What is a Good Company Culture and Why it is Important?

Are you doing your best to boost your business but performance still lags behind? Then perhaps you have a culture problem.

Work culture has always been an important aspect of business. It’s the glue that binds your workforce together and keeps them motivated.

Today, more than ever, companies must invest in a strong working culture to remain competitive. With so many distractions, controversies, and competitors ready to snatch your top talent, you cannot afford to ignore office culture.

So, read on if you’re wondering what is a good company culture and why it is important.

What is a Good Company Culture?

A good company culture can be defined as the shared values, beliefs, attitudes, and behaviors that shape the work environment within an organization. It represents the collective personality and identity of the company, influencing how employees interact with one another and approach their work.

Here are some key characteristics of a good company culture:

• Clear vision and values

A strong culture is rooted in a clear vision and a set of core values that guide decision-making and actions at all levels. These values should be communicated and reinforced consistently throughout the organization.

• Trust and transparency

A culture of trust is essential for building strong relationships among employees and between employees and management. Transparency in communication, decision-making processes, and organizational goals helps to foster trust.

• Employee empowerment

A good corporate culture encourages employees to take ownership of their work, make decisions, and contribute their ideas. Empowering employees by providing autonomy and recognizing their achievements leads to increased job satisfaction and motivation.

• Collaboration and teamwork

Promoting a collaborative culture encourages teamwork, cooperation, and open communication among employees. This facilitates knowledge sharing, innovation, and problem-solving.

• Respect and inclusivity

A positive corporate culture values diversity and promotes an inclusive environment where every individual feels respected, heard, and valued. Embracing different perspectives and backgrounds can lead to enhanced creativity and better decision-making.

• Learning and growth

It emphasizes continuous learning and development. Providing opportunities for professional growth, training, and mentoring helps employees enhance their skills and achieve their full potential.

• Work-life balance

It recognizes the importance of work-life balance and supports employees in maintaining their well-being. Encouraging flexible work arrangements and promoting wellness initiatives can contribute to a positive and productive work environment.

• Recognition and rewards

Acknowledging and appreciating employees’ contributions is crucial for morale and motivation. A culture that recognizes and rewards achievements, both big and small, reinforces a sense of appreciation and encourages high performance.

• Social responsibility

A good culture aligns with ethical and social responsibility values. Organizations that demonstrate a commitment to environmental sustainability, community involvement, and ethical business practices contribute to a positive workplace culture.

Remember that every company’s culture will vary based on its industry, size, and specific values. It’s important to create a culture that aligns with the organization’s goals and resonates with its employees.

 

Why Is Company Culture Important?

Whether you want to be like Google, like Apple, or another company in-between, you need to have a clearly defined culture to reach your goals. According to Deloitte’s chairman survey, 94% of all executives and 88% of all employees believe that a strong corporate culture is vital to business success.

Your employees must feel welcome and enjoy their time working for you. Even if their tasks are challenging, a positive company culture can make them rewarding. In simple terms, culture keeps employees happy and productive.

Let’s see how it affects your company below:

1. A First Impression Is Everything

People are more drawn to your business when they know who you are and what you stand for. The reality is that this comes across loud and clear by your actions, and not just a catchy slogan or motto.

With a strong culture, your customers should get a sense for what your business believes in and stands for from the first interaction. 

Since your first impression is everything, you need to create a culture that leaves people not only wanting to do business with you again but also tell a friend about you. 

We also live in a time in which attention spans are shorter and people have more options about who they want to do business with. This makes first impressions all the more important. Create the right one by instilling a strong culture on the front end. 

2. Quality Company Culture Creates Quality Employees

Employees are more likely to rise to the occasion when they feel like they are apart of something. 

By establishing company principles, employees will clearly know what is acceptable and what is expected. From here, they will act accordingly every day and will be better able to exhibit their best qualities as they represent you. 

Since you are only as strong as your weakest employee, you can expect these benefits to ripple throughout your entire business. 

3. You Reduce Turnover

Whether you have a small team of employees or a large corporation, retaining employees is in your best interest. 

People that have bought into a strong company culture are less likely to leave. The reason for this is that the job becomes about more than the salary, and they can count on being fulfilled and stimulated every day.

Remember those statistics about the majority of people hating their jobs?

Employees know and appreciate how rare and it is to love where you work. When you build a company that they can fall in love with, they won’t take that for granted and will be more loyal as a result. 

4. It Improves Productivity

When you’re building a company, you need to make sure you’re always improving organization and productivity. 

People who come to work inspired will also be more productive. This helps you get more out of them and allows them to work better in teams. 

Since productivity gets your company more ROI as a whole, you can expect revenue increases. 

5. The Workplace Becomes Lighter and More Fulfilling

Productivity and efficiency aside, a company with a strong organizational culture is also a place where work is pleasurable. 

People will feel accountable for their work, without also feeling like just a cog in the wheel. This way, you’re encouraging them to want to do their best, as opposed to micromanaging and threatening to get the best from them. 

When people are fulfilled, the energy of the workplace is lighter and less stressful, which is good for everyone involved. 

6. Your Company Will Remain Competitive

Fixing your issues within makes it easier to compete with the outside world. 

These effects carry over into the marketplace. Customers will feel more drawn to your brand, and the results you get will make you a threat to competitors. 

Being better able to compete gives your company longevity and allows you to leave a lasting legacy. 

7. You Will Attract the Best and the Brightest

Your company’s hiring process is everything, and you can expect to bring in nothing but the best and brightest when you have a strong company culture.

Top employees are attracted to companies that have the best organizational culture around. Motivated professionals, more than anyone else, appreciate and understand the importance of organizational culture. 

What’s more, by providing them a great place to learn and grow, you’ll also get the best from them. 

8. The Workplace Will Become More Consistent 

Consistency is king when it comes to your business. 

When you have principles in place, you can expect your business to only become more consistent. This is good for your customers because they’ll know exactly who they are spending money with. 

It’s also great for your employees since they’ll feel comfortable knowing what to expect from you, and they won’t always feel as though their jobs are in jeopardy. 

Being transparent in this regard can help your company across the board. 

How to Build a Positive Company Culture?

While you can’t build a positive company culture overnight, you can lay the foundations in advance and watch it grow along with your business. Here are the main points you should focus on when building your organizational culture:

• Define Clear Company Values and Mission

Everything starts with writing down your core values.

What’s your company all about? What makes you unique? What do you want from your company culture?

Answering the above will help you create the basis for your company culture. You will then need to communicate the values and the mission of your company to new, as well as existing employees.

Your core values could encourage your employees to have a fulfilling life outside the workplace, leave all drama outside the door, or focus on professionalism and high performance above everything else. You have the final word in how your company culture will be, but you have to be specific about it.

 

• Hiring and Training

You should always aim to hire people who fit your culture. For that reason, you can use your company culture to find the most suitable candidates when it comes to job interviews. Just a couple of questions about what the employee wants from your company, and what do they expect in a few years’ time will tell you if they understand your company culture.

 

• Integrating Tools

A bit part of culture is improving how your employees collaborate with each other. By integrating the tools your team uses daily, you’ll strengthen culture and optimize performance.

These tools can include anything from professional collaboration platforms to social media apps, messengers, and fitness trackers.

 

• Cultivating a Team Spirit

Finally, you need to embrace an “us” mentality.

Your company is a team, and not just a collection of random people. All big companies refer to their workforce as a team. A team works together to solve problems and improve.

If your employees see each other as teammates, they’ll be more productive and happier on the job. This is your company culture end goal.

 

• Get to Know Each and Every Employee

You can’t improve your organizational culture without knowing the people that make up the organization itself. 

Rather than just being the boss, set up one-on-one time with each employee as often as possible. When your employees feel like they can confide in you, it builds trust that is essential. 

They’ll do more for you and your company than you ever could imagine if they feel like you have their best interests in mind. 

What’s more, you can put your employees in positions to succeed when you have a better handle on their strengths, weaknesses, and motivations. This can help you put together teams that are productive. 

Something as simple as a few ice breaker activities can help build bonds of camaraderie in your workplace. When your company camaraderie is strong, everyone wins. 

 

• Keep Your Workplace Healthy

Make sure that your employees’ overall health is a central focus of your company culture. 

If your employees aren’t well, your company won’t be well. You need to keep your employees safe by offering worthwhile healthcare plans, promoting physical health, and looking after their mental state. 

Keep healthy snacks in the office and avoid activities that take away from physical or mental health. You can also hold wellness seminars and encourage employees to take time off for themselves. 

When you run people into the ground, they’ll not only be unproductive, they’ll also be resentful. It also increases the likelihood of accidents at work, which hurts the work environment and increases liabilities. 

The more you promote health and wellness as part of the company culture, the better off your organization will be. 

 

• Make Learning and Development Foundational

Employees are more engaged when your company is all about growth.

To promote growth, people need to feel like they are learning and developing. Train your employees to better serve the company, but to also build individual skills that will help in their careers. 

Offering continuing education will not only incentivize employees, but it will also increase their likelihood of staying. Take the time to feed them information and send them to seminars, and your company will be better for it. 

 

• Encourage Healthy Competition

Competition is the basis of any business–period. 

However, it is important to properly frame the way that your organization competes internally. You need to encourage your employees to push each other and continuously raise the bar. This is different than competitiveness that consists of cliques, backstabbing, and dishonesty. 

By instead encouraging your employees to become their best versions, competition will be a natural byproduct. 

Above all, make sure that competition and achievement are rewarded. Incentivize your employees to do their best work and consistently make it worth their while, and you will see lots of positive changes. 

 

• Enforce Rules and Standards

An organization doesn’t have true standards if they aren’t enforced. 

To make sure that the basis of your company’s culture is sticking, you need to have some rules that go along with it. Don’t be afraid to enforce these rules, because the culture of the company will very much depend on it. 

Let your employees know that no one is above the company philosophy, and stick to those principles. 

 

• Look at the Big Picture

Though your company is your baby, keep in mind that above all, it provides a reason and vehicle for people to come together and all win big. 

When this is the big picture, everyone will feel like they belong. Don’t get too caught up in the day to day minutia to not appreciate this fact. 

By always pushing forward with the big picture in mind, your organization’s culture will speak volumes. 

 

• Give People an Opportunity to Grow and Advance

Finally, the last thing you ever want in your organization is for people to feel stagnant. 

While company culture improves retention, people will always leave if they feel like they aren’t being challenged. Because of this, you need to reward employees not just with more salary, but more responsibility and bigger challenges. 

This keeps the job fresh and allows people to truly achieve. 

Get creative by staying fluid with job titles and responsibilities. This way, you are able to make everyone feel engaged and part of the team. 

Final Thoughts

A good company culture is the foundation upon which successful organizations are built. It encompasses a set of values, behaviors, and practices that create a positive and engaging work environment.

By cultivating a healthy and supportive culture, organizations can attract and retain top talent, drive innovation, and achieve long-term success.

Now that we have answered the question: “What is a good company culture and why it is important?” it is time to take yours to the next level.

Here at Woliba, we allow companies to create a culture based on well-being and manage it through a single, easy-to-use platform. We believe in prevention and strive to reshape wellness in the workplace.

Come on in today and try Woliba to boost the culture and wellbeing of your company and your employees. Contact us now!