatively , never staying satisfied with the status quo , while being accountable for our actions . Our mindset is to always do the next right thing for our members .
So , after this exercise , I felt pretty good that our staff recognized the corporate culture I am trying to create . But the other realization I ’ ve come to is that you have to have the right people in place to thrive in the culture you are trying to create . You can ’ t have someone that only embraces the flexibility and work / life balance without being willing to bring a serious work ethic and be focused on results . One can ’ t exist without the other . And it ’ s important to realize that the people that are not all-in can erode the culture you are creating and may even influence the way you lead . You can ’ t let this happen or your organization will be ill-equipped to evolve and reach its full potential .
I encourage you to reflect on your agency ’ s culture and whether your vision matches the culture that actually exists . Also , take the time to make sure that your staff provides real and honest feedback , not lip service , about ways to improve the culture and agency as a whole .
4 KANSAS INSURANCE AGENT & BROKER | May - June 2018 |