Elevate Your Organizational Culture

Organizational culture has become a buzzword in the business sector. With so many corporations working to maintain positive cultures that are both productive, nurturing, and inclusive, it's important to gain a basic understanding of what it is and what it isn't as well as how to elevate it.

What a Healthy Culture Looks Like

Most of us have an idea of what a positive culture looks like. We all can probably agree that a workforce with a healthy organizational culture demonstrates all of the characteristics listed below.

Clear Communication

Clear communication skills are imperative for any organization to succeed. Whether it be in the boardroom or on the factory floor, managers need to be able to clearly articulate their vision and directives to their employees. Without clear communication, employees may feel lost, overwhelmed, and frustrated because they cannot understand what is expected of them. This leads to low morale and high turnover rates among staff members which could eventually lead to a loss of skilled labor, productivity decreases, and customer dissatisfaction.

Trust

For organizations looking to innovate, engage employees, and create a sustainable environment, trust is the key. At the core of this idea is an organization's culture. While culture can be difficult to define, it usually incorporates core values that are expressed in corporate policies and visions. It is important for organizations to focus on these qualities in order to generate sustainable business practices. Treating employees with respect builds loyalty which in turn boosts productivity.

Openness

The willingness to share a story of a personal struggle with a team member can make a significant difference in the level of trust between two people, and it can also transform a company's culture. It is important to be open.

Working for an organization that has elevated its culture by being open, one learns how powerful it can be to talk about your struggles with others, so you are not alone in them. This helps to create connections with others, which helps everyone feel supported.

Confidence

Confidence is the driving force that separates successful organizations from those that are average. Confidence breeds success, innovation, and creativity. It takes courage to be confident, but it can have powerful benefits to help drive your organization to new heights.

Transparency

In today’s world, the demand for transparency is high. However, people are often unclear on what transparency is and how they can achieve it. The most successful organizations are the ones that are transparent and let people know what they are doing. Oftentimes, this is done by posting the company values on the walls and distributing information, such as the company mission statement or vision, to the employees.

Respect

Respect is the key ingredient to any successful company culture. A culture rooted in respect should be focused on trust, transparency, collaboration, and valuing differences. Respectful companies place equal value on diverse perspectives and input. They are interested in innovation and creativity through an open dialogue. By nurturing a respect-driven culture, your organization can develop win-win solutions for everyone involved.

Debunking Culture Myths

Now, let's start by debunking two common myths about culture.

Myth #1: Organizational leaders determine culture

A study by Wright Institute and Stanford University found that organizational leaders only make up 13% of the factors for creating a positive culture, but they can still create a constructive culture. The other 87% of the culture is determined by the employees themselves.

A company's leadership should focus on creating an environment in which their employees can thrive and then focus on how those employees use that environment as an opportunity to shape their company's culture.

Myth #2: We don't need to focus on culture

One of the most common mistakes companies make is assuming that their organizational culture is fixed or that it's not necessary to focus on it because no one is complaining. This isn’t the case. Leaders need to take responsibility for their culture change not just by addressing leadership needs but also by ensuring autonomy for employees across the workforce.

For example, look at Google. They have a healthy organizational culture, and they regularly assess and enhance their culture. Below are some of the things that they do.

They have a program called "Workplace Excellence" which they use to measure how well the company is doing in terms of their culture. This includes things like work-life balance, employee satisfaction, and diversity. They also have a "Career Site" that allows employees to share their job experiences with others and talk about what they enjoy about working at Google.

Organizational Culture is More Than the Company Identity

In short, organizational culture is "how we do things around here." A company's culture defines the atmosphere in which employees work. It can promote positive behaviors, such as employees interacting with one another, or it can promote negative behaviors, such as gossiping.

Culture encompasses how employees work with one another, the atmosphere in various departments and the way leaders interact with their teams. It's complex which is why some leaders just focus on parts of the culture and not the culture as a whole from a systems perspective. The 10 building blocks need to be examined if you want to truly elevate your organizational culture.

Mistake: Only focusing on employee engagement

Many organizations only focus on employee engagement and miss the opportunity to create a healthy culture. Employee engagement, how much discretionary effort employees give, is a key component of organizational culture but it's not everything.

A recent study found that there are two types of employees: those who create and those who conserve. Employees who create contribute to creativity and innovation in the workplace. Employees who conserve work as a safety net for the company and maintain continuity to protect their jobs and salary.

Organizational culture can improve performance when applied across an entire workforce, tapping into both types of employees, which isn’t always easy to achieve. New research suggests that just a few employees can make a big difference in your organization's culture.

Why is culture important?

The effect of a company's culture on its employees has implications for employee retention, productivity, performance, and its overall effectiveness to achieve the mission. For this reason, leaders cannot afford to ignore their organization's health. Culture needs to be front and center in every aspect of the company's business.

According to recent Nielsen research, it is not just job seekers who are looking for companies with an attractive organizational culture. Employees are seeking out organizations that represent their values and align with what they care about most. If your organization's culture is missing certain things, you’ve lost that competitive advantage.

Culture and the great resignation

The culture of an organization is the living expression of the values and beliefs that are all shared by members of an organization. Organizational culture can have a significant impact on employee performance, absenteeism, employee satisfaction, productivity, turnover, staff engagement, and overall corporate reputation. It has even been shown to have an effect on market share and profitability. Furthermore, research findings indicate that organizations with strong cultures are more resilient to external shocks or financial crises.

It's even more important that leaders focus on organizational culture as more employees decide if they will leave or stay with a company especially if they are struggling with burnout, feelings of not being psychologically safe or under-utilized, or no longer fit in with the organizational culture.

Starting your culture elevation journey

The success of your company depends on its culture. There are hundreds if not thousands of books written about culture, so how do you know where to begin. To prevent the negative implications of an unhealthy culture, here are seven things you can do to start elevating your organizational culture.

1. Conduct a culture reset.
2. Contact a consultant to conduct a culture assessment.
3. Map your existing culture and desired culture.
4. Develop a culture elevation strategy.
5. Make culture a central focus of all mission-critical company initiatives.
6. Create a company-wide culture community that's led by culture champions.
7. Design development programs that reinforce company culture.

Elevate now!

I've provided a culture overview and a variety of ways to transform your organizational culture. With return-to-work efforts and working effectively in a hybrid workplace, the time has never been better to focus on elevating your organizational culture! You don't have to tackle this challenge alone, feel free to schedule a culture elevation strategy session if you need assistance and support.