Simplify360 is no normal company and we wanted everyone to realize it – Bhupendra Khanal, CEO Simplify360

How important is Culture to a company?  Answer: Very Important. Yet, how many new startups or established ones care to create a culture code for their company? Bhupendra Khanal, CEO Simplify360 unveiled the Company’s Culture Code in Jan this year.This is the first Indian company to release a culture code.

Simplify360 is the World’s leading Social Business Intelligence Company. The Company serves the CMO’s office and Digital Media Agencies with Social Media Marketing Suite, and CIO’s Office and BPO Companies with Social Contact Centre.

Here’s the Culture code for all of you!

[slideshare id=29984897&doc=simplify360culturecode-140113203811-phpapp01]

Bhupendra Khanal has rich experience in Analytics field and calls himself a data person. Before starting Simplify360, Bhupendra started an Analytics Consulting Firm, Marketelligent as its founding member. He started the company in Bangalore with his friends and has grown the company to become one of India’s finest Enterprise Tech Product Companies.

Here’s a short Q & A with Bhupendra on the motivation to create a culture code and when is the right time to create a culture code.

What made you create a separate presentation on culture code, share it with all employees?

Simplify360 is no normal company and we wanted everyone to realize it. The company has a strong culture and we base it on performance and openness. This is different from how most companies function and market.

The Culture Code I presented was not about informing the employees of any change or value. It was about making them realize who we are. We have been working on this mode since the inception. Now, we have come out and made it public. We want everyone associated with simplify360 to know that we are no normal company. We are here to make a history.

How did the employees and the entrepreneur circle surrounding you react to the culture code?

I got very good feedback from the employees. They got excited about the culture code, and now team is more passionate about the company. Friends around found it amazing. Several people thanked me for being so brutally honest. Several folks felt so excited about it that they are working on their own culture code. One of my friends pinged me and said – “Indian Company talking about Culture. Good times ahead.”

Tell us 3 things which you do at Simplify360 to ensure the culture code remains what has been written in the PPT?

Simple 3 things we do:
> No compromise on failure. We have very strict hire and fire policy.
> Strict method for hiring. We hire through an extensive hiring process. Encourage referrals.
> We give responsibilities. Make people responsible for success and failure.

How do you identify if someone has not been behaving as part of your culture code, and what steps would be taken against them?

We do not wait for review cycles. Every day is a review day. If somebody is drifting away, we take up consultation and follow-up mode. We are strict on the performance and adherence that it will invite punishments that may be as harsh as firing. The situations rarely come as we do not let things go so serious.

The pressure to follow the culture code has seen some churn too, and we are happy with it. We give employees the pleasure of working with the best people in the industry, and that’s the best part of being at Simplify360. The motivation and cultural adherence is thus ensured by everyone and the enforcement is not limited to the management team.

When is the correct time to set up a Culture code for a startup?

Culture needs to be implanted on Day 0. You can change product or teams. Culture cannot be changed once set-up.
Bad culture can be so fatal that it can completely ruin the company. So no waiting for the right time. Right time is NOW!

TTP appreciates Bhupendra for being so candid and bringing out a very important but underrated concept of Culture into the frontseat of Company’s performance. Time to get thinking on your Startup’s Culture code!