May 14, 2013
Company culture has become a hot topic in relation to an organization’s success. According to the Houston Chronicle, “Culture refers to the values and attitudes of employees in the business or organization. In a business with an unhealthy culture, employees act as individuals, performing their duties to meet their own needs, such as a paycheck or health benefits.” In contrast, “A healthy corporate culture values each employee in the organization regardless of his job duties, which results in employees working as a team to meet the company’s and their own personal needs. Healthy corporate culture improves the performance of a business in anumber of areas.” With that being said, here are three ways a healthy corporate culture can impact your business:
Greater Efficiency
It all begins with the attitude of your employees. If you have a healthy company culture it will have a positive effect on how efficiently your employees get their work done. For instance, companies such as Netflix and Hubspot maintain a “no vacation” policy. I know what you’re thinking, “They don’t get any vacation days? How terrible!” However, this policy is, in fact, quite the opposite.
Employees at these organizations are able to take as many days off as needed. The work of their employees is not measured by hours spent in the office or working overtime. It is measured solely by productivity. This policy helps create a culture where the results matter more than the time it took to get there. HubSpot, in particular, promotes a culture of work + life, rather than work vs. life.
Other ways you may be able to help drive efficiency within your organization are by providing employees with consistent and concise information, as well as making sure there is seamless collaboration between employees, partners, suppliers, and customers. If your employees have all the information they need and everyone is on the same page, this will increase overall effectiveness and productivity.
Increased Retention
Retaining great employees is one of the keys to success for any company. Make sure to listen. Listen to all employees, clients, and customers. Key into what they really want from your company. In particular, knowing who your employees are and what drives them will help you to better develop your culture and hire those who will thrive at your company. At our company, all prospective hires complete DiSC profiles which allows us to better understand who they are, what drives them, what stresses them, and if they would be a good fit in the role for which they are being considered.
Companies such as Netflix realize that their “high-performance culture” is not for everyone. They know that some people may feel a constant fear of losing their jobs if they are not performing at a level 10 at all times. Netflix realizes this and does their best to hire people who genuinely understand their culture and thrive in such an environment.
Truly understanding prospective hires and how they would fit into your culture is an important piece of employee retention. Be upfront from the beginning by offering an accurate view of your culture, advancement opportunities and job expectations.
Cohesive Vision
It is important to accurately communicate the overall vision and mission of your organization. Make sure you keep your employees informed of changes the organization implements and ask for their input on how to improve and grow the business. Keeping your employees aware of what is going on with other areas of the business and seeking their advice will help them gain a clearer understanding of the company overall. It will be impossible to achieve the goals you have set for your company if your employees don’t see or understand the bigger picture.
In the end, there is no set standard for what makes a healthy company culture. It depends on your line of business, your employees, and numerous other factors. You have the opportunity to mold your company’s culture however you see fit. What do you believe is important? What type of people doyou believe will excel in your environment and what will drive them?
If you happen to be unhappy with your current corporate culture and find that it is hurting the bottom line, then it may be time for a change. Will it be easy? Definitely not. Will it be worth it? Yes! A line from HubSpot’s Culture Code, “A great culture helps people deliver their best work. Culture happens. Why not create a culture we love?”
What is your company culture like? Does it make a difference? Please share your ideas below!
Posted By: Melissa Zeman