Why is it important to address company culture?

Surveys show that successful companies communicate their values, have a high orientation towards caring for all stakeholders, articulate a purposeful corporate culture, and, above all, present themselves as constantly evolving organisations. What should a good company culture look like?

 

Building a work environment where people feel comfortable and motivated is not an easy task. There is no specific guide, every company lives its own life. However, there is no harm in learning from more experienced and established companies. At CLIMAX, we are celebrating our anniversary this year - we have been on the market for 30 years and employ over 500 satisfied employees. We are therefore not afraid to present our values and give you inspiration and insight into our culture. How do you run a stable company so that it thrives for at least another 30 years and produces enthusiastic employees? 

 

Everyone knows who you are

Company culture is the spirit of the company. It speaks volumes about YOUR shared values. In most companies, employers choose employees to fit in with the team. Similarly, employees choose jobs based on where they feel comfortable. If you have a distinct company culture, you can easily filter out candidates who don't share your goals when hiring. Such people will never be sufficiently engaged and motivated and will likely leave your company soon.

 

 

In CLIMAX, our core values are defined and each of us is identified with the vision of "Our Future".

"In building our company, the following qualities have always been important to me: creativity, diligence, intelligence, friendliness and decency. These values help us to get a little bit better every day. If we behave this way long enough, there is nothing that can stop us on our way to becoming one of the best shading manufacturers in the world," says Miroslav Jakubec, the company's founder.

 

 

This is our presentation. Thanks to it, we at CLIMAX are strengthening our people's pride in belonging to the company.

Key people in the care of company culture

In recent years, company culture has become one of the key tools for work motivation. It can reduce fluctuations and increase work efficiency. According to a US study by Gallup (2015), the appetite and engagement of your people at work can vary by up to 70%, and that's just due to the influence of the right leadership. Leaders, managers and team leaders are the key to increasing employees engagement (almost up to 60% according to the study).

 

 

The rules help

It's time to set rules (not only) for communicating with each other. A company always functions as a community. There are written and unwritten rules. Relationships have a certain hierarchy. In chaos without rules, processes and defined responsibilities, people will make mistakes, work slower and collaborate less. But everything in moderation. Adherence to strict and meaningless rules that seem to create a company culture can be demotivating, prevent room for creativity and can lead to frustration and termination for many.

 

 

What are our rules?

When communicating, we always give full attention to our colleagues and business partners. We communicate on the principle of equality - openly, honestly, respectfully and fairly. 

We learn from others'experiences and pass on our own. We encourage independent work and delegate responsibility. 

We listen, we join forces to find the best solutions. We manage relationships with customers and suppliers on a partner and professional level. 

 

Delegation of responsibility can be a common problem for companies in the process of building their culture. Open communication and a fair approach is the cornerstone of healthy relationships

 

 

Company culture as a competitive advantage

Do you want loyal employees? Give them a reason to want to work for you. Create a place, where work is not just work, but a place where your people love to spend time. Company culture will give you a very strong competitive advantage in this respect. 

 

In CLIMAX we manage to create a working environment that is friendly and motivating. We value our employees and we know how to reward them for a job well done. For example, what benefits do our employees receive? 

Contributions towards pension, discounted mobile tariff, energy allowance of CZK 2000 - we know how difficult it is to manage a family budget nowadays, especially with rising energy prices.

Contribution for referring a new colleague, reward for work reliability, annual bonus program up to CZK 20 000 - exceptionally committed employees deserve exceptional treatment. 

Allowance for self-catering, massages at the workplace, as well as coffee sessions (cafeteria allowance of CZK 2,000 per year) - communication with colleagues and strengthening internal relationships are important values for us, whether over lunch, relaxation or coffee. 

Education and language courses at the workplace and other benefits.

 

 

We make sure that our employees not only have a safe and healthy environment, but also that they support and help each other. This is the only way we can grow and improve together and provide the best service to our customers.

 

For the company's director, David Žabčík, employees are the most important thing: "Their honest daily work is the alpha and omega of all our company's successes and a guarantee of further development. We try to have the right people in the right places so that we always make the most of the strengths of the person. We regularly train our employees to support their professional and personal growth. We are constantly adding to our team. Skilled and motivated people will always find a job with us." 

 

Corporate Social Responsibility as a trend of today

Part of the corporate culture is also the definition of the entire company's responsibility towards its surroundings - customers, partners, employees and their families, residents in the surrounding communities and the environment. 

 

How do we help in CLIMAX?

We see sport as important element for the health and development of young people. That is why we are consistently involved in sports sponsorship. Previously, we supported several local sports clubs. Today, we focus on two selected projects that make sense to us and are in line with our values. In particular, we support our local hockey club. Why? Because when you say Vsetín, hockey is the first thing that comes to mind for many people. We employ people from the region and want to support their Wallachian pride.

 

Charity projects are also part of our corporate strategy. Since 2014, we have distributed more than CZK 5 million in the Helping project for those who need a helping hand. Why was the Helping project created? First us, then you. First and foremost, we support our employees, but we also support the seriously ill and the elderly. Above all, however, we at CLIMAX decide on the help together; every year, we and our employees choose from the 70 or so requests for help that come to us. Again, our primary focus is on helping people in our region.

 

In 2016, we introduced improvement suggestions. During that time, 1,790 improvement suggestions were made directly by our employees, saving the company CZK 9.65 million. Any idea from anyone is welcome. Why improvement suggestions? It's a win-win situation. Our people are rewarded financially for the improvements they make, we save money in production and our customers get a better product. The added bonus is that our employees are more motivated to contribute to CLIMAX's innovations.

 

We do not forget about the environment either. Why is ecology important to us? Our products themselves help to save energy and thus contribute to sustainability in addition to savings. Shading technology reduces the energy consumption of a house by up to 30%. So why not also save money by optimising production? We use the excess heat from production to heat the halls and make use of every remaining piece of fabric for awnings - for example, for the production of bags. Last but not least, we encourage our workers to cycle to work, which will help the region's traffic and their health. And because our region is crucial to us and our people, we collectively pick up to 300 kg of litter each year during our stream clean-ups.

 

How to raise employees who will breathe for you?

In long-term successful companies that have the respect of partners and customers and attract the best people, the company culture is always based on a solid foundation of the company's philosophy - its mission, values and vision. 

 

You can't do it without a vision

Don't have a defined philosophy for your company? Then work on it. How else will your people perceive their work and what meaning will they see in it? If you have a clearly defined mission and values, see if your company really lives by them. Do your employees understand the values? Do they identify with them? Or maybe the problem is that employees are adopting attitudes from their supervisors who are not themselves guided by those values? 

 

Be a role model

For the communication principles you have set to really work, you need to follow them yourself. What you demand from your employees, you want from yourself and your managers.

 

Create stories of people in the company

Where did the first idea of CLIMAX come from? It all came from a dad who couldn't accept the fact that he had to save up for his son's new shoes for almost a year. Miroslav Jakubec decided to start his own business and earn money for his son's shoes much faster. This is the beginning of the story of our company CLIMAX. But more important is how it continues. Present the stories of your people, show that you care. 

 

Develop and nurture a positive environment, build healthy relationships

Enthusiasm, hope, pride. Is that what your people should feel too? Work to make your employees proud to work for your company. Motivate them and create opportunities for their personal development. The work environment depends on the company culture you choose and what is important to your work. Is it a stress-free job? Then, for example, work on routine activities as a team, divide duties and responsibilities so that everyone has a comparable time commitment to tasks and don't leave responsibility to just one person. Together you can have more innovative ideas and you can share "experiences" over coffee, for example. Work will then become a shared activity with your colleagues, which you may even start to see as fun. 

 

Ask for feedback

How do your employees really feel? You won't know unless you ask. In most cases, they won't tell you 100% of the truth. But the more you ask, the more you strengthen the relationship. You show that their opinion matters. As a result, people will become more open with you over time and provide better feedback.