Blog Entries for Culture is Everything

How to welcome new staff to a strong culture

twhite@smartcompany.com.au — Mon, 03 Jun 2013 00:49:52 +0100

A strong culture starts with a clear vision, strong leadership and great people living and breathing the company values.

Recruiting great people is a critical step in building a strong culture, but what do you do once you’ve found them? How do you induct and welcome new hires to your team in a way that will inspire them [...]

Why every leader needs good followers

twhite@smartcompany.com.au — Sun, 05 May 2013 23:39:24 +0100

Leadership has been one of the hottest topics in the corporate, non-profit and entrepreneurial worlds for the past decade. It seems that becoming an inspiring leader and taking on a leadership role is the destiny to which we should all aspire.

But not everyone can be in a position of leadership. And not every [...]

A strong workplace culture in seven simple steps

twhite@smartcompany.com.au — Mon, 08 Apr 2013 00:27:28 +0100

To build a successful and sustainable business that can grow fast, you need a great culture.

A strong workplace culture needs every team member aligned to the same vision and living the same values. It also needs every new recruit to 'lift the average' of the existing high standards.

This might make sense, "But how on earth do [...]

A little book that might help you create a strong workplace culture

twhite@smartcompany.com.au — Sun, 03 Mar 2013 22:52:22 +0100

"How do you create a strong workplace culture?" is one of the questions I get asked every day. Another question I hear is about the apparent 'weirdness' of a strong culture.

It seems plenty of people think that exciting places to work are spontaneous, crazy joints where no one really knows what will happen next. That myth is just not true. Yes, working at a great place to work often feels exciting and spontaneous, but, despite the facade, it takes consistent effort and lots of dis [...]

The power of birthday cake: One of the unknowns in creating a strong workplace culture

twhite@smartcompany.com.au — Sun, 17 Feb 2013 23:00:20 +0100

Building a strong workplace culture should result in more fun and more engagement from everyone. If you've got the right people on your team, throwing meaningful parties is one way to grow an even stronger culture.

A strong workplace culture includes caring personal relationships between everyone in your team and extended community. Important events, big and small, happen in the lives of team members, clients, customers and suppliers every single day.

Acknowledging every vi [...]

The vision thing: Six ways to get focused on your company's vision

twhite@smartcompany.com.au — Sun, 03 Feb 2013 22:31:29 +0100

A clear and exciting vision is the starting point for building a sustainable business and a strong culture. Nearly everyone wants to be part of a growing business that's achieving its goals. But only when vision is measurable does it become compelling.

During 2012, The Physio Co delivered 108,674 physiotherapy consultations for Australian aged care residents; we ended the year with 54 team members and were ranked as the 8th Best Place to Work in Australia. On their own, these numbe [...]

Creating a strong culture: Where to start

twhite@smartcompany.com.au — Sun, 09 Dec 2012 23:36:29 +0100

Why is it so important to create a strong workplace culture? Because a strong culture leads to better performance, higher retention and a more aligned organisation.

Ready to start building a strong culture? Here's where to start.

To build a strong culture you need a short, sharp core purpose. A core purpose is the reason an organisation exists. It's a brief statement that anyone can read and think, "Yep, got it. I know exactly what they're up to".

The fewer words, th [...]

Give time and reap the rewards of a rich workplace culture

eschmidl@hotmail.com — Sun, 25 Nov 2012 23:18:21 +0100

In this fast-paced, always-on world that we live, receiving the undivided attention of anyone almost never happens. The thing is your undivided attention is the most powerful gift that you can give.

Giving of your time and undivided attention is a secret to creating a magnetic culture that attracts long term success. And that's why making it a part of everything you do is such an advantage.

An inclusive family culture is based upon having constructive and helpful conversatio [...]

The vital link between culture and language (or why you need Maude in your life)

eschmidl@hotmail.com — Sun, 11 Nov 2012 22:38:00 +0100

"Can someone please grab Maude from the storeroom, we have to record this!"

Businesses with a strong culture often have a very unique language. And it's on purpose. If you listen in to a conversation happening between two TPCers (members of The Physio Co team), you'll probably have trouble understanding what on earth they're talking about.

"Who the hell is Maude and why is she in the storeroom?" you'd have to ask.

The number one priority at The Physio Co (TPC) is to [...]

How to win back the trust of a client you have lost

eschmidl@hotmail.com — Sun, 28 Oct 2012 22:21:15 +0100

Committing to building a strong workplace culture is a long-term investment. The time, energy and money invested in building a strong culture can take years to return. But when the returns do arrive, they can be absolutely worth the wait.

In 2006, the third year of The Physio Co's life, we experienced a gut-wrenching NDE (Near Death Experience). We lost a big client and overnight almost half of our revenue evaporated. It was one of the most horrifying and defining moments of my earl [...]

Trust in the brainpower at your disposal

eschmidl@hotmail.com — Sun, 07 Oct 2012 23:06:18 +0100

Trusting team members to solve big and scary problems helps build a strong culture. By sharing a problem and asking for help, you are effectively bringing every employee closer to the action and trusting them more than ever. Trust between management, employees and every staff member is a key ingredient that every strong culture shares.

At The Physio Co we have an annual team conference. Once a year, our entire team attends a full day event to learn, share, catch up and have some fu [...]

Driving company culture from the treatment table

eschmidl@hotmail.com — Sun, 23 Sep 2012 14:00:00 +0100

A strong workplace culture is one of the only sustainable competitive advantages that a service business can create. And culture, in any business, is the responsibility of the CEO. Why is culture the responsibility of the CEO? Because it's too important to be delegated.

Since 2004, The Physio Co has grown from one person with a vision into Australia's 8th Best Place to Work and most talked about physiotherapy practice. Culture really is everything to business success and I have obse [...]

Why face-to-face meetings still have a place in our social network culture

eschmidl@hotmail.com — Thu, 06 Sep 2012 22:59:21 +0100

A strong workplace culture is built from deep and trusting relationships that are based on honest communication.

To create these strong relationships, face-to-face meetings need to be a part of the way you communicate. Every day, once a week, or once a month, it doesn't matter how often, but if you want to build a strong culture you do need to spend time together.

There is nothing like a face-to-face conversation. The emotion, the engagement, the satisfaction, the body lang [...]

Why failing every week builds a strong workplace culture

eschmidl@hotmail.com — Thu, 23 Aug 2012 22:02:06 +0100

How often do you publicly admit that you've made a mistake at work?

Three weeks ago I sat with one of The Physio Co's leaders and apologised. I'd made a big mistake, so, from the bottom of my heart I apologised and asked if he would forgive me. Luckily, my apology was accepted and we started working on a solution.

The reason I said I was sorry is because I was wrong. I didn't mean it, but, I'd got it wrong. I'd been expecting him to achieve something that, based on the s [...]

The secret to creating happiness at work

eschmidl@hotmail.com — Fri, 10 Aug 2012 00:20:37 +0100

Every job in the entire world can be boring if we let it be. Similarly, any job can be an absolute winner, if we choose it to be so. The attitude we bring to work each day has a massive impact on happiness at work.

Employee engagement or staff motivation is one of the biggest challenges in business today. But whose problem is it: the employee or the employer? I tend to think it's the responsibility of both.

Whether a job is tedious or exciting is entirely in the eyes of the [...]

How do you build a strong culture? Start a museum!

eschmidl@hotmail.com — Fri, 27 Jul 2012 00:09:12 +0100

Strong workplace cultures are built upon living a set of core values and sharing stories of those values being lived. Every day, new stories are created and it's critical that those stories are shared. However, it's often the stories from the very early days of a business that last the longest.

Recording, immortalising and retelling the stories from the start-up days of your business could be the most powerful way to build a strong culture (and it's never too late to start).

[...]

What's the right praise-to-reprimand ratio in the workplace?

eschmidl@hotmail.com — Thu, 12 Jul 2012 14:00:00 +0100

'Catching people doing something right' is one of the most important lessons I've ever learnt. At home, at work, even when I'm buying my lunch, wherever I am, if I can notice someone doing something special and mention it we will both feel happier.

The concept of catching people doing something right comes from one of my favourite little books, The One Minute Manager. Ever since reading the book, I've been using my own version of 'one minute praisings' and 'one minute reprimands'. [...]

Perks or purpose: What's the secret to a great workplace?

eschmidl@hotmail.com — Thu, 28 Jun 2012 23:27:43 +0100

The annual BRW Best Places to Work list was revealed last week and I'm rapt to say that, for 2012, The Physio Co is the eighth Best Place to Work in Australia (the fourth year we've been on the list in our eight-year history – awesome work, team!).

What I'm much less rapt about is the concept that a strong workplace culture can be built by spending big on entitlements for employees.

A strong workplace culture is created by a group of people that choose to work with a busines [...]