The Indoctrination of Corporate Culture

This post is part of the Guest Blog Grand Tour over at Life Without Pants – an epic two-month journey of over 50 guest posts. Want to learn more about Matt Cheuvront & see how far the rabbit hole goes? Subscribe to the Life Without Pants RSS feed & follow him on Twitter to keep in touch!

Jobs are a funny thing, aren’t they? Think about all of the jobs you’ve had up until this point. Odds are there were ups and downs, good times and bad. Maybe you’ve quit, been laid off, moved around, tried new things, done your own thing, the works.

What’s it like on the first day starting a new gig? Odds are you have a lot of paperwork to get through, you meet the team you’ll be working with, and then, as a final stamp of approval, you get handed a lovely company manual – full of procedures and protocols you’re expected to follow. I have several stacked under an uneven table leg – at least they’re good for something right?

The companies that “get it” know that, from a very early point, they need to instill the beliefs and practices of the business onto their staff members. Basically catching them before freedom is recognized.

I worked a job where this was taken to the absolute extreme – a company where management had to be laughing all the way to the bank because, in a sense, they had brainwashed the team. People came in ridiculously early, everyone wanted to be the last person to leave, and when someone came up with a unique or innovative idea, it was almost blanked out of memory ala Men In Black.

Call it poor work ethic or maybe just the yearning for creativity and a life outside of work, but I never fit in as a cog in this system. I knew pretty early on that the job wouldn’t be a long term solution.

On one hand, I understand why this works. If a company has been around, they know for the most part what works and what doesn’t work – and over time develop processes to automate everything as much as possible. But my question is, does this “automation” and “indoctrination” of the company have a negative effect? Are you hurting yourself more than helping by limiting innovation and ingenuity from your team? Does it depend on the particular company?

The key for me is to continue working in and always seek out career opportunities that let me be me. I’ll never be the type of person who’s good at being someone I’m not, even for the sake of money and business.

What about you? How would you balance the fine line between the establishment of “standard procedures” while welcoming innovation from your team members?

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Jordan

I'm running into this issue from a slightly different angle. Having chosen a career path that has me working in local government, I'm not swimming in the corporate culture that you're writing about, but a bureaucratic culture that leads to many of the same results. I'm lucky to be working in a small department where new ideas are encouraged, but still face a seemingly endless ladder of committees who like to zap alternative ideas with their Han Solo-edition blasters.

Recently, I've been allowed to foray into the world of social media as the voice of our department and have found this to be a potentially great environment for creativity from my position. I'm wondering if you have any thoughts on maintaining a creative outlet within a bureaucracy.
Bryna

I'm really fortunate that I work at a small agency, where I'm encouraged to be myself. That doesn't mean I don't come up against those who are used to doing things 'by the book.' However, in the creative field, policies and procedures are more loosely implied--especially when you only have four co-workers.

Last week we actually sat down and had an amazing discussion about our space, our jobs, our clients, and how we want to proceed in the new year, to foster our own creativity, thus giving our clients the best possible work. It was fuelled by my visit to an awesome, mid/large sized marketing firm in Toronto. In a small town it's easy to get stuck in a rut, and I felt we were going in that direction after seeing what amazing, vibrant work was being done elsewhere. My colleagues agreed, and we devised some new strategy, goals, and a 'wish list' for ourselves. It was such a fun experience! I'm very fortunate to be able to start that kind of conversation--especially as the newbie :)
TaraPerson

Great post Matt! I agree with @JGoldsborough about putting "orientation" in the hands of co-workers. I think new employees are more likely to trust what they are telling them. I'm not too sure about the "Sprint Space" concept. As a new employee, I don't think I would feel comfortable asking questions in an open forum. (I've worked in a corporate culture where questions were not encouraged.) As I am currently job searching for my next PR job, I am looking for a company where I can be me. Great point Matt!
Matt Cheuvront

Thanks Tara and good luck with the job hunt. I have no doubt you'll find something that fits your expectations.
LostInCheeseland

This is exactly why working in a start-up can have so many professional and personal advantages. Ideas and ingenuity are appreciated, even expected. Of course when I worked in any other company before, the pressures to fit the corporate mold were strong and implicit. Some people will search forever until they find the company or organization that allows them to be themselves. I guess I should feel lucky that for right now, I have that!
Matt Cheuvront

That's awesome that you have that Lindsey - The ability to be "me" is something that I look for in any potential career opportunity. I've had enough experience as a cog and that's not something I want as a part of my life anymore. I'm lucky to have that as well right now!
Kelli

Great post Matt! When I started this position, I had a really good feel of the corporate cultures and procedures and met/talked with future coworkers during the interview process. I was given a lot of the “first day information dump” before I was formally offered the position. It made for a long interview process but it worked because I was able to hit the ground running on my first day. I was able to voice my ideas with limited hesitation (other than the usual new job jitters) because I was already very familiar procedures and policies.
Matt Cheuvront

Great to hear Kelli - and I think that's an important thing to remember as companies interview - give people a lot of that "information overload" before you decide who would be the best to take it on. The last thing you want is a new employee overwhelmed and burned out from day one because they weren't given clear expectations.
JGoldsborough

Thanks for the post, Matt. That initial "first day" routine you described sounds like one of my least favorite words -- orientation. Always dreaded those meetings. But here's a spin on orientation I've heard a few companies use that I don't think I'd dread so much...orientation via social network. When I worked at Sprint, new employees would often post on Sprint Space asking those typical first day questions. Companies would be smart to put the orientation and culture indoctrination in the hands of their employees, because new employees are likely to trust them more and because hearing about "standard procedures" from my peers on an internal socnet doesn't seem quite so stifling to my creativity.

That said, couldn't agree more on seeking career opportunities that "let me be me." When companies pigeonhole employees into a "set" job with "set" procedures, they miss out on so much of what their employees can bring to the table. For instance, just because an employee works in HR doesn't mean he/she isn't extremely passionate about the widgets we make and couldn't be one of the brand's best advocates in the social media space.

Do you think the whole "cog ideal" versus "me being me" is a generational thing as well? Seems to me Gen Y isn't to keen on the cog idea, whereas it may have been an expectation for our parents.
Matt Cheuvront

Great points all around here - I like that approach to orientation - much better than those sexual harassment videos from the 1980's (although those are actually pretty entertaining).

I do think there is a lot of "Gen Y" in this idea of not being a cog in a system - we're labeled as a generation that wants more "meaningful" work - and I don't think there's anything wrong with that. However, there's a fine line between wanting more and being overly ambitious - losing sight of what your "place" is within a company culture. You can't become the CEO in a day - and it's important to never underestimate the value of hard work.
Christa Marzan

I just started a new job 2 months ago at a mid-size NPO, and yes, the first day was all "manuals, health care, paper work, etc." But I later found out that my coworkers and company policies were not as set in stone as I thought. Those are just first day things that you have to get out of the way- information overload! I would balance the standards and welcoming team members by sticking to the first day info overload (sorry :-/) but then, allowing the new employee to find their way around and ask questions as needed. That's been working wonderfully for me!
Matt Cheuvront

Agreed Christa. There has to be a balance here - and you hit the nail on the head - Give your employees the tools to succeed and then let them "find their own way" - at least to an extent. When you hire someone, you have to trust their ability to figure most things out on their own. Thanks for the comment!
Emily Jasper

You may have to cloak innovation in established procedures. Sometimes, as long as everything else looks familiar, you can push the envelope a little. Also, adjusting language may work. If Social Media strikes fear into the heart of executives, maybe use variations upon digital/online marketing/media. Also, one of the most successful techniques I've seen is to let people think it was their idea. Sure, that gets old after a while, but you may get progress until you get credit.
Matt Cheuvront

Great points Emily - and I think language can and does go a long way when convincing superiors and team members of new initiatives. If I go in and tell my boss I need to be tweeting all day, it sounds ridiculous - but if I can explain the benefits of integrating "social" marketing into the overall marketing mix, somehow, it makes so much more sense. It's important to consider your wording when presenting new ideas.