Keep the culture a priority
Hay makes sure to keep his culture the No. 1 priority so that it can
envelop any changes that happen in the high-growth company.
“We set the expectation that standing still is not part of our plan,”
he says. “We either grow or die.”
“Everyone goes through formal training and introduction courses,
not just from their managers but by the senior leadership and myself.
We see communication of our vision and culture and the training of
our employees as a leadership team responsibility.”
Making culture your top priority requires you to keep it No. 1 on
your list, no matter what other tasks come up. It also means making
the culture fun so that employees will keep it their top priority, as
well.
Hay makes sure to take time to celebrate successes, recognize
great performers, and keep employees engaged and informed — all
in a fun way when possible. For example, the company recently
ended its financial year and celebrated with beer and pizza at lunch
for all employees, with a more formal recognition later in the year.
Establishing a successful culture also means holding yourself
accountable to the same standards as your employees. Hay goes
through the same reviews and 360-degree feedback as his employees
because it’s hard to lead employees unless you’re getting their honest
feedback.
“You have to be fanatical about the living, delivery and communication of those values,” he says. “You need to be clear on what you’re
aiming to do and prepared to be measured against that.”
Without a focus on culture, Hay says dunnhumby would not
have achieved the level of success it has, including growing 40 to
50 percent per year in revenue since 2003 and being named one of the
best places to work in the Cincinnati area.
“It’s not easy,” Hay says. “Absolutely make it your No. 1 priority. It’s
easy to be distracted by the tasks of running a business, but you can
only do so much as one person. If you get the culture right, you can
have, whether you have hundreds or thousands of employees,
pulling or pushing much more successfully to the vision than you
just trying to do it yourself by managing those tasks.”
HOW TO REACH: dunnhumbyUSA, (513) 632-1020 or www.dunnhumby.com
