A positive company culture is crucial to success
By Daniel Abramson, HRSource
Company culture is critically important in the workplace. A positive culture at work can help attract, recruit and retain top talent, improve team performance and ultimately help businesses succeed in the market.
Whether you like it or not, company culture matters, and is not just another trendy buzzword. It really matters because it can have a significant impact on your business.
Just the Facts
Strong corporate culture attracts top talent. According to the results of a 2020 Glassdoor survey, more than 75% of job seekers consider a company’s culture before applying for a job, and 56% of respondents said culture is even more important to them than salary. (Glassdoor is a platform where current and former employees anonymously review their company’s salary range and management style. Go to Glassdoor.com and type in your business to see what your employees are saying!)
Let’s dig a bit deeper into how company culture ties into employee performance and work tenure.
A strong and healthy company culture is one of the fundamentals of a successful business. Every business has a culture or personality, whether it was intentionally designed or shaped accidentally. The organization’s mission and values, leadership styles, expectations for employee behavior, decision-making processes, physical workspace and, most important, people all combine to create a unique environment.
Definitions
Company culture might be defined as your organization’s “vibe,” or how employees perceive the work environment, the way they interact, as well as your leadership style (collaborative vs. hierarchal).
Company culture refers to the shared values, attitudes and behaviors that characterize an organization and guide its practices. It’s the environment in which employees work and interact. It’s the vibe and DNA of the company!
Get Cultured
Why is culture so important?
- It can foster a positive and productive work environment
- It helps attract and retain top talent (A-players)
- It helps ensure alignment between employees’ actions and the company’s goals.
- Culture drives employee satisfaction, engagement and retention
- Happy people foster a solid customer experience and can create new business through referrals and recommendations
- Happy employees will recommend friends to work at the company. (Good people know other good people!)
Cultural Components
A good company culture can be characterized by these 10 components:
Core values: Fundamental beliefs and principles that guide employee behavior.
Work environment: The physical aspects of the workplace.
Leadership style: How leaders interact with employees and make decisions (fair vs. favorites).
Practices and policies: Day-to-day operations, benefits and company policies.
Employee relationships: Interactions and collaborations among employees.
Fun and enjoyment/social activities: Social events and team-building activities promote camaraderie and strengthen relationships.
Communication/transparency: Open and transparent communication builds trust and ensure employees are informed and engaged.
Feedback: Regular, constructive feedback meetings help employees grow and feel valued, fostering a culture of continuous improvement. This could include daily “huddles” and Q&A staff meetings that last no more than 10-15 minutes.
Ethical practices/integrity: A culture of integrity ensures that the company operates ethically and responsibly.
Accountability: Holding employees and leaders accountable for their actions promotes a culture of fairness and responsibility. (You can’t expect what you don’t inspect.)
The Proof’s in the Pudding
Here are some examples of companies with solid corporate cultures and widespread recognition of their engaging and fun work environments. Even though our appliance and furniture stores operate on a much smaller scale, we can still learn and apply some ideas that can be easily implemented.
Innovative and creative atmosphere: Google fosters a culture of innovation by encouraging employees to spend 20% of their time on personal projects.
Transparency and communication: Google holds regular town hall meetings (TGIFs) where employees can ask questions and speak their mind directly to senior management. Taken together, it has mastered the art of attracting, hiring and retaining millennials.
Southwest Airlines
Employee-centric approach: Southwest puts employees first, believing that happy employees will lead to happy customers.
Fun and friendly atmosphere: The company promotes a fun and friendly workplace where employees are motivated and enjoy their work.
Teamwork and collaboration: Southwest places a strong emphasis on teamwork and support to achieve common goals.
Personality profiles: Southwest is also very picky about who they hire. Its extensive interview process includes a personality test to assess whether an applicant will “fit in” and can work as part of a team. (Note: In comparison, what’s the perception that we have of Spirit and Frontier Airlines?)
Netflix
Freedom and responsibility: The digital streamer provides employees with significant autonomy and expects high levels of responsibility and performance in return.
Candor and transparency: Netflix promotes a culture of openness and direct feedback to foster continuous improvement and innovation.
High achievement: Netflix hires top talent and maintains high standards for performance and accountability.
Zappos
The Amazon-owned online shoe store is customer-centric, a fun place to work and is team-oriented.
L.L. Bean
The outdoor-inspired quality clothier is considered ethical, adventurous, environmentally conscious and a fun place to work.
Chick-fil-A
Besides its tasty sandwiches, the fast food chain is known for a friendly, enthusiastic staff that enjoys serving customers. (“My pleasure!”) Chick-fil-A’s culture is characterized by its commitment to customer service excellence, values-based leadership, community involvement, employee development, operational excellence, teamwork and employee recognition. This strong and positive culture contributes to high employee satisfaction, customer loyalty and overall business success.
OK, so, how about your store?
What are the words or adjectives that your employees would use to describe your company’s culture? What are some of the things that you can do to change or improve the the without breaking the bank?
Conclusion
Company culture is the backbone of any organization, influencing every aspect of the employee experience. By fostering a positive culture, companies can enhance employee engagement, productivity and satisfaction, ultimately driving business success and growth.
Working on your company culture is a strategic imperative in today’s competitive business landscape. What’s more, employees are more likely to stay with a company that has a positive culture and vibe, reducing the costs and disruptions associated with high turnover.
Daniel Abramson is managing lead of HRSource, a comprehensive collection of customized employment tools and turnkey HR solutions exclusive to BrandSource members. Contact Daniel at (540) 535-8484 or dabramson84@gmail.com.
