Company culture is the set of shared values, beliefs and traditions that define a business. In recent years, there has been a growing focus on company culture, as businesses increasingly recognise its importance in attracting and keeping employees. With company culture, there’s no one-size-fits-all answer.
In the UK, a Cezanne HR survey comprising 1,000 employees across many diverse industries and demographics determined the existing state of company culture levels and the results are quite interesting.
Employee Recognition and Cultural Responsibilities
Strong company culture can engage employees and lead to better performance. Employees who feel like they fit in and are valued are more likely to be productive and engaged in their work. As a result, companies that focus on creating a strong culture can see significant improvements in employee performance.
27% of employees believed that improved recognition and reward strategies would have the greatest impact on improving company culture levels and 21% stated that a clear sense of well-being initiatives for employees would help foster an improvement in company culture.
The senior management teams of UK organizations also have a prominent role in promoting culture, UK and Ireland respondents declared. When asked, ‘who do you feel influences your company’s culture the most?’ 32.8% revealed that they thought the behavior of the directors and senior leaders influenced culture the most, and 40.5% of employees also thought it was the responsibility of their senior leadership management team to promote their company’s cultural ethos.
In the US, ensuring that companies are transparent and maintain great communication with their employees is absolutely critical to improving company culture and helping reduce employee stress levels.
There was a study from 2.5 million teams where it found that when managers frequently liaised with their employees with direct reports, employees would three times likely be engaged with their managers. This is important since only 40% of employees previously said that they are still well-informed about the strategic goals of their company.
The Impact of Company Culture on Employee Retention
Company culture has a significant impact on employee retention. In fact, studies have shown that employees who feel like they are a good fit with their company’s culture are more likely to stay with the organization for the long haul.
There are several factors that contribute to strong company culture, including values, communication style, work/life balance, and relationships with co-workers. When employees feel like they fit in and are valued by their organization, they are more likely to be satisfied with their job and less likely to look for other opportunities.
Almost 85% of UK and Ireland employees stated that company culture was hugely important to them; it is so important to them that 54% had revealed that if their company did not care about instilling a great company culture or did not care about that, they would seriously consider walking away from that job.
In the US, 47% of job seekers cite company culture as an important factor when considering a job. To help improve company culture levels in organizations, employers need to consider finding ways they can reduce stress levels and enhance interpersonal relationships at the workplace with colleagues.
58% of respondents from a US survey previously showed that they felt burnt out. To help reduce burnout levels, companies should be more proactive in regularly scheduling team-building events and gatherings, such as trivia events, escape rooms, or axe throwing.
Regular team-building activities will help companies enhance the long-term productivity of their employees and enable everybody to get along with each other, thus resulting in a much healthier and happier workplace.
Conclusion
Though cultural norms and employee values may differ from country to country, they can have a significant impact on employee retention, satisfaction, and happiness. In both the UK and the US, company culture is hugely important to employees.
Companies must do everything in their power to satisfy their employees’ requirements with company culture. Focusing on improving company culture levels can really go a long way in helping maintain employee relationships and improving productivity levels.
