What is it that successful organizations like Google, Columbia University, and General Motors have in common? Besides a flexible business model, strong leadership, sufficient resources and a clear understanding of their market segment what is it that these organizations have in common? It is the organizational culture that sets a great organization apart from an average one.
According to a recent international survey report, 77% of adults polled would consider a company’s culture before applying for a job there.
What is Meant by Organizational Culture and Why is it Important?
Technically speaking, organizational or corporate culture includes values and standards (apart from business transactions) which members of an organization follow. It’s an unseen force that drives your employees to perform better. So, when your people feel connected to an organization’s mission and values, they’re more likely to put forth their best foot and help the business grow. Consequently, creating and improving the culture of your organization is something you must indulge in to keep your business going. While a great culture parallels to happier, loyal, and more efficient employees, a culture that doesn’t promote feedback is certainly counter-productive.
The significance of a great company culture lies in the fact that talented employees that add value to your organization feel happy and contented. This not just motivates them to perform better but also make them stay back for the long-term. Good company culture not just adds to your brand’s name and identity but also leaves a positive impact on your customers. When customers start trusting your brand, they become loyal. In other words, a good company culture leads to increased efficiency and productivity both for employees, as well as the organization.
Ways to Improve Organizational Culture:
Maintaining a healthy organizational culture requires a lot of hard work, perseverance, and commitment. Listed below are some actionable tips you can follow to establish a good culture within your organization:
Embrace Transparency: Developing a transparent culture within an organization has a great impact on the employees, as well as the organization. By providing employees with an unfiltered understanding of their business’s operations and future, organizations can earn their trust. Similarly, a company should also be able to trust its employees to pave way for a great culture. A great way of creating a culture that values transparency is to ensure that everyone has access to robust communication and collaboration tools for sharing information.
Reward Valuable Contributors: An organization that recognizes and rewards top contributors tend to have low attrition and turnover rates. Recognizing and rewarding the efforts of deserving employees encourages them to continue with their good work. It is to be noted that employee recognition doesn’t necessarily have to come from the top. In fact, it’s more impactful when appreciation comes from all around especially peers. This helps in building a strong relationship between co-workers, which indeed is a stepping stone to building a great culture.
Provide Flexibility: A good company culture includes flexibility within the work environment. Instead of treating your employees as mere workers, it’s prudent to provide them with a certain level of freedom and flexibility in the way they accomplish their jobs. For instance, providing employees with flexible working hours, the provision to work from anywhere, etc. can boost their morale and increase their efficiency.
Promote Collaboration: To improve the culture of a company, collaboration and innovation should be encouraged. In fact, building strong relationships at work drives employee motivation, as well as engagement. By engineering spaces and circumstances that promote coworker interaction, performance can be improved, which in turn leads to better organizational growth and efficiency.
Seek Employee Feedback: Soliciting feedback from your employees is a great way to make them feel valued. Seeking suggestions regarding the launch of a new product or anything that allows them to have their say and make their voices heard can make them feel motivated. This can go a long way in improving the work culture of an organization.
Conclusion:
It is to be noted that a thriving organizational culture lies at the heart of every successful company. Good company culture is something that cannot be bought or faked. However, it is important for you and your management team to check the pulse continually to ensure that the strategies you have implemented for improving the culture of your organization are working. And in case they aren’t, you need to try something different.
As a reliable Salesforce Consulting Service provider, we keep ourselves updated with ongoing changes within the business environment to come with a new business roadmap for achieving business objectives.