On Tap from the Pub

By Tom Field

Executive Summary:

Is there a connection between company culture and employee retention?

Cultivating culture

A physical change in her face and body—how she held herself. Her eyes, discernably more animated. Even the tone of her voice and pace of her speaking; excitable but not stress laden. It’s almost as if she were on a new planet. From a former one that had more gravitational pull, weighing her down—to a new one, where she was lifted, and her feet barely touched the ground.

And what, pray tell, caused this astonishing transformation?

She changed jobs.

Same industry. Same product and service. Same market. Even the same customer base.

New employer.

But here’s the truly interesting part of this story: there remains satisfied people at both companies.

What differed in this young lady’s case, was primarily a big difference in culture.

One company…was about as “chill” as a company could be. To begin, it was headquartered at a beach town. The employee demographic was young, predominately male. The processes— hardly existed; there was virtually zero administrative support; the projects seemingly worked from one’s own personal timeline. And the goals, were more or less rough approximations with an expectation of “hit ‘em if you can.”

Some people like that culture. High-five your fellow dude in the hallway. Celebrate when you sign a contract. But don’t be too hard on yourself if performance isn’t up to par. Tomorrow’s another day. Let the chips fall where they may.

The other company…was jacked up on performance adrenaline. Headquartered in a working town, the employee demographic is also young, predominately male. The processes—plentiful, but effective. You have a team; the projects are assigned to responsible champions all along the timeline. The goals are tough, but clear; you are rewarded if you meet them, and well-rewarded when you exceed them.

Some people like this culture. Celebrate with your team when you win; kick yourself when the deal falls through. Seize the day. Never settle for average.

On the surface, what the young lady preferred seemed to be more stressful. But for her, lack of direction and a

perspective where performance means performing—not winning— was intolerable. For her, the stress-free environment was the most stressful of all.