Corporate culture refers to the values, beliefs, practices and behaviors shared by members of an organization. It can influence the way employees interact with each other, with customers, and with overall decision making and strategy.
Considered as the soul of a company, culture has an essential role to play in the quality of life at work. But in the face of the perpetuation of hybrid work and the flex office, how can we offer a strong and unique corporate culture?
We turned to Kymonothe corporate culture expert, to answer this question. Capucine Virmoux, Chief of Staff and former right-hand woman to CEO Olivier Ramel, has been working at Kymono for 4 years. She is in charge of managing the teams with the triple role of HR, office management and transversal projects.
For Deskare, Capucine shares her vision of the role of corporate culture and her advice on how to stand out in the face of new forms of work!
Before offering its services to companies, Kymono took a long look at the culture, and more specifically at its own. This led to the identification of four essential pillars for a unique corporate culture:
Structuring your culture around these pillars will create a real sense of belonging, a key HR issue for attracting, retaining and engaging talent. You can thus create a collective dynamic that unites and mobilizes all employees behind the company's project.
To consolidate a company culture, what better way than to make it shine by proudly displaying it? At Kymono, clothes are considered the visible part of the culture. Thanks to the Culture Designers (Kymono's employees), companies have access to a wardrobe service and personalized objects in line with their positioning.
It is important to think about the work spaces to make employees want to come to the site. Focus on your office space to attract future talent, and this is even more necessary with hybrid work:
"The office is the place where the company culture lives. It is an HR lever to attract the best talent. It's essential to think of all solutions around the office to maximize the experience offered and facilitate formal and informal exchanges despite the distance."
Events are a way to create moments of life between employees, whether they are teleworkers or not, to maintain the link. In-house as well as with its clients, Kymono focuses on the design of offices, the organization of events and the setting up of rituals to facilitate meetings:
"Face-to-face time and rituals are essential to breaking the ice and fostering conversation, especially for hybrid workers."
Capucine specifies that in the case of a multi-site operation, it is crucial to think about all the offices by adapting the rituals and having the different geographically distant teams meet regularly.
➡️ To go further: Which office in 2023? Discover our white paper realized with Stuart, Leosquare and Yamanja!
Once the values are defined and the culture is alive, it is important to materialize it. Formalizing the culture will allow it to be effectively transmitted to the teams and to newcomers :
"Companies need to materialize their culture to strengthen the sense of belonging and allow employees and new hires to better understand the DNA and values that drive the organization. This can be done through workshops and what we call a Culture Book. It's a transparent guide that's accessible to all teams that brings together all the elements that define the company's culture."
To reinforce the corporate culture, each employee must be an actor of the latter. Everyone must feel involved and be able to propose actions to bring it to life. At Kymono, culture is perceived as an authentic and collective experience that must be shared:
"Everyone must be a player in the culture. We have allocated a budget so that employees can propose concrete actions to make it their own."
Giving teams the opportunity to get involved in the life of the company means creating a collective dynamic that mobilizes all employees behind the organization's projects.
To sum up, the shoemakers are not always the worst shod! Kymono is proof thata corporate culture should not be left to chance. On the contrary, it must be carefully thought out according to the values that drive the organization, the company's raison d'être and identity, as well as its rituals.
The applications Capucine receives every month to join Kymono are proof that an authentic corporate culture can make all the difference in an HR strategy. In a context where the war for talent is raging, it' s essential to take into account employees' expectations : strong culture, flexibility, remote work and flex office in particular!
➡️ If you are looking for more flexibility in the daily life of your employees, discover our guide!
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