Although discussions around corporate culture remain subtle and relatively sparse within organisations, there’s overwhelming evidence to suggest its importance in making businesses truly thrive. We’ve taken to the facts to discover how the behaviours that go on inside our company doors (or Zoom calls) can help safeguard the wellbeing of employees and your bottom line.
Culture is the foundation of every institution and, if thought out and well executed, will make employee engagement soar.
But first, let’s understand what company culture actually is. According to Forbes magazine, culture is a set of values that determine how things are handled on the daily within your organisation. There are three main categories of business behaviour: how you communicate, what you prioritise and what gets rewarded.
So, what’s deemed a positive company culture?
For your organisation to embody a winning culture, it’s essential to create a healthy environment where all of your employees can flourish in their performance, remain engaged and inspired, as well as attract the best talents organically and drive for high profitability.
And there are several ways a prominent company culture positively impacts your business.
-
It boosts engagement & motivation
This one is quite obvious, isn’t it? One study identified that organisations with winning company cultures have 72% higher employee engagement ratings than organisations with weak cultures.
When goals are clarified, individuals are more committed and passionate about their work. In addition, an environment that embraces a culture of recognition and appreciation will create intrinsically motivated employees, who go above and beyond without you having to micromanage.
-
It attracts & keeps top talent
Did you know that high staff turnover is not only expensive but can demotivate other employees?
Studies show that it costs on average six to nine months salary every time a business replaces a salaried employee. Other studies have also illustrated that it could be more expensive than that.
You can have people who are very passionate about their careers but will choose to leave an organisation because of an unsupportive and unhealthy company culture.
On the flip side, those companies that do invest in establishing a healthy culture and appreciate their employees are more likely to have a low staff turnover rate. Such a culture will not only encourage employees to stay longer but also attract top talents for the organisation.
Makes sense – because don’t the best people want to work in a healthy, thriving environment?
-
It promotes a collaborative & supportive environment
A 2014 Stanford study found that working together increases motivation. Understandably so, considering a weak work culture can create unhealthy competition between team members, usually leading to a toxic environment.
However, when you build and nurture a positive work culture, this fosters greater collaboration and a supportive work environment, where teammates feel that they can share their ideas, help and motivate each other. In such a collaborative atmosphere, problems are broken down and solved easily.
-
Revenue & marketplace growth
Finally, when an organisation is founded on a strong and positive culture, this leads to better branding. Your culture should be the foundation for your messaging and marketing after all.
Having a winning company culture will be a huge unique selling proposition for your business, helping you stand out amongst competition. Although not mentioned as often, customers and suppliers notice happy and motivated employees. And thriving employees will produce happy customers which, in the long run, contributes to revenue growth.
