The importance of corporate culture is often overlooked by companies—until it starts to affect critical aspects of the organization. A study on Corporate Culture revealed that 84% of North American executives are starting to believe that they need to improve their own company’s culture. 92% of these executives think that improving corporate culture can increase the value of the firm and improve its processes.
Indeed, executives are now recognizing that corporate culture affects not just employees but the organization. To illustrate, here are the following reasons why companies need to assess and work on their corporate culture:
Poor corporate culture can cause employees to leave
Corporate culture is the beliefs and behaviors that a company’s management and employees usually follow, so it’s not surprising that a bad corporate culture can push employees to seek greener pastures. Glassdoor revealed that many employees have been looking for companies with cultures and values aligned with their priorities since four years ago. After all, company culture is the biggest factor that drives employee satisfaction, which is why employees want to leave organizations with cultures that don’t align with their personal values. As such, companies need to understand the needs and desires of employees to build a culture that can make them stay.
Jobseekers often consider each company’s workplace culture
Some organizations may think that it’s ok for employees to leave because they can be easily replaced. However, Business News Daily points out that 77% of professionals now consider a company’s culture before even sending an application. About 73% of these employees stated that they would not apply to a company unless its values aligned with their own personal values. Thus, Business News Daily recommends that companies need to emphasize their mission and vision statements to attract more applicants. You can even launch projects related to your mission and vision statements to show that you truly uphold your values.
Dysfunctional corporate cultures can lead to instability
High turnover rates are just one of the dysfunctional effects of poor corporate cultures. The chairman of LHH states that corporate culture can lead to dysfunction due to bad workplace practices like bullying, inequitable compensation and favoritism, and a lack of transparency, to name just a few. These practices will make employees non-committed, divisive, counterproductive, and aversive to decisions, thus causing the business to be unstable. As such, leaders are urged to create an engaged, grounded, and honest culture so that employees will feel accountable and committed to fixing the bad practices and improving the working systems in the organization.
Your corporate culture can boost the productivity of the workforce
Values are crucial to an organization’s culture because they can motivate employees to do better. One of our articles, entitled ‘Does Workplace Diversity Have a Significant Impact on Productivity?’, highlights that employees from different cultural backgrounds can improve the workforce by bringing unique skills and perspectives to the table. Having a diverse workplace can also make your employees feel less worried about being subjected to prejudice, so they will feel more comfortable sharing their thoughts and ideas with the workforce. By incorporating important cultural values into your company, your employees will be more invested and productive in their work.
Your company’s culture can create ripple effects across your workforce. Before it’s too late, your company must promote more positive beliefs and practices to boost the morale and productivity of your workers.