Company culture is the life of an organization. It’s the stamp of identity that keeps the wheels turning. Values, traditions, customs and the strength of the company’s social network form the core of company culture.
By: myhrtoolkit
All stakeholders play a pivotal role in shaping company culture. The company’s leaders create a vision and mission statement and use these as a guide for the expectations set for employees. However, workplace politics, the mixture of personalities, and poor leadership can threaten the development of healthy company culture.
It’s important for you to understand the importance of company culture as you seek to create or strengthen your brand. Your organization will thrive as a result. Here’s the rundown on the importance of company culture and some tips for helping you create the right culture for your organization.
The importance of company culture
Company culture is important for 3 fundamental reasons:
- It influences the type of employees in the organization and whether they stay or leave.
- It establishes a set of norms that govern the efficiency of the workplace.
- It creates a perception of your brand in the marketplace.
Employees keep a company running. Customers bring in the money, but a company will fail without a strong team. Company culture can make or break a team.
Good employees are often attracted to a company because of what they know about the company’s culture. For instance, people are generally attracted to Google because of its fun work environment, stellar leadership, and strong mentorship programs. It’s not surprising that the company receives more than 3 million job applications annually.
A company that’s known for treating employees poorly and creating a toxic work environment attracts people who display similar characteristics. Attractive salaries will only entice employees for a short period of time. Working in an unpleasant environment means that stellar employees won’t think twice about jumping ship for the next best opportunity.
Healthy company culture focuses on keeping both employees and customers happy. All-round happiness is good for business. It also establishes a set of spoken and unspoken norms. These norms help the workplace function effectively. Happy employees are more willing to work assiduously to uphold these norms.
For instance, if your company makes setting realistic weekly team targets a priority, each team will have a clear understanding of expectations. This makes it easier to assign responsibilities, provide feedback, and revisit strategies that make achieving the target possible. Teams can even recommend that the target be adjusted if it becomes unattainable.
Finally, company culture affects your brand’s image. This is the image portrayed to both potential employees and new and existing customers. A brand that creates an environment where people want to work will attract customers. More customers mean more sales.
Tips for creating strong company culture
- Have the right leaders. Leaders should inspire. Always remember that there is a clear difference between leaders and managers.
- Hire the right people. Your HR team must be on point. They won’t get the hiring choices right all the time, but the right decisions should be made more frequently.
- Create opportunities for staff to relax and have fun. The stress and pressure of work can often be overwhelming. Your team needs time to mingle with each other and have some fun.
- Create a set of norms and values that your team emulates.
Company culture is your brand’s trademark. Take the time to create a strong culture that makes your brand a force to be reckoned with. The long-term benefits are priceless.
(Note: All articles are copied verbatim… typos, grammar errors and all. In other words, we didn’t make the mistakes! )
Link to original article posted on the Talk Business website.