Does your team love coming to work?  Or are they only there because they need a paycheque?

Research has shown that when people are happy at work, they perform better and produce better results. That means your company culture is a critical indicator of your potential outcomes. Yet despite its importance, not many companies spend time working it. (If you’re unclear on what I mean by “culture”, my earlier post will clarify it for you.)

Organisations with a strong workplace culture attract the top candidates.

Gallup research shows that good strong workplace culture will attract some of the best people to your company.

What are you doing in your organisation to create a strong culture?

Is your workplace culture making your company money or costing you? More importantly, is your company culture attracting those high performing new recruits who are also a perfect fit for your organisation?

I read this quote from Tony Hsieh, founder of Zappos. He said:

“We’ve rejected many talented people who we know would have made an immediate impact on our top or bottom line. Because culture is our number one priority, we’re willing to give up short-term profits or revenue growth to make sure we have the best culture. In fact, after orientation, we offer people $2,000 not to work at Zappos. The ones who stay are right for our culture.”

That’s how important your company culture is.

H2: How to define your company culture.

Let’s start at the beginning.

Find 5 words to describe your company culture.

List them down.

Now, go to your company website and, with impartial vision, have a good look at it. Does it reflect those words? Does the first impression fit with your culture?

For example, if you want a fun culture, does your website feature colour, movement, smiling people? What impression does your ‘About’ page give? Is the text written in a light-hearted way to get the message across?

What about your social media page? Your advertising materials? Your job descriptions? Are they consistent in presenting the culture you have or expect?

There are five key drivers of culture that you need to get right.

Purposeful existence – there is a reason your business exists, and it contributes to the social good.

Meaningful work – people want a job which makes a difference. Money is a necessity, but they can get that in any job. What people want is to contribute in some meaningful way.

Opportunity to grow – people want a career, to stretch themselves and the chance to use all their skills and talents, not just a few of them. They want a future with the right company.

Treated with respect – people aren’t robots, they are human and want to be treated like that. They need to feel they are valued and important to you and the company.

Work is acknowledged – one of the strongest influences on performance is recognition. When good performance is acknowledged, people will strive to repeat it. We want to feel like a success.

Are these 5 key drivers represented in your culture?

If you have a high turnover or absenteeism rate, or if you struggle to find the ideal employees, perhaps your culture is letting you down.

It’s hard to assess your internal culture when you’re part of it. If you want to dig deeper into your culture and the way it is affecting your business, I’d love to work with you. Contact me and we can schedule an appointment to have a chat.