We are so cultured

This morning I read an interesting blog post from the New York Times about what makes a hospital great. Given that we work a great deal in health care, I was particularly interested in understanding what helps build a good reputation in the health care industry. What I learned was not only surprising, but also applicable to industries across the board.

So, what makes a great hospital?

According to Pauline W. Chen, M.D., who authored the post, one of the biggest factors is organizational culture. Dr. Chen points to a study that was released earlier this week that revealed a link between positive patient outcomes and investment in the culture of the organization itself. The results of the report show that high performing hospitals had clear organization values and goals as well as high levels of involvement of senior management, communication and coordination among groups.

As I was learning about the large role that culture plays in building a good reputation, it dawned on me that the concept likely reaches far beyond hospitals into a number of other industries (including communications and public relations).

Office culture isn’t something we take lightly here at SE2. It’s something that we (dare I say, smartly) invest time and energy into building and take great pride in. And I believe that the investment pays off, just as it does for hospitals.

When SE2 staffers were polled about our office culture, responses ran the gamut from, “sad” and “hungry – literally and figuratively,” to “that question makes me uncomfortable.” That just goes to show what a sarcastic, hilarious and downright brilliant bunch we have working at SE2.

In all honesty, SE2 has built an organization that values teamwork and balances old fashioned hard work with fun. The culture at SE2 breeds an office full of creativity, innovative storytelling and problem solving, which comes through in all our work.

What about your company’s culture makes it successful?