Company culturematters. It seems fair to say that’s a near-universally accepted truth among business leaders these days. No longer seen as a fringe benefit, secondary to things like salaries and bonus plans, culture has become a key differentiator for many companies over the past decade. It’s easy to see why when you recognize that, according to a Deloitte study, 94% of executives and 88% of workers believe strong company culture is key to business success. But the challenge is not in recognizing the need for a vibrant culture; it’s building and nurturing that culture — something that can be especially tricky at a bank, where employees may be spread across multiple locations as well as onto a diverse array of teams and departments, with varying levels of responsibilities and personalities. Not to mention the new complication of engaging remote workers in a cohesive culture with the rest of the company. So how can these obstacles be overcome? Technology can help. It won’t do all the work, of course — after all, culture is, first and foremost, a human concern. However, the right tools can go a long way toward bridging the gaps between people at every level. At JMARK, we take great pride in our culture. We have been operating with a hybrid workforce for many years and have worked hard to create a united team, even with workers in multiple offices, as well as working from home from all over the country. These are the tenets we follow and the tools we use to create unity and cohesion among our teams, no matter where people work. 1. Make Communication Easy — People want to communicate with coworkers with the same ease their cell phones give them in their personal lives. At JMARK, we use Workplace fromMeta to give our teams a simple, single access point to chat with both video and voice calls. This solution augments our internal phone system and tools like Outlook, Microsoft Teams, and Zoom, ensuring that employees always have an effortless way to reach one another. 2. Make Collaboration Easy —With the right tools and a little practice, virtual collaboration can work every bit as well as in-person. Once again, Workplace is our go-to solution for this, allowing us to share documents and resources and team up via video call as if we were in the same room. Whatever technology you use, the key is to let everyone’s voice be heard and skills be shared, so the output becomes greater than the sum of its parts. 3. Bring Your People Together — A strong culture isn’t just about work. It’s about creating bonds of trust and fellowship on your teams. Come together as a company on a regular, frequent basis to celebrate each other, share victories, and let everyone spend some time with folks from other teams. At TECHNOLOGY AND GREAT COMPANY CULTURE GO HAND-IN-HAND By Thomas H. Douglas JMARK, MIBA Endorsed Partner 14 | The Show-Me Banker Magazine
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