People and Culture
January 6, 2025
10 min read
The Innovantage podcast is mainly focused on technology and its importance for businesses. But tech innovation is not the only driving force that helps to achieve new heights. While concentrating too much on digital tools and advanced solutions, quite often we can forget that the core element of any business today is people.
This episode of the Innovantage podcasts is quite different from all the previous ones. It is focused not on technology but on people. The host of the podcast Maxim Golikov, who is also the CBDO at Sigli, invited Nina Pivavarchyk to his studio. As the Head of People and Culture at Sigli, Nina has outstanding experience in working with people and communicating business values to them by means of a strong corporate culture.
Today, we can observe a growing trend of introducing People and Culture-related positions at companies across different industries. However, the issue is that many companies do this without a clear understanding of what such positions really mean and try to change their HR into People and culture specialists.
In a very broad sense, for the majority of people, HR jobs are about administrative processes, paperwork, and sometimes also about corporate events. HR responsibilities and tasks are focused on supporting businesses and employees in their work.
People and culture jobs are about some other things. Such specialists are closer to the business. They need to understand the business goals and values. Their task is to match the goals of the business with people’s goals on the team. Quite often, the hardest (but according to Nina, the most interesting) thing is to find the right balance between these two types of goals.
If you want to better understand what such positions presuppose and what business culture is, it will be helpful to take a look at successful real-life cases.
According to Nina, Patagonia, a US-based retailer of outdoor recreation clothing, equipment, and food, is the most famous example in the People and culture community.
The philosophy of this business is described in the book written by Patagonia founder Yvon Chouinard. Its name is “Let my people go surfing” and that’s one of the key principles that the company’s culture is based on.
The company advocates sustainable growth and sustainable production of clothes. Its founders want to have people on board who share these ideas, who live active lives, and who use their products. That’s why they are building an environment where people can actually go surfing in the middle of the day at lunch if they want to because they are good at balancing work and life.
Apart from this, Patagonia has a kindergarten inside the company’s office so that children can be educated with the right values. What is really interesting is that the company already has a full Patagonian person who was raised in that kindergarten and then became a manager. This person literally grew in the company.
Another inspiring project implemented by Patagonia is related to volunteering. If employees want to go in for volunteering somewhere in a third-world country or help animals, this period will be paid for by the company.
Patagonia is a brilliant example of a business that is building its culture at all the possible layers and at all the stages of possible interaction with their potential team members. And that’s a good example to follow.
This approach will help you hire the right people. Of course, it may still happen that some specialists will fall off during the recruitment process because they don’t fit into the culture. That’s completely okay.
But if the whole employee experience is built correctly and you get the right people who strongly believe in your product and in your culture. They will feel comfortable and will be highly effective in their positions. This will let your product thrive and your company grow.
You may offer a product or a service. Or you may have just a money-oriented company. According to Nina, it doesn’t actually matter for building your culture. You just need to be honest about your values and help people feel a part of your business.
One of the negative consequences of not having a well-built culture is micromanagement. When a company doesn’t hire the right people, such people are not passionate or motivated about what they are doing. As a result, all that managers can do is to control their employees at every step.
It’s very important to highlight that belief in some values has nothing in common with people’s nationalities. As Max mentioned, people from different nationalities can share your values and you can work with these people highly effectively. At the same time, you can have people from the same nationality but they won’t be able to find common ground because of different values. And that’s where a very hostile work environment can be created.
The process of hiring doesn’t actually start with the resume. It starts with your business brand. Before applying for a job, people usually study your corporate page and social media accounts. If they see that their values do not coincide with yours, it’s highly likely that they will look for other vacancies.
Nina said that a part of her job as the Head of People and culture is to make sure that the external brand of the company and internal culture actually match and that the company is not lying about what’s happening out there.
It’s vital not to oversell your brand. Otherwise, people will join your company, get disappointed, and leave you. This can cost you really much because you have already invested in recruitment, onboarding, and other related processes.
It’s better to invest in your brand and to clearly show people from the very beginning what you believe in and what you are striving for.
A resume is just a technical part of hiring. Nina explained that at Sigli, they also focus on a screening process. It includes speaking with candidates about different cases and real-life situations to see how they can react to them. This process helps to reveal people’s values that navigate them in decision-making.
The probation period is a two-way street where people and their employers should try to detect whether their values match.
Employees should see if they want to grow in the given company or not.
At the same time, employers can also make a lot of valuable conclusions. During 3 months of probation, it’s quite impossible to measure the exact value that employees can bring back. But you can analyze how people act in certain situations and define whether they are a good fit for your team.
Culture is something that is really hard to measure and explain. But there are a lot of theories about it.
Nina mentioned the iceberg model of culture introduced by Edward T. Hall. This model is applicable not only to corporate culture but to culture in general.
According to this theory, there are the following layers of any culture:
We are accustomed to hearing about product management in the context of software development.
However, according to Nina, this concept can be applicable everywhere. In her job, she is also building her product. In this case, it is culture. The users of this product are employees.
Building this product is a very long-term story if you really want to affect the business.
You need to have metrics that will show you your progress and define any points that can be enhanced. You should be ready to implement several iterations (just like in software development) and even change your projects completely if they are not relevant anymore and your priorities are changed.
Let’s be honest, it’s impossible to quantify culture on its own. It can be considered only in relation to people. There are a lot of metrics that can be applied. However, there is no sense in defining just one that will be the most important for everyone because everything depends on your business goals.
Quite often, it is said that turnover and retention are very significant indicators as they demonstrate how many people are leaving and how many people are staying.
Nevertheless, there are a lot of types of businesses where turnover is okay and it even helps companies to develop their products.
Some experts recommend focusing on the so-called revenue per head which shows how much money each employee generates for the company. In this context, it is also necessary to calculate how much you invested in each employee and how fast this money returned to you.
Apart from this, there is also a net promoter score. It will help you see the readiness of employees to recommend your business to others. This is a very popular metric but it may not be appropriate for every business.
On the one hand, the culture is initially built by the founders and executives of each company. On the other hand, the role of people shouldn’t be underestimated.
It’s vital to understand what your employees think about your company, how they apply your values, and how they act.
Surveys, interviews, and simple observations will help you to see whether you are on the right way. Quite often open communication with employees helps managers define the need for changes.
Feedback is important for executives to get insights. But it is also important for employees. When you ask for their opinions (and are ready to implement changes based on them), people see that they can be heard and understood correctly.
Hiring is often a balancing act. It’s quite a common situation when job seekers face rejection after rejection, lowering their expectations with each one. In the end, they are ready to take almost any position.
At the same time, companies may also find themselves in urgent hiring situations where values and culture fit take a back seat. The goal to fill the role becomes their priority.
This dynamic often leads to mismatched expectations and poor outcomes for both parties.
Finding a company that aligns with your personal values and culture requires intentional effort. It’s not just about the job. It is also about understanding what matters to you. And with this knowledge, you need to seek organizations that share those values.
The hiring process should not be static. Companies must continuously promote their culture, even when no positions are available. Internal ambassadors can help to share the company’s vision, values, and brand. Thanks to this, when the right position opens, the right candidates will already be familiar with the organization.
For many candidates, financial pressures drive the need to prioritize income. However, it’s essential to avoid putting all your time and energy into work. This imbalance can lead to burnout and toxic environments. To reduce such risks, Nina recommended finding something that can help you renew your energy. For some people, it can be communication with family, or some hobbies, or traveling, or just watching Netflix.
Though building communication with your managers and co-workers is important, Nina highlighted that a company is not a family. Families provide unconditional support, whereas companies are professional environments with business objectives. Knowing when to separate from a role is vital to your personal well-being.
At the same time, human connection cannot be underrated. Even if you see that you don’t fit the position but your goals align with it, it is still worth communicating with your potential employer about it. Though it doesn’t always happen, theoretically, positions can be modified or new ones can be created for people who can bring real value to the business.
No machine or algorithm can replace the importance of human relationships. The hiring process is about humans connecting with humans and when these people share the same values, it can be the beginning of a very exciting journey for both parties.
Yes, as we all know, technology is changing the business world today. But the same can be said about people. We are not only changing this space. We are also shaping it. And our future greatly depends on our decisions today.
Want to learn more about the latest innovations that are coming into our lives today? Do not miss the next episodes of the Innovantage podcast where Max Golikov will invite new guests to talk about business, technologies, and people.
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