3 Ways to Build a Winning Company Culture with YuLife SA Founder

Company culture is the heartbeat of any successful organization. In fact, 77% of candidates tend to evaluate company culture before interviewing – and MIT found the top driver of employee turnover was linked to poor company culture.

Plus, it’s vital for attracting talent and shapes how employees interact, engage, and work.

Yet, what impacts culture can be easily overlooked and underestimated. 

The first step to building a company culture is really understanding:

What is “culture”?

What is a company culture and how do you build it

“Company culture is a set of shared values, goals, attitudes and practices that characterizes an organization,” says YuLife South Africa’s CEO, Jaco Oosthuizen. 

And sometimes, it’s the smallest practices that can have the biggest impact.

So, we asked Jaco to share not only what YuLife has done to define its culture but also how they’ve effectively implemented it. 

Here are 3 things to keep in mind as you navigate through building up a successful culture of your own:

1. Have a clearly defined mission, vision and values, and communicate them repeatedly

The foundation of a company lies in its mission, vision, and values. And how those are practiced and communicated and how often is what builds out a company’s culture. 

“The first thing which I think really makes the YuLife culture, is that our mission, our vision, and our values are clearly defined.

“Both the leadership and the people that work for us are aligned with the company's values,” he says.

Jaco and the leadership team at YuLife have exemplified this by first establishing a clear and compelling mission, as Jaco says: "To make you the best you can be and to inspire people to live their best lives." 

But this mission isn't just a statement on paper – it's a driving force that resonates throughout the organization.

Company values further cement its culture. At YuLife, the company values such as "Love being Yu, give more than you take, seek the win-win, practice gratitude, be present, be vulnerable, be open, and unlock your potential" aren't merely words – they have to be seen as the guiding principles that employees and leaders alike live by each and every day.

 “I've worked in so many organizations where the company values [are] reinvent[ed] every few months,” says Jaco. “And the leaders don't live the company values. But I can truly say that in YuLife, we are aligned to those company values – we live them on a day-to-day basis.”

Finding ways to truly have those values understood and acted upon on each level of the business is vital in solidifying the culture you want to build.

In other words: don’t just paste your values and mission on the wall – show how they’re implemented into day-to-day practices, and stick with them from start to finish. 

2. Ensure your leadership is leading by example 

Jaco highlights that one of the defining features of YuLife's culture is that the leadership team leads by example and “walks the talk”.

A big thing at YuLife is building positive engagement. A recent study from Green School of Business and Gallup says that disengaged workforces have 37%, higher absenteeism and 49% more accidents. And if a company has low engagement over time – it leads to a 65% lower share price as well.

At YuLife, the leadership team truly takes the vision they want to realize, and puts it into practice first. They aren’t just present in Zoom meetings to hear updates from teams – but they actively listen and engage to act as the guide for what they hope the rest of the company will do as well. 

The problem is many organizations have leaders who may preach certain values and expectations – like increased engagement – but fail to embody them in practice themselves.

“I've been in so many companies where, although there are values [...] the leaders just don't live it,” says Jaco.

But at YuLife, leaders aren’t afraid to take the reins and be relatable in the process. After all, if you’re relatable and take the first step toward your vision, people will feel connected enough to you and safe enough to follow.

“I've never been in an organization where people talk so openly about their own issues,” Jaco says. “It creates psychological safety for people that people can be open, and they can be transparent, and vulnerable – because we as leaders are actually giving them that opportunity to be vulnerable.”

This level of authenticity in leadership is rare and fosters trust, which is a vital ingredient for a strong company culture.

3. Build unbreakable rituals and processes that reinforce your culture

YuLife's culture is further strengthened by the rituals and processes it has in place. And it starts from the very beginning of selecting new talent. 

“When we select an employee, it's normally a long process. It's not a quick process,” says Jaco, “We really look for those people that will live the values and the culture.” 

And the process is thoughtfully designed to make employees feel welcome from the get-go. By introducing the new-hire to at least one or two of the founders, and sending welcome packages. “I think we have the best onboarding process of any company,” Jaco says.

“You’ll see, from the swag that you get, the books that we give everyone…you feel like you belong and you're part of an organization that really cares and feels like you belong.” 

Even simple weekly rituals, such as the “Monday kickoffs” and “Wednesday chats”, and “Thursday meetings” where they recognize achievements serve as touchpoints to reinforce the type of interconnected culture despite being in a remote environment. 

The culmination of these efforts results in a powerful collective identity within any company. Employees share a common purpose and are engaged in their work, which has a profound impact on any organization's success. 

YuLife’s journey serves as an inspiring example of how a well-crafted company culture can be a driving force behind realizing your company vision.

Because with the right culture in place – the possibilities of success truly are limitless.

About YuLife

YuLife is an employee benefits and wellbeing app that’s reimagining the insurance industry by protecting lives, rewarding living and inspiring life. We’re on a mission to transform traditional insurance into a life-enhancing experience each employee will value and use daily.

How does it work?

Our award-winning app uses behavioral science and game mechanics to reward your people for living well while offering protection in case of crisis. And with our top-rated employee assistance program, your team gets access to mental, financial and social support, nutritionists, life coaches and more to help them live their best lives.

Because we believe that your employees should benefit from their insurance from day one – and that wellbeing should be accessible every day, for everyone.

Request a demo for your team today.