Strategy and finances are not the only facets of a successful company, but they are usually what companies concentrate on. It may not seem obvious, but company culture plays a very important role too. It can affect your branding, marketing, and day-to-day operations, and how the public views your company. For example when we think of brands like Apple, Google, and Starbucks, not only do their logos and products come to mind, but a multitude of positive qualities: warmth, efficiency, fun, excellence, etc. These attributes are thanks in part to each company’s positive business culture.
Why Culture is so Important
Giving your employees a sense of ownership over their jobs ensures that they feel empowered, and empowerment encourages innovative thinking. This all begins with a healthy workplace culture. If people feel invisible or stifled in their work place, they’ll do the minimum required of them. It’s human nature to want to feel like we are part of something and that we have some control over our lives. Don’t forget that your brand is made up of the individuals in your company. So nurturing a positive company culture is not just the responsibility of the HR department, but of everyone, from the CEO to the janitor.
A healthy culture has several benefits. Take a look at a few and the reasons why they can have such a significant effect.
- Focus – Keeping employees aimed at the same goal helps a company run with efficiency. Getting people to care about the goal comes with having a healthy focus. If your employees feel like they are a significant part of accomplishing that goal they’ll be more likely to push themselves. When individuals feel like they have no influence on the main goal, they loose focus, and can become cynical.
- Cohesion – For a team to have cohesion they must have strong communication. Companies with a healthy culture find that the communication of both success and failure happens more often and more quickly.
- Motivation – A enthusiastic workforce gets things done. That may seem apparent, but companies that don’t pay attention to the health of their culture could be struggling with regards to efficiency. Being motivated to work hard is a trait that ought to be present in every person in the company if the culture is healthy.
Measuring the Cultural Health of Your Company
Cultural health should be assessed regularly. So how do you evaluate the cultural health of a company? First, look at how people are supervised, are they just given a task with no input or do they have some control over their work? Are repetitive tasks distributed so everyone has the opportunity to be challenged? While some people may never be happy, if you find the overwhelming consensus to be negative it may be time to look at making a few changes in how the business is run to improve the culture and the overall health of the company. Visit again soon to learn some helpful tips on creating a positive work environment.
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