A buzzword you may have been hearing lately: Company Culture. Not that it’s new- HR was born with the cubicle- but lately, at least in my social circle, there is talk of bars in the office, pool table tournaments and office-wide happy hour. It seems that the business world is adjusting to the millennial way of thinking: Work hard play hard.

I realized in my own millennial mind how important these things are to me after reading about Why Company Culture is More Important Than Ever in an Entrepreneur article. I’ve also been experiencing this personally, while in our own office we have been taking culture quizzes and collaborating to figure out what we need our culture to look and feel like, to be most productive during the 40+ hours we spend here per week.

So what’s the formula? One part pizza to equal parts beer and summer hours?

The truth is, company culture is going to look different for everyone. As a marketing agency, and a digital one at that, we have the luxury of wearing jeans and collaborating creatively over a beer or two on Friday afternoon. Which may not be what works for a less creative industry. That doesn’t mean, however, that we should define “company culture” as the office at the end of the hallway that low-performing employees go to die.

The Answer: Listen to your employees and possibly implement a “Culture Quiz” to assess how people are feeling about their working environment (anonymous, of course). Especially if you are hiring the new wave of millennial graduates fresh off the commencement stage, they will appreciate the effort; You will have more productive and happier employees!

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