The importance of workplace culture should not be underestimated and yet it is often never considered by companies until things start to go wrong. So what do we mean when we talk about a workplace or a company culture? How can it be established, maintained and developed? And ultimately why is workplace culture so important?
What is workplace culture?
Vasundhara Sawhney is her article, ‘Why Company Culture Matters’, for the Harvard Business Review provides a fantastic definition of workplace culture when she says, “Simply put, culture is an organisation’s DNA. It is the shared values, goals, attitudes, and practices that characterise a workplace. It is reflected in how people behave, interact with each other, make decisions, and do their work”. The American business figure and management guru Marvin Bower gave an even simpler definition of workplace culture in his book, ‘The Will to Manage’, when he described it as, “The way we do things around here”.
Establishing, maintaining and developing workplace culture
Workplace culture can sometimes be hard to put into words as culture is a concept and something that is quite intangible. If you and your business are starting from scratch and trying to map out and design your company’s culture then it is worth taking some time to read up and research how to do this. Gustavo Razzetti’s Culture Design Canvas is a fantastic tool to assist you in working through the process. It is important to really understand what is going on in a business and what the purpose and values of the business are in order to put in place the foundations for a strong, positive culture. A company’s culture is also unique, so don’t try and copy what others have done as a lack of authenticity will undermine your culture from the outset. To foster a culture that employees buy into and one which they will help to maintain and grow it is crucial to involve them by gathering their feedback and opinions as part of the process. It could be as simple as asking them what they enjoy about working for the business and how they interact with colleagues. Once a core culture has been established it can then be built upon and a good way of doing this is to determine a set of values and behaviours which underpin the workplace culture. These values and behaviours can then be reinforced by rewarding staff who consistently display them and they can even form part of performance review and appraisal processes to emphasise their importance. Assessing how someone fits into a company’s culture can also form part of your recruitment process so that candidates understand before being hired what it is like to work at the company and if their preferences and values will align. A company’s culture will grow and develop over time, so it is important to regularly review what is going on and gather feedback from employees. Other indicators such as staff turnover, sickness absence rates and the number of employee relations issues a company has are also useful measures of if a culture is effective or not.
Why is workplace culture so important?
Having a great workplace culture that employees are bought into can be immensely powerful for a business. If you have employees who are happy, engaged and motivated then they are highly likely to be more willing to put in discretionary effort and to improve productivity and performance and that will bring a number of benefits for your business. Happy employees who are part of a thriving business aren’t going to be looking around for new jobs as they love working for you so your employee turnover will be low. When a company’s culture gives employees a degree of autonomy and encourages them to go above and beyond this can also impact on customer satisfaction. When you have customers who are happy they will return, they will tell others and they will essentially become ambassadors for your business, again that will drive sales and profits. A positive, inclusive culture if also important so that staff feel valued for who they are and the strengths that they bring to the business. They will feel heard and that their opinions matter and this is great for creativity. This will also improve collaborative working, teamwork and employee wellbeing. Companies who have a great culture become well known in their sector and local area as fantastic places to work and effectively they become an employer of choice who have the pick of the talent pool when recruiting.
A workplace culture will take time to embed but once your business has an established culture it can reap the rewards. Your culture won’t stand still. Business changes, operating circumstances and different people coming into the business will challenge the culture and it is fine for it to evolve but if you hold true to your core values and behaviours then your workplace will be a fantastic environment and your team and your business will prosper.
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