In the same vein, enterprise is marked by its culture. From the outside looking in, it is possible to observe the wrinkles of a company’s culture. No amount of beauty cream will eliminate or dissimulate those corporate wrinkles.  What are the easiest ways to “see” these wrinkles?  Perhaps, to the untrained eye, it is difficult to observe. Here are some of the more telling ways one can detect a company’s wrinkles:

1. Read the annual report (if it’s a publicly traded company). The photograph of the management team is a great way to start. Take a close look at their faces (not to mention the diversity of the composition). Reading the text and layout — with a little experience in reading Annual Reports — you can start to see how the company functions.
2. Who and how are the employees present on-line? Do the senior managers have an online presence? How personal is that presence? Or are they absent? Do you sense they are in total control of their image or is there a more casual demeanor?
3. What do the clients say about the company? The simplest is to go and visit a store. Otherwise, you can check online. There’s bound to be a conversation or two.
4. What do ex-employees say? (Of course, with the caveat that some of these are disenfranchised). Aside from combing through forums and asking friends in your network, you can check out GlassDoor and find out how the CEO is rated, as well as some revealing comments from employees. Look for the common points. Glassdoor now has 50 million ‘inside connections’ and now has an API that connects through to Facebook.

These are the reflexes candidates should be having before joining a new company. Certainly, HR teams should be aware of the projected off and online image of a company and Corporate Communications department needs to be managing the online presence of the top executives. Personally, when I observe a company from the outside, I like to combine the corporate communications (especially toward external stakeholders and shareholders) with the commercial or marketing messages (toward clients and prospects). Ideally, I’d take a look at the employer branding positioning as well, but this is often harder to come by.

Creating the right wrinkles

What is for sure is that no amount of rules and regulations can gloss over the company wrinkles or hide a rotten environment. A cosmetic white wash or beauty cream will not suffice. Over time, an almost inevitable transparency will reveal a corporate culture, so senior management and HR need to work on the real issues and creating the right wrinkles, i.e. de facto values that are truly lived by the employees.

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