Why Workplace Culture is Crucial to Your Bottom Line
Approximately 46 percent of job candidates say that culture is a very important part of their application process. Have you ever thought about the culture of your company? Have you considered the notion, “What you tolerate, you promote”?
If you're unfamiliar with this concept or don't know what kind of culture you're cultivating at your organization, keep reading. In this post, you'll learn about the importance of corporate culture. You'll also find out how you can promote company values and make your company a safe and positive place for all of your employees to work.
What You Tolerate, You Promote: Why Company Culture Matters
Before we start exploring how to develop culture in an organization or specific ways of managing organizational culture, let's touch on why company culture matters.
Why is company culture such an important factor for so many people when they're searching for a job?
Here are some reasons to get serious and intentional about creating culture in the workplace that's positive and uplifting (instead of employees developing corporate culture on their terms).
1. Higher Engagement
If your employees feel like their workplace has a positive corporate culture, they’ll be more engaged in their work. They might be more enthusiastic about taking on new projects or feel more confident sharing ideas and contributing to discussions that move the company forward.
2. Increase Productivity
Engaged employees are productive employees. Every business owner wants their people firing on all cylinders, and creating the right kind of corporate culture enables that to happen. A positive workplace culture welcomes collaboration among employees, which results in a more productive team.
3. Better Retention Rates
If you run a company that people consider a positive place to work, they're going to stick around for a while. High rates of employee turnover are expensive for any business, and they also reflect poorly upon your business. To avoid this, put in the effort now to improve your company's culture so that you can have an easier time retaining your best employees.
4. Greater Talent Acquisition
Not only does a good workplace culture improve employee retention rates, but it also helps you to attract high-quality employees in the future. If your business retains employees for years and grows with the company, it'll be easier for you to interest new, talented individuals who want a career, not just a day job. Plus, these value-added new hires can further improve your employee engagement and productivity rates.
5. Good Press
Positive workplace culture also leads to good press or prevents your company from receiving bad press at the very least. You want your company to be known for excellent work and the amazing people behind the scenes that make it all happen, right? By fostering a healthy company culture now, you can protect yourself from potential scandals and negative press later.
How to Promote Company Values and Develop Culture
Okay, you can see why creating a corporate culture that’s positive and non-toxic is beneficial for your organization. But where do you begin?
How do you go about creating a corporate culture that promotes your company values?
Listed below are some practical strategies you can start implementing today.
Clarify Your Values
If you want to promote your company values and ensure they're reflected in your workplace culture, start by making sure everyone knows those values. Display them in a prominent place within the office, share them on your website, and talk to new hires about them on day one.
Encourage Positivity
For your office to be a positive place to work, you need to encourage positivity and discourage negative behaviors. This includes things like gossiping, backbiting, or sabotaging colleagues. Make it clear right from the beginning that these kinds of workplace behaviors will not be tolerated.
Address Problems Head-on
If you notice an issue between employees, or if it's brought to your attention, address it head-on. Don't pretend it's not happening and hope it goes away (that’s how a spark becomes a forest fire). When you're direct and make it clear that you won't tolerate toxicity, you make the workplace a safer place for everyone.
Follow Through
Consistency is critical if you're hoping to change and improve your company's culture. You can't have one set of rules that apply to some people and a different set of rules that apply to others, or some that you reinforce while you let others slip. Everyone needs to be held to the same standard. Follow through when it comes to disciplinary measures for violating company standards.
Show Genuine Concern
Part of improving your workplace culture is taking a genuine interest in your employees and their lives. Get to know them and take the time to engage with them regularly. Talk to them about their concerns and what's going on in and outside the workplace (as appropriate).
Investment in employees’ lives helps you to foster trust and lets them know that they can come to you if they feel that the company culture is moving in the wrong direction.
Invest in Employee Behavior Training
It's okay if you don't know exactly how organizational culture develops or what to do first to change your company’s culture. Remember, you don't have to go at it alone! Investing in off-the-shelf employee behavior training ensures everyone's on the same page.
Start Improving Workplace Culture Today
Hearing something like, "What you tolerate, you promote" might seem a bit jarring at first. But, as you’ve just read, the behaviors that you tolerate and don’t address in the workplace directly influence your corporate culture – for better or for worse.
Now that you know more about why the internal culture of an organization matters, do you think you need to reprioritize culture at your company?
Whether you want to appoint a company culture manager or invest in culture training for employees, we've got resources to help you start. Check out our turn-key employee training programs today to learn more.
