Did you know there are over 750,000 podcasts and more than 30 million episodes of podcasts online? Finding great content amongst all the noise (pun intended) can be difficult, which is why I’ve done the hard work for you!
Here are five great episodes from five great podcasts that discuss crucial elements of company culture. Whether you’re trying to understand what exactly company culture is, or you’re trying to piece together the different parts that allow you to shape and manage your company culture, you’ll find great insights in the episodes below.
The Growth Show: Cracking the culture code
If you don’t know HubSpot, they’re a marketing software company based in Boston, Massachusetts and they are BIG on culture. How big? Well, in 2013, Dhamesh Shah, HubSpot Co-Founder, published The HubSpot Culture Code: Creating A Lovable Company on Slideshare which has been viewed more than four million times to date.
HubSpot also produces content. Lots of content! Its podcast, The Growth Show, is a great resource that covers all aspects of company growth – from sales, marketing, customer service, and company culture. This particular episode that I have selected features New York Times’s best-selling author Daniel Coyle. Daniel talks about his latest work, The Culture Code, where he goes inside the world’s most successful organisations – Pixar, San Antonio Spurs, SEAL Team Six, and more – to find out what makes them tick.
Over 11 years the difference in net revenue was 756% more net revenue. So, that’s the main reason to be concerned; it actually is another word for performance. If you’re looking for people, culture is the way that they add up to more than the sum of their parts.
Daniel Coyle
Epic Culture: Employee Ambitions
If you need a short fire burst of inspiration about how to shape your company culture, look no further than the Epic Culture podcast from Josh Sweeney. Josh is passionate about understanding what makes a great company culture and sharing his discoveries with the world. Many of his podcast episodes are under ten minutes, making them ideal listening for when you’re nipping to the shops, sitting in a waiting room or doing the dishes.
Since launching his podcast in 2018, Josh has been very busy with three seasons of content already. In this episode, Josh tackles the subject of employee ambitions which can be especially difficult to handle if you’ve got a highly capable and very ambitious workforce but no career pathways in place.
Engage for Success: Internal Comms – How It Aligns With Employee Engagement
Because you are reading this blog, I am going to assume that company culture and employee engagement is important to you, therefore you need Engage for Success in your life. Engage for Success is an organisation dedicated to helping create better employee engagement for all.
They run a podcast series which is updated regularly and has a back-catalogue of over 300 episodes, so there is plenty to catch up on. I have chosen episode 246 which features Sue Palfrey, head of internal communications at The National Trust, because she does a great job describing the role of internal comms in keeping your people engaged. Check it out below.
Don’t ever underestimate the power of your people and the advantages they can give you
Sue Palfrey
CIPD: Coaching – It’s a culture thing
The Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development is the go-to professional body for HR and organisational development professionals. Their podcast library is a treasure trove of great conversations and I haven’t listened to a dull episode yet.
In this particular episode, we hear about the role of performance management in shaping culture. More specifically, we hear why annual appraisals aren’t working and why a more ongoing, feedback and coaching approach to performance management helps to create a great culture.
Talk to people. Have conversations. Move away from it being a HR thing and encourage the business at all levels, in all areas to feel like they can be contributors to whatever you move into.
Nebel Crowhurst
HBR Ideacast: Why People — and Companies — Need Purpose
My final pick comes from Harvard Business Review’s Ideacast, one of my all-time favourite podcasts. Each episode gives me something to think about and I love the conversational style that each episode brings.
In this episode, we explore the importance of purpose on culture with Nicholas Pearce, an associate professor at the Kellogg business school.
Purpose is foundational to any organization, not just to those that are explicitly out to create social good.
Nicholas Pearce
