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A workplace culture is the “personality” of a business. It shapes their identity, reputation and outward-facing brand image.
A company’s culture can give it an advantage against rivals competing for both talent and industry market share. A positive workplace culture also drives internal metrics such as employee engagement, job satisfaction and productivity, but it also leads to increased customer satisfaction and loyalty.
In this post, I’ll touch on six of the highest benefits to building a positive workplace culture, so your organization can continue to put its best face forward.
It’s a common misconception that a “positive workplace culture” and “strong employee engagement” are identical concepts. While they are closely related and certainly influence one another, they’re not one in the same. Creating a strong and positive culture and work leads to increased employee engagement.
Employee engagement is a measure of an employee’s commitment to and excitement about their role, their work and their company. Employees who are engaged embrace their job responsibilities and are inspired by the company’s mission—a standard that is defined by a solid workplace culture.
High engagement is contagious: employees who are engaged not only contribute bright new ideas to improve processes, products and customer relationships, they also inspire their colleagues to do the same. According to annual Gallup polls, higher rates of employee engagement have been shown to produce reductions in absenteeism and turnover, while increasing organizational productivity and profitability overall.
RELATED: What Is Employee Engagement and Why Is It Critical To Success? >>
It’s important to create an environment that is supportive and encouraging of employees. Studies show that a well-defined and positive workplace culture leads to greater overall job satisfaction across employee groups, regardless of demographics. If increasing job satisfaction is one of the key goals in your culture revamp, consider communicating the following company values:
RELATED: How an Employee Relations Strategy Supports Your Company's Culture >>
There’s no question that a positive workplace culture is great for your bottom line. According to the Society for Human Resource Management, toxic workplace cultures cost U.S. employers an astounding $223 billion in turnover expenses across a five-year period.
Dealing with poor management, unengaged coworkers, and workplace drama will, at best, cause your best employees to become distracted from their professional goals. At worst, you run the risk of losing your best talent if you can’t maintain a positive environment. Removing unnecessary distractions is just one of the many ways you can foster productivity through the establishment of a positive culture. Check out our post, "How to Create a Positive Culture that Drives Performance" for more ideas.
Employees forced to work in a negative cultural environment will soon either “quiet quit” or flat out leave the organization for good. On their way out, they might leave a merciless Glassdoor or other job posting website review detailing all their issues with their former employer.
Even if you have a strong and enforceable anti-disparagement clause in place for departing employees, their opinion of your organization’s perceived flaws may still make its way around.
Maintaining a positive work environment isn’t just about playing defense, however. It can have positive proactive effects, too. Strengthening your culture is about promoting the core of your company's purpose, its mission, and its values. When done correctly, it will place your company in a positive light, not just with employees, but externally with current and potential customers.
Happy employees interact with customers in a positive and supportive way. By improving your workplace culture, you can elevate the interactions between your employees and your clients. As we’ve discussed, positivity is contagious and employees who are committed to and excited about their employer inspire the same feelings in others that they interact with.
Fostering a culture of passion, excitement, and happiness spreads from the top down, positively influencing your customers. Customers who consistently have great interactions with your company will soon become outward advocates for your brand within their own companies and peer-groups.
RELATED: 7 Steps to Create a Happy Workplace >>
A strong and positive workplace culture is attractive to both current and prospective employees. While small companies aren’t likely to end up on the Forbes list of “Best Places to Work,” they can and do establish excellent reputations throughout the communities in which they operate by maintaining a great culture.
If your company is a great place to work, word will get around, giving you a leg up in your recruitment and retention efforts. In a tight labor market where competition for top talent is stiff, your culture could be the very thing that helps you stand out.
RELATED: Five Effective Employee Retention Strategies >>
If your organization is interested in developing and defining a positive workplace culture, know that you’re not starting from zero. Each company’s culture will be unique to them and to their strengths, purpose and mission. At Axcet HR Solutions, our employee relations and organizational development experts can help you refine and implement your existing values in order to strengthen your workplace culture.
Employee relations and organization development is just the beginning of what we offer at Axcet HR Solutions. To learn more about how we can help, schedule a conversation with us today.
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