Insights for ecommerce hiring managers: company culture

Welcome to the first of our 2020 ecommerce hiring manager insights blogs! For the first of the series, we've decided to look at one of the most important topics in any industry or business...company culture!

In our 2020 ecommerce salary survey & insights report, questions about company culture play a huge part every year. With an industry as fast paced as ecommerce, it's important to see how the people feel when it comes to workplace happiness - of course, the culture and environment they work in contribute to this happiness. 

The importance of ecommerce hiring managers understanding company culture 

As an ecommerce hiring manager, what do you think the most important approach to company culture is? Would it be to create an appealing culture that attracts new ecommerce talent or have an environment that current employees can thrive in and enjoy? The answer is both of these...they go hand in hand. You shouldn't have to create or convey a 'cool and enjoyable' company culture if the staff you have already think it is. 

In our questionnaire for the salary survey report, we asked two key questions surrounding company culture.

• Do you feel company culture is a priority in your current company?
• What do you feel makes a great company culture? (A brand new and important question!)

Before we reveal what our respondents shared, why not answer these questions yourself? As a manager, will your ideas of a great company culture match what people had to say? 

Do you feel company culture is a priority in your company? 

In 2019, more respondents answered no to this question...51% to be exact. It was a close vote, with the remaining 49% saying they did feel it was a priority. Ideally, we would want to see those saying yes to sit in the majority. Has it changed this year?

• Yes, company culture is a priority in my current role: 54%
• No, not enough is being done to prioritise a better company culture: 46%

It is promising to see the majority switch this year, though it's still not a huge majority. There are still a significant number of people in the ecommerce industry who simply don't feel their company is working on the culture.

TIP: As a manager, have you ever asked this question? It's often beneficial to sit down not only with the team, but with each individual also. Get an idea of how everyone feels and it can help identify issues you might not have even been aware of.

What do you feel makes a great ecommerce company culture?

Every individual will have an ideal environment that they would thrive in - but when asked as a collective, what do ecommerce industry professionals think are the key factors in a great company culture? (Note: we invited respondents to pick their top 3, so totals below do not equal 100.)

As we can see, honesty & transparency tops the poll - this isn't just for managers to demonstrate, but to encourage this from their employees too. Have a look through this list...do any options stand out as something the ecommerce leadership team is doing well? Perhaps there is something there you hadn't thought about and could work on further. As these insights come directly from ecommerce professionals, it's important to take them seriously.

Is ecommerce company culture a priority for you?

2020 has seen the working world change drastically. Now, more than ever, the wellbeing and happiness of employees should be a top priority. As ecommerce has played such a pivotal role during the global crisis, making sure employees are handling the pressure is likely to become a regular task for managers.

Stay tuned for the next insights for ecommerce hiring managers entry, coming very soon. While you wait, you can download a full copy of the 2020 report below.