Why is company culture so important

When employees get treated differently in terms of pay, opportunities and promotions, or are on the receiving end of discrimination , sexual harassment and unprofessional behaviour, you can be sure your company culture is toxic.

A lack of trust by leadership leads to inflexible working practices. If employers lack empathy and offer no flexibility, employees stop caring as well. Micromanagement kills the concept of opportunity because staff are too afraid to take risks, even though those risks could be advantageous or present mistakes that instigate a change for the better. People at work need a certain level of autonomy.

Employees need genuine praise. A disregard of feedback and ideas is another clear sign of a bad company culture. A broken culture isn't good for anyone. A good company culture is good for business, employees and the community.

And it's a powerful vehicle for social change. In our recent research on The Culture Economy we asked SME senior decision makers in the UK if they believed workplace culture impacts positively on company performance. Interestingly the percentage figures change as the company gets bigger. Medium-size businesses seem to understand better than small businesses that even the best strategic plans can fall short without the right people in the right roles, and they seem more committed to the idea of improving employee engagement.

The difficulties in maintaining culture seem to hit small businesses at around the third of fourth year of their growth phase. For many small businesses, so much time is spent on the immediately pressing day-to-day challenges, it can be rare for leaders to find the time to learn about best practice when it comes to growing a good company culture.

Recognising the impacts company culture has on business performance is the first step to engagement. In the research for our report on The Culture Economy , correspondents agreed company culture did have a positive impact on company performance. We like to practice what we preach. Less time in Ex c el leaves more time to establish and communicate our own great company culture. By Aimee O'Callaghan. Company Culture.

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More companies are shifting their attention to creating more thorough brand cultures, and preserving them through ongoing development. Studies have indicated measurable increases in turnover for companies with poor or nonexistent culture , and conversationally, culture is mentioned more frequently between entrepreneurs. Like it or not, millennials are the generation driving the workplace changes of the near future. If you fail to attract millennial talent, your growth may be stagnated, and you could eventually hit a talent shortage.

That said, millennials desire a strong company culture in one dimension or another more than anything else when deciding who to work for. This increases the need for differentiation in the market, especially in competitive industries, and forces entrepreneurs to find a sticking point for workers who may otherwise bounce after a short-term assignment.

The culture at your organization sets expectations for how people behave and work together, and how well they function as a team. In this way, culture can break down the boundaries between siloed teams, guide decision-making, and improve workflow overall. On the flip side, a toxic organizational culture has the capacity to do just the opposite.

A healthy culture addresses both of these areas by finding an appropriate balance based on company values. Does your company stress performance to such a degree that you feel like your physical and mental health are being overlooked? To be properly effective they need to be developed in a holistic way, consistent with a business culture that is conducive to their success.

That means supportive management behaviours, flexible working options and an open culture that allows employees a voice and some say in shaping the working environment. So what are your next steps? Find out what aspects of your organizational culture are most important to your people, and think about performing a culture audit. Your goal is to discover what your people value most and support that.

Read more by Corey Moseley. Jostle Corporation is the creator of a new kind of employee intranet. Find out more at www. All rights reserved. Product Resources Podcast Subscribe Search….