Ask an Expert with Hibu: Chief Human Resources Officer Angie Corcoran talks Company Culture

On this episode of Ask an Expert with Hibu, we asked our CHRO Angie how local business owners can build a strong company culture, keep employees engaged, hire the right people, and create a positive employee experience that carries over to their customers and supports long-term business growth.

Angie also touches on what company culture means to Hibu and how it helps us better serve our local business clients.

Check out the full video below!

[Transcript]
 

Angie Corcoran
 

Angie 00:05
Hi there, I'm Angie Corcoran, Chief Human Resources Officer at Hibu, and in this episode of Ask an Expert with Hibu, we're talking about the connection between company culture, employee engagement, and business growth.
 

[On-Screen Question: How would you describe the company culture in your own words?] 00:20
 

Angie Corcoran 00:26
So, I would say that company culture is how people experience the company every day. So not at all the posters on the wall or the values that are written on a website. It's really how people treat each other and how leaders communicate. So, it's how you recognize people, I would say how you handle different situations, how you make decisions, and really most importantly, and this is the important part, right? What happens when nobody else is watching. So, it's really about what you reward, what you tolerate, and what you model as a leader.
 

[On-Screen Question: If a local business only has a handful of employees, where would they start building their culture?] 01:08
 

Angie 01:16
Yeah, so, I mean, I would just keep in mind that culture isn't something that just happens magically when you reach a certain size. So, when you only have a handful of employees, I feel like you have a really decent advantage because you can be very intentional about your culture and really build it from the ground up. So, I would start by asking myself, like, what do you want it to feel like to work here?

And then make sure your team understands what's important to you as a business owner or leader. So, it might be teamwork or customer service. Maybe it's flexibility, accountability. Do you want your team to have fun? Are you, you know, concerned and want a lot of focus on growth and development? So, whatever those things are, you have to ensure that your team knows and sees you living and modeling it. So, it's not created by what leaders do… So, let me say that another way. Culture is created by what leaders do, not by what they put on a poster or write in an employee handbook. So, keep it simple. You don't need a big HR department or a long list of values or a really complicated culture program. It's really about how you treat people, how you communicate, and how you recognize good work, and how you show up as a leader every day.
 

[On-Screen Question: What’s the biggest mistake local business owners make when trying to build a positive company culture?] 02:43
 

Angie 02:50
So, I think the biggest mistake you can make is thinking culture is something that you can announce instead of something you have to consistently demonstrate. Like you can't walk in the door one morning and say, “We're gonna have a great culture today,” right? So, a business owner might say, “We're family,” or “We have a great culture,” or again, put that list of values on the wall. But your culture really shows up in the day-to-day experience of the employees. So how does the owner communicate with people? How do they make decisions? What happens when someone makes a mistake? Are you recognizing people for doing a great job? And are you listening to your employees when they have an idea or concern?

I think another common mistake is just making it too complicated. So, you don't really need a huge culture initiative. Your employees are watching what you do more closely than they're listening to what you say. And if your actions consistently match the culture that you're trying to create, people are gonna feel it. And if they don't, they're gonna feel that too.

[On-Screen Question: What are some low-cost ways to improve employee engagement?] 04:02
 

Angie 04:10
So, I mean at the end of the day, people generally really wanna know three things, right? Does my work matter? Does my manager care about me? And do I have the opportunity to grow here? And you know, you can make a meaningful difference in all three of those areas without spending a lot of money. Engagement really comes down to how people feel at work, and whether they feel seen and heard and really appreciated. So, you know, one of the simplest things a leader can do is really recognize people more often. And that can be as simple as saying, “Hey, I noticed what you did on this project, and it really made a difference.” 

If you want to take it up a notch, one thing that I have done is I have sent cards to employees' homes thanking them and commending them for their efforts. And I have even sent cards to spouses or parents recognizing the hard work of the employees. You know, that teeny tiny bit of recognition can really go a long way. 

I think communication is another one, right? Just keep people informed. Ask for their ideas and listen to what they have to say. If employees feel like their opinions matter, then they're much more likely to feel committed and connected to the business.
 

[On-Screen Question: How do you hire for attitude and culture fit rather than just experience?] 05:31
 

Angie 05:38
Yeah, I think it's really easy to confuse experience with potential. And, you know, as a hiring manager, you really have to keep in mind that experience is really only one piece of the puzzle. So, you know, you can be looking at a perfect resume and that person may still not be the right person for your organization. 

So, when I'm hiring someone personally, I'm looking for things like, you know, is the individual curious? Are they resilient? What's their accountability look like? And how are they gonna treat other people?

And you know, really looking at how might they respond when some something doesn't necessarily go their way. And how they talk about past challenges. You know, are they willing to learn? The ownership, to me, is a huge thing. And how does it appear they will fit in with the rest of the team? Because I want people to join my team who are going to share the values that are important to the organization, but, you know, I'm also gonna hire people with different experiences, perspective. I definitely want people with different experiences, perspectives, and ideas. I want to bring them to the table. So, you know, one way that I do that, and I think this is really important, is when I'm interviewing candidates for my team, I love using behavioral interview questions.

As an example, instead of asking somebody, “Are you a team player?” Because let's face it, everybody's going to say, “Yeah, sure, I'm a team player.” But instead, I'll ask the question, “Tell me about a time you had a disagreement with a teammate. What was the situation, and how did you resolve it?” Or “Tell me about a time you made a mistake. What was that mistake? How did you take ownership? And ultimately fix the mistake?” You get a much better insight from a story than you will from a simple yes or no question. 

So, you know, and I'll just say, you know, one more thing on this point. You can absolutely teach somebody a system, you can teach them about your products, about your processes. It's much harder to teach somebody joining your team how to care, how to take ownership, or how to treat people. 

So, when I have to choose between someone with a perfect resume and someone who has the attitude and behaviors that align with our values here at Hibu, I'm gonna pay really close attention to that second person.
 

[On-Screen Question: Do you think company culture impacts customer service?] 08:21
 

Angie Corcoran 08:28
I absolutely believe the employees' experience becomes the customer's experience. So, I think employees are your culture in action. So, if people at work feel valued, if they feel respected, supported, connected to the business, that tends to show up in how they treat customers. So, they're gonna be more likely to go the extra mile and care about the experience they're creating. 

And it also works the other way, right? So, if you have an environment where employees are constantly frustrated, or communication is poor, or people don't feel appreciated, it's super difficult to consistently deliver a great customer experience. So, you can have the best customer service policy in the world, but if your employees aren't engaged, that policy probably isn't going to mean very much. 

So, if you treat your employees the way that you want them to treat your customers, you're much more likely to see that behavior passed along to the customer. So, you know, and I guess the last thing I'll say on this topic is, you know, if you want your customers to love doing business with you, you should start by making your employees love being part of the business. So, I believe there is a really direct connection between those two experiences.

[On-Screen Question: How does employee satisfaction influence customer satisfaction?] 09:57
 

Angie 10:04
Yeah, you know, that that's a really great question. And, you know, I would say that, you know, to my point earlier, happy, engaged employees are more likely to create happy, engaged customers. 

So, you know, as a customer, I know my personal experience when I walk into a business, you can tell when someone genuinely enjoys what they're doing and when they care about helping you. And you can also tell when someone is just going through the motions.

But I do think that it goes beyond being happy. So, employees need to feel like they have a purpose, and they need to feel or understand how their role impacts the customer. So, when people can see that connection, then suddenly their work becomes more meaningful. So, you know, an engaged workforce is gonna lead to increased retention and consistency matters to customers.

So, they're gonna build relationships with your people, your customers are, and those customers know what kind of experience they're gonna get when they come back if that consistency exists. So again, if you take care of your people, they're much more likely to take care of your customers.
 

[On-Screen Question: How does strong culture help businesses outperform competitors?] 11:23
 

Angie 11:29
I think that culture influences how people show up every day. And again, ultimately that's gonna influence how the business performs. So, it also helps a lot with attracting and retaining talent. So, in a competitive labor market, people and candidates have choices about where they want to work, and a company with a strong reputation and a positive employee experience can have a real advantage when it comes to bringing good people into the organization and keeping them. 

So, you know, I think the key here is that your competitors can, you know, try to copy your products, your pricing, or even your technology, but culture is a lot harder to copy. So, the way your employees work together, the way they solve problems, the way they treat customers, like we talked about earlier, and the way they represent your company really becomes part of what makes your business different and therefore becomes part of your competitive advantage.
 

[On-Screen Question: What business metrics improve when culture improves?] 12:38
 

Angie 12:46
Yeah, so you know, this is tough, right? Because I think culture itself might be difficult to put into a number. But I think things that are the result of a stronger culture absolutely can show up in business metrics. So, you know, one that, you know, top of mind for me, of course, is employee turnover and retention. So, when people feel connected to the organization and valued for their contributions, you generally have a better chance of keeping good employees around. So having lower turnover and that has a real financial impact because recruiting, hiring, and training employees is expensive, and training their replacements is expensive. 

So, you know, you can also look at productivity and performance. So, are people getting more done? Are teams collaborating together? How fast do we complete projects? Are managers spending less time dealing with employee issues? And that gives them more time to focus on the business. 

So, I think you can also look at customer satisfaction and retention. You know, of course, engaged employees tend to take more ownership of the customer experience, and that can show up in things like you know, customer referrals and customer retention as well. 

So, you know, I think the key here is to measure culture the same way that you're measuring other parts of the business. So, you know, again, back to, are we retaining our people? Are they productive? Are our customers staying with us? Are we attracting talent? And ultimately, are we growing the business?
 

[On-Screen Question: How does Hibu’s culture help employees better serve local business clients?] 14:29
 

Angie 14:36
Yeah, I feel kind of like a broken record here. So, because I know I keep saying this, but you know, if you take care of your people, then they're more likely to take care of your customers. So, you know, local business owners are busy, so, they wear a lot of hats. And when they work with a partner like Hibu, they want to know that the people on the other end genuinely care about their business. And a strong culture helps create, I think, that kind of mindset. 

So, when Hibu employees feel supported and connected to Hibu, they bring that same level of care to our customers. So, you know, whether that means they're taking a few extra minutes to explain performance metrics to a client or proactively identifying a problem that they see on their dashboard, or they're simply being responsive when a customer calls us and needs help. I think each one of those things really helps us build trust with our client base.
 

[On-Screen Question: What’s one key lesson about culture and growth?] 15:40
 

Angie 15:46
You know, again, just kind of wrapping this all up. It, you know, it's not something you magically build after the business is successful. It’s one of the things that helps make your business successful. So, if you take care of your people, give them a reason to care about the business, create that environment where they can do their best work, they're gonna take the best care of your customers. And when your customers feel that difference, that's when you start to see the impact on loyalty, you know, reputation, and then growth of business. 

So, you know, I guess that just to wrap this up, I would leave people with this: If you want customers to love doing business with you, you have to create a place where your employees love doing business with you.