“Company Culture” is more than a buzzword thrown about for the cool factor! Your company culture impacts every fine detail of your vacation rental company, right down to your bottom line and the success (and perception) of your brand.
Ultimately, your company culture is how you put your core values, beliefs and ethics into practice as a company – internally with your on-site and remote team and with your interactions with the outside world, and guests.
Everything your company does reflects your company culture. Culture is the personality and vibe of your brand. This includes how you structure and conduct business, the work environment created for your team, and the experience you offer guests before, during and after their stay.
It’s so much more than craft beer in the conference room and team-building events! Creating a strong company culture requires building a brand with a strong foundation, empowering your team to be the best versions of themselves, and welcoming strangers into your homes who become brand advocates, and return as loyal guests.
Define your Company Culture
Like all other aspects of your business, cultivating a company culture takes time and requires strategic planning. Every company is unique – begin by establishing your core values and beliefs as a company, define your vision for your brand, create a culture mission statement (credo) that sets clear expectations – and execute!
Company culture is not formed overnight and is shaped (and nurtured) by leadership. The core values of your leadership team molds company culture, leading by example and setting the tone and benchmark for team conduct, attitude and service excellence.
Articulate your values and visions clearly to your entire team – the bottom line takes care of itself when the whole team has a clear understanding of the company vision and are committed to the same standards of service excellence at every interaction with your brand.
Attract, Align & Empower Your Team
The hospitality industry has a higher employee turnover rate than most industries and attracting and retaining employees can be tough. Align your hiring process and talent acquisition strategies with your company culture. Core values and culture are difficult to change, but skills can always be taught! A strong culture keeps your team aligned (and gives you competitive advantage for hiring top talent!), and a team that understands and embraces your company culture and vision from the get-go will lead your business from strength to strength.
A strong company culture starts at the top so have a clear communication strategy, setrealistic expectations for your team, and create a workplace culture that empowers your staff to be the best version of themselves. Your team must be able to share ideas, express opinions without fear, build on their strengths (despite their weaknesses!) and unleash their full potential.
Each and every team member within your company forms part of the bigger vision and are jointly responsible for executing an enhanced guest experience. Not everyone you interview (or hire!) will be the right fit for your company culture. So, have firm strategies in place to identify and deal with problems as they arise and avoid issues that result in low morale and create a toxic work environment.
A team that is aligned, inspired, respected, and appreciated are always willing to go the extra mile, extend hospitality and offer the best possible experience for your guests and owners.
Enhance the Guest Experience
Hospitality is all about how we make our guests feel! Did the experience with your brand leave them refreshed, rejuvenated, recharged and ready to leave a rave review? Or, did they deal with the brunt of a disgruntled employee who’s not aligned with your dynamic company culture?
A strong company culture translates to an enhanced guest experience at every touch point with your brand. Is your team offering your guests the best experience your destination offers?
Retaining Company Culture in a Virtual World
A healthy and high-performing culture is also adaptable and open to new ideas! Times change, as Covid taught us, and those companies that were adaptable, agile and forward thinking survived, and emerged from the Covid crisis stronger,
Connection is a huge part of company culture and while some have returned to “work as usual” others have downscaled, given up office space and switched to a hybrid or virtual work model. This automatically creates a shift in company culture and the need to make conscious connection and social interaction a workplace ritual. Additionally, this will create stability and a sense of belonging, and set clear expectations and boundaries for a remote workforce.
Casago Company Culture – Experience, Excellence & Professionalism
Our Orange Credo program was designed specifically as a uniform way to express our company culture. At Casago, we put the client first and foremost, aim to build and nurture professional relationships with our owners and guests that transcends business, and perform with professionalism to a standard of excellence.
O for Owner Centric:
We are your advocate. We will make all decisions based on your best interest. We are the steward of your property and will be overtly transparent, offer respect and honesty and expect the same. We will build a professional relationship that transcends business.
R for Renters:
The renter is our personal guest. We will treat them with genuine hospitality. They are away from home and look to us to be their host. We will see to it that they are comfortable, safe and cared for.
A for Anticipate:
We will anticipate and plan for the wants and needs of our owners and guests. We will empathize with each person we interact with and see the situation through their eyes. We will do anything we can to assure the highest level of customer care.
N for Nurture:
We will nurture the relationships that we have with the owners and guests that we meet. We will never lose their confidence. We understand that trust is the basis for our relationship. We will always follow up, be transparent and communicate warmly and personably.
G for Guide:
We will build teams with our coworkers. We will treat each other with respect and dignity. We will show professional courtesy and hold each other to the ORANGE standard of care.
E for Excellence:
We will perform our jobs with excellence. We will seek ways to improve our performance and the performance of the company. When we see something that is not performed to a standard that we are proud of we will stop, immediately fix it and communicate the solution to our teams.
Cultivating a healthy company culture takes time and commitment, and we are proud of our culture. The Casago Team meets daily to share praise and positive reviews, highlight one of our core company values, hold each other accountable to the ORANGE standard of care, and engage with industry experts to stay ahead of the game in the vacation rental industry.
