employwise webinars-building a strong corporate culture

©2011 Global Groupware Solutions Ltd.© 2011 Global Groupware Solutions Ltd.

Employee Performance Management

Building A Strong Corporate Culture

Sumeet KapurCEO, Global Groupware Solutions Ltd.December 8, 2011


Sumeet KapurFounder & CEOGlobal Groupware Solutions Ltd.

• Apart from overall leadership of the company, leads marketing, sales & customer success teams and provides HR domain expertise for EmployWise™ product design

• B. Com, University of Delhi, PGDBM (MBA) from XLRI, Jamshedpur • Serial entrepreneur with 23+ years experience in IT industry• Previously worked with Tata Unisys (since merged with TCS) and Wipro

Systems• Co-founded Chipsoft Technology a multi-vendor IT support services

company in 1990 • Founded Global Groupware Solutions Ltd. In 1999• Pioneered SaaS in India by launching Smiles™ CRM in 2001 and now

EmployWise™ in 2008


What is a Corporate’s Culture

• Shared experiences, values, norms, assumptions and beliefs that shape individual and group behaviour

• Every organization has a culture; strong or weak, good or bad• It’s culture determines the way that people interpret,

think/feel and respond to situations and events


Visible and Invisible Elements of Culture


Dimensions of Culture

• Innovation: We love change vs. Follow the rule-book • Power & Authority: Centered around a few vs. Empowering

the Individual• Risk-taking: Last-to-jump vs. Bet-the-company• Individualism vs. collectivism : Organisation is all that

matters vs. Employees welfare driven


What Makes a Corporate’s Culture• Origins: Where and who • Geography: Society to which the company belongs

– Norms and values: Power distance, Attitude-to-risk, Individualism vs. collectivism and Aggressiveness

• People: Mind-sets, history and values. Individual but also groups formal and informal

• Leadership Behaviour: single most important factor in driving culture

• Even if not engineered a culture develops – Adapting to external environment; and – Internal “social structures” driven by personalities– Growth: Org size, stature in Industry


Building a Strong Corporate Culture

• A strong cultures help firms operate like well-oiled machines, cruising along with outstanding execution as people think and respond similarly

• A strong culture is not necessarily good!• A positive culture enables people to think, deliver their best,

be happy and stay longer • Build a strong culture but also build a good culture

– In a company with a strong and positive Where culture is strong—people do things because they believe it is the right thing to do

• Building a strong corporate culture…


Step #1: Decide What do you want to be?• Leaderships values • Strategic business objectives• Time horizon• Culture’s “Purpose”


Step #2: Articulate The Culture

• Mission: Why we exist?• Values: What do stand for? Shareholders, Customers,

Employees and Community


Step #3: Re-engineer for the Culture

• Control systems: Promoting your values• Org Structures: Levels, hierarchies, reporting lines• Power structures: Who calls the shots, delegation levels, • Traditions, rituals and symbols


Step #4: Live it

• Lead by example. Leaders must walk-the-talk• Don’t hire culture misfits• Fire for culture destruction• Create stories that get remembered and handed-down


How do you know you have it?

• Your corporate culture is a living thing and it lives each moment through what your people say and how they act.

• Judge your culture from the way it is understood and expressed by a newcomer. What she actually observes is what you will hear


Changing The Corporate Culture

• Hard to put in, harder to change• Strong cultures outlast products, services customers, leaders

and founders


Thank you!

I would be happy to exchange ideas and take questions anytime. Please write to me at [email protected]

Our Next Webinar:“Leveraging HR Technology to Meet Challenges of 2012” by Jaskaran Khurana and Yu Yu Din on December 15, 2011