Key # 3 is to have rules of the game. I like to put it this way. This is your sand box and you get to set the rules of play. These are not just things like, “no smoking on a job site or no bad language” or how many holidays you are entitled to, these are your values.  These need to be all over your company, talked about at company meetings as a reminder and to drive them into the consciousness of the company and they should be part of your hiring process. Things like honesty, integrity, ongoing learning, fun, commitment to excellence, good communication amongst team members to name a few.  Nothing will scare off a low integrity, dishonest person faster than being told they have to live up to a set of values. I see this as a two part process. Yes you need to have an employee handbook which does spell out things like holidays, sick days, what time you start and finish ect. The second part is what creates the culture in your business. Think of it as the boundaries of a football field and the rules of play. As long as you play by these values you can play in my game, which of course is your business! click here for a great example of rules of the game that help define your culture. One last thing before I go, if you don’t set the rules of play in your game, your team will and it won’t likely be according to your values.