Scaling Culture:

How to Maintain & Measure Culture While Your Company Grows

Pat Schoof, VP of HR at Udemy

Learning Objectives

• Best practices for cultivating a healthy, productive and engaged company culture

• How to successfully maintain and measure company culture through growth

Culture & The HR Pyramid• Must have buy in from the

CEO• HR strategy supports business

goals – Talent, culture, leadership– Incorporate culture and values

throughout

• Basics while building the culture

• Teams that trust each other are more productive and will achieve more results

• Trust then results versus vice versaFoundation of trust = more productive employees =

achievement of business goals

It Starts with Trust• Programs that build trust• Open communication

and transparency– Starts with the interview– New hire into – 2015 class– All Hands– Dennis & Donuts

• Daily communications– Standup meetings– Lunches – not about food

Trust is the foundation for productive teams, engaged employees, and positive culture

Culture

• First and last days• Lifecycle of employee

– Leaves, time off, life exp

• Culture club and events• Remote offices• Metrics

– Engagement Surveys– NPS– Glassdoor ratings

Culture Starts Before Day One

• Candidate experience– Candidates = customers – impress them– Experience company culture – Ensure candidates leave with a positive

impression – Follow up…..They may leave your next

Glassdoor review and spread the word

Importance of Day One

• Share background information

• Set first day schedule• Start at 10 a.m. • Welcome sign and balloon• Orientation scavenger

hunt • 30, 60-day, 6-month

check-ins• CEO new hire breakfast

Fun! Culture Club & Events

• “Speed dating” – getting to know each other

• Lunch roulette• Volunteering• Culture club• The more EE’s know each

other and trust the more productive they will be for the business!

Maintaining Culture Across Offices

• Culture in all offices• NEO, training, stand ups• International employees

– Come to San Francisco for three weeks after start

• Communication vehicles– Dennis & Donuts– Coordinated activities– Class of 2015– Need to be cognizant of culture– Wiki

Measuring: Culture, Engagement & Performance

• Behaviors not just words• Employee surveys• Nature of office space • Team building – “colors,

Myers- Briggs”• Performance review • Company values: Let’s

Go• Measure – NPS,

Glassdoor rating, turnover

Engagement Survey

• Anonymous • Share all results – the good, bad and the

ugly• Set goals • Follow through• Continue to ask – we may be good but we

want to be GREAT!

Establishing a Culture of Learning• Training and development

as a benefit• 2/3 of companies lack

formal onboarding or training

• 1/4 of employees leave a job due to a lack of training

• Companies that have a strong learning culture do better in their market then those who do not

• Learning at all levels– Self– Soft Skills– Tech Skills

• Eat your own dogfood• Set an example (top-

down)• Establish learning goals;

tie to performance reviews

• Encourage sharing (fail hashes)

Conclusion

Questions?