9 Benefits of a Strong Corporate Culture

Make no mistake about it: Your company culture affects nearly every area of your business. A strong company culture can improve everything from employee retention to the amount of revenue your organization generates. It’s far more than just something an organization should have; it’s critical to the organization’s stability, longevity and perception.

Are you still skeptical about investing time and energy into building a positive culture? Keep reading to learn about some of the many different benefits a strong corporate culture provides.

1. Customer Satisfaction
   A company with satisfied customers is a profitable company. You may wonder how internal culture could please customers. When your team is strong as a unit, it is better equipped to put forth exceptional work, create exceptional products and deliver exceptional service. The result? Happy customers that stick around, keep buying, refer others, and buy more per purchase.

2. Revenue Gains
   Corporate culture affects revenue in a similar way to customer satisfaction. Customers sense when an organization works in harmony and when employees are content with their jobs. Doing business with companies that display these traits is typically pleasant and easy – the type of experience customers want and will return to have again and again.

3. Steady Growth
   42% of respondents to the Business of Healthy Employees survey say a healthy workforce drives employee engagement.¹ Healthy company culture is one of the driving forces behind engagement. Employees who are engaged and feel confident in their employer’s products and services tend to work harder and perform better. A good work ethic and elevated performance inevitably breed successful outcomes. When an organization is successful, it is in the perfect position for long-term, sustainable growth.

4. Increased Motivation
   When it comes to motivating employees, it is not enough for them to enjoy their work, find their purpose or fulfill their own professional goals. All three must be in place in order to provide optimum motivation. Well defined values and a strong culture are essential for creating these three elements. The result is pure magic, with a 41% reduction in absenteeism and a 17% increase in productivity.²

5. Better Decision Making
   A well-defined mission, vision and corporate values support employees’ ability to make sound decisions. It gives them a framework for reference and answers to questions they may have as they move through the decision making process. This guidance leads them toward making decisions that are aligned with company goals.

6. Enhanced Ability to Attract Top Talent
   First impressions are everything when it comes to attracting and landing the best job candidates. 78% of candidates say the hiring experience indicates how a company values its people.³ They are also drawn to working environments that incorporate clearly defined values and a firm sense of purpose. These days, candidates have several ways to figure out if potential employers offer this type of environment including employee reviews on websites such as Glassdoor. If your company culture is not conducive to showing employees they are valued, candidates will find this out and vice versa.

7. Better Employee Retention
   Landing top talent is only half the battle. Retaining them is where the real work begins. 47% of HR leaders cite employee turnover and retention as their top challenges.⁴ Employees have come to expect more from their employer than a paycheck, health insurance and paid time off. They crave an environment that encourages and welcomes knowledge sharing and collaboration, and rewards positive behavior. It is no wonder that highly engaged business cultures experience 59% less turnover.⁵

8. Happier, Healthier Employees
   54% of professionals base their career choices on finding a healthy work-life balance.⁶ The work related stress epidemic is real and so is the desire to escape it. Employees, especially those with families, resent the idea of bringing work home with them. They do not want anything to intrude on their personal time with loved ones. A corporate culture that embraces a healthy work-life balance through benefits such as working remotely sometimes or giving employees the option to leave early in the summer on Fridays will produce employees that come to work feeling refreshed and ready to take on the day.

9. More Desirable Company Image
   Word-of-mouth should never be underestimated, especially in the digital age. Your employees’ social circles have widened from their “real life” communities to their digital communities. As mentioned previously, Glassdoor allows anyone considering working at your company to read reviews by current and former employees. The impact of company image does not stop there. Stakeholders and customers also use online review sites such as LinkedIn, Facebook, Google, Yelp and others it to gauge their interest in doing business with organizations. The stronger your corporate culture is, the more likely employees are to speak positively about your company.

Conclusion

The aforementioned benefits are just a few of the advantages establishing and fostering a strong corporate culture give your organization. The extra time and effort you invest in this endeavor will pay off in significant dividends and set your company up for even greater success.

SOURCES:

¹https://cdn2.hubspot.net/hubfs/285174/BusinessOfHealthyEmployees.VirginPulse.2017.pdf?t=1521837138673

²https://www.gallup.com/workplace/238085/state-american-workplace-report-2017.aspx

³https://screen.careerbuilder.com/difference/docs/2017-candidate-experience-guide.pdf

⁴http://go.globoforce.com/rs/862-JIQ-698/images/SHRM2017_GloboforceEmployeeRecognitionReportFinal.pdf

⁵https://www.gallup.com/workplace/236366/right-culture-not-employee-satisfaction.aspx

⁶https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/talent-engagement-will-be-critical-to-combating-the-skills-shortage-in-2018-according-to-new-hiring-outlook-report-by-the-execusearch-group-300580247.html