It’s Time to Let Go of Your (Business) Traditions

They may offer comfort, but they often deter the changes required for greater fulfillment and success - especially in business.

Recently, on the Your Edge podcast, I spoke about how your organization's culture directly affects your employees' ability to support customers - how your values influence employee actions.

Well, this spurred some conversations about whether it's more important to invest in your organization's culture for the sake of your customers or your employees.

Here's my take: your employees aren't going to be able to support customers if they don't feel fully supported by you. They need to be happy with where they are in their careers, invested in the work they're doing, and committed to your company.

So, while your organization's values may speak to how employees should work together to meet customers' needs, living those values can be challenging if they're too rooted in "tradition."

What do I mean by that?

It's probably best I point you to a recent Forbes Council article:

HR Leaders Must Look Beyond Tradition to Encourage Employee Success

This video also helps explain why it's so important to review, and possibly redefine, your company's purpose statement and values if it's been a while since you've done so - if you expect them to mean anything:

I know it can be easy to get stuck in a comfort zone as individuals or organizations. However, it's important that we don't get so hung up on tradition that we hold ourselves back from growth opportunities. If you're worried about how changes to your company purpose statement and values could impact your ability to carry a strong legacy forward, know that I had those same concerns. Do we risk losing ourselves if we change?

I can tell you from personal experience that the answer is, "no." We haven't lost sight of who we are at Zebra, nor diminished our 50+ year reputation as a trusted advisor and problem-solver in the tech industry, simply by defining our purpose statement and redefining our values. If anything, we've strengthened our reputation with employees and customers and set ourselves up to fortify our legacy for years to come.

So, make sure that your purpose statement and values resonate with both your employees and customers. Look beyond your traditions to ensure the most important people to your business feel seen, heard, respected, and supported.

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What to Listen to Next:

Ask the Expert: "Can a Good Company Culture Improve My Bottom Line, As Some People Claim?"

What does a "good" company culture look like? And does a good culture really influence customers' perception of your company - or purchases from your company - or just employees' perceptions? Zebra's Chief People Officer weighs in.

Jeff Schmitz became Chief People Officer in March 2023. He has more than 30 years of experience in technology, engineering and marketing, and he joined Zebra Technologies in 2016.

In his previous role as Chief Marketing Officer, Jeff launched Zebra's award-winning PartnerConnect program and led the company's first major brand refresh. In 2020, Jeff also took on the role of Chief Human Resources Officer. As CMO/CHRO, he focused on attracting, retaining and developing top talent and creating opportunities for growth and development within Zebra's inclusive culture and diverse workforce, and he continues to focus on these areas today as Chief People Officer.

Prior to joining Zebra, Jeff served as General Manager and held other leadership roles at Spirent Communications, Visual Networks and Tellabs. He has a master's degree in computer science from the Illinois Institute of Technology and a bachelor's degree in electrical engineering and computer science from Marquette University. In addition, he is the executive sponsor of Edge, Zebra's Millennial and Gen Z Employee Resource Group.