Corporate Culture

The Complete Guide to a Great Corporate Culture

We’ve written the ultimate guide to company culture and now we want to share it with you! Whether you call it company culture, organizational culture, or workplace culture, they all mean the same thing. More importantly, they can mean the same thing for your company: improved employer brand, business performance and long-term success.

What is corporate culture?

The term company culture refers to the idea that your workplace leaves a lasting and tangible impression on past, present and future employees simply by existing. It is the emotional environment of your workplace and is defined and determined by the working relationships between managers and employees, employees and customers, and employees who work together. Essentially, it runs through the entire fabric of your company.

Does every company have a culture?

The hard truth is: every company has a company culture, regardless of whether you want to define it or not. However, if you don’t define them, you open up the opportunity for the culture to define itself. This can lead to maladjustment, frustration, or worse, a toxic work environment for everyone.

If you’re looking for a place to start, company culture is typically demonstrated through:

• Values – What your company stands for.

• Norms – What is commonly practiced in your company.

• Routines – What processes look like for those involved.

How far does the corporate culture extend?

Think of it this way: team culture is an extension of organizational culture in the sense that even in smaller teams that are part of a larger organization, each team can have its own unique culture. In some cases this can be positive and enrich the overall culture, in other cases it can prove negative (or worse, toxic).

How to manage company culture?

Ultimately, it is up to HR (and senior management) to make an effort to manage this culture. But remember: A culture develops on its own, even if it is not defined by management or the company’s mission statement. This can be positive, but also very negative. For this reason, it is better if HR takes the role of the driver.

After all, management is synonymous with culture. That’s it, short and sweet.

When employees are well managed, they have a positive perception of the company culture and are therefore more willing to get involved.

Leadership and corporate culture are expressed in the form of general environmental conditions, such as: E.g.:

• Working hours

• Introductions

• Dress code

• Wages

• Healthcare

• Childcare

Going back to the earlier part of our conversation, companies can have a direct impact on the values they define, the associated norms, and the routines that underline and build on those values. This then begs the question: What are good examples of a management-driven corporate culture?

What are examples of a good corporate culture?

An organization can be perceived as service-oriented and innovative, but also as backward or aloof. Corporate culture is real, tangible and has a concrete impact on employees.

In this sense, corporate culture is the way a company operates. How it thinks, how it feels and even how it expresses its opinions. If you think about it further, it can be expressed in a number of ways, including:

Examples of corporate culture

• Dealing with conflicts and mistakes
• Optimization of the identification of employees in the company
• Communicative behaviors
• Appreciation of commitment and performance
• Engagement with stakeholders
• Willingness to take risks
• Feedback processes
• Commitment to family friendliness

This is particularly evident in the way employees interact with customers. An important example would be if a customer makes a purchase but then receives no response from the company. This lack of communication is systematic and a standard set (for better or worse) by the company culture.

Let’s consider another example from corporate culture: “Employee Y” is working on a difficult task and discusses it with colleagues over lunch. These colleagues immediately agree to help, even though they would have to work overtime to do so. This is also an example of organizational culture in action.

Given the above, it doesn’t make much sense to ask candidates about specific values in an interview (e.g. “Are you proactive?”). It is much more productive to ask them about behaviors in which they can demonstrate that they are acting in accordance with certain values rather than agreeing with them.

Why should you improve your company culture?

Why is it beneficial for a company to have a solid corporate culture? There are a number of reasons for this, which we will explain in more detail shortly…

1.Lower turnover

According to a Columbia University study, there is a direct connection between turnover rates and a strong organizational culture (48.4% vs. 13.9%).

The fact is that turnover rate can say a lot about the health of your company culture. The key takeaway, however, is that a toxic culture can cause employees to leave the company in greater numbers and at a faster rate.

On the other hand, when a culture is strong, employees feel validated, engaged and motivated to do their best. Therefore, they feel more connected to your company and want to stay longer. Employees are not only more satisfied with their work, but also with their workplace.

2.Seamless setting

With a lower turnover rate, hiring talent becomes even easier for companies with a strong organizational culture. This is not only because the employer brand is strengthened, but also because employees are more willing to help you build a strong employee referral program.

The hiring process also runs smoothly as a defined company culture makes it easier to vet and hire talent for almost any role. Not only do they have more talents, but they are also more able to keep them longer.

3.Better working atmosphere

According to CultureIQ, employees who work in companies with a strong organizational culture feel that the atmosphere and overall mission is clearer (and therefore stronger).

This is an essential element of organizational culture when it comes to influencing company performance. Ultimately, employees need to enjoy working where they are and feel a tangible connection to their daily tasks. If they lose this, they lose motivation, which ultimately costs the company.

A better working atmosphere ensures that employees enjoy coming to work every day and are motivated to do their best. This leads us to our next point…

4.An increase in revenue

The bottom line is that a strong company culture is simply better for business. According to Gallup, selecting high-quality leaders (a byproduct of a strong culture) can lead to 27% higher revenue per employee.

In addition, individual employees can increase their own work by 6%. This results in a 33% increase in revenue when focusing on a culture that attracts talent and has the appropriate engagement metrics.

This manifests itself in a variety of ways, whether you want a culture driven by feedback, performance, or a combination of approaches. In general, it can be said that a positive company culture increases sales if you make it a priority.

5.Higher growth

According to Forbes, 50% of executives in various companies have stated that a positive organizational culture has a direct impact on growth rates.

Culture is something that builds on itself. When you take the time to develop a vision, goals, core values and the way in which they are lived, you lay the foundation for growth. Be it to attract more talent, retain them or get the best out of them.

Companies that develop a culture strategy are therefore better able to grow because they have a clear vision of who they are and what they want to achieve across the organization.

6.Time saving

The Engagement Institute has found that employees who identify with their company are more motivated to work harder and cost less to the company.

That’s because the more connected employees feel to the company’s culture, the more willing they are to do what’s right for the company. In fact, they will view their own interests as the interests of the company (this is a key element of the so-called psychological contract).

When these two aspects go hand in hand, it has a cascading effect on everything we just mentioned. Employees feel more connected, work harder, save time, increase revenue, and the company benefits no matter what it tries to do.

Company Culture: Frequently Asked Questions

A strong company culture and a strategy that invests in it essentially means that every employee (from interns to managers) identifies with the company and understands what the company stands for (and against).

Below are some of the most frequently asked questions about company culture:

What are the most important components of a good corporate culture?

The components of corporate culture can often be understood as the common system of an organization:

• Vision

• Values

• Norms

• Symbols

• Attitudes

Each of these elements influences how employees act and treat each other and how they think about the company. They also extend to all levels of the organization, but can be set by almost anyone, anywhere, at any time. If it sounds difficult to define, it is!

Who is responsible for the company culture?

She starts at the top. The corporate culture belongs to every member of the management team, but it extends to every single employee. This includes managers, executives and even part-time employees. It can also include customers when it comes to the relationship between them and employees.

How do you define company culture?

However, if we want to understand company culture as a topic, it is helpful to start with a few key questions:

• What does our organization stand for?

• What is important for our organization?

• How are these two aspects related?

What are the benefits of a good company culture?

A positive company culture can help:

• Employees feel supported in times of crisis.

• Companies achieve their set goals.

• Employees feel comfortable as part of the company, actively contribute to the company and stay with the company.

• Organizational development is achieved.

What should HR do for company culture?

First, HR, like managers, can serve as a role model for a positive corporate culture.

This means that they have internalized the company’s values to the point where they translate them into behaviors. Additionally, HR can help employees understand the company’s culture.

HR can support company culture by:

• Formulation and communication of a mission statement (in collaboration with management)

• Take initiatives to develop teams

• Offering professional development opportunities

• Organization of events

• Promote the exchange of knowledge

• Communicate information and keep messages consistent

In addition, HR can support company culture during the hiring process by ensuring that applicants and the company are a good cultural fit. To this end, the human resources department should use a standardized procedure and question applicants behaviorally about their values and norms.

Another task is to communicate the company’s culture to the outside world in order to strengthen employer branding.