The 6 Effective Steps That Improve Company Culture and Boost Productivity

Ready to create a positive and productive company culture? In this guest post, Ciarán Hourican of H-Training offers six tactics for transforming your workplace into a thriving hub of productivity.

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Understanding Organizational Structure

Failure to engage employees in their workplace can cause severe problems for the organization. Studies show that unengaged employees can cost companies a crazy $350 billion each year in the U.S. alone. This loss translates to over $60 million annually for companies with over ten thousand employees.

The market is highly competitive so companies need to work to reduce losses caused by low employee productivity. Several factors can cause employee disengagement, but one main reason is negativity in the organizational culture. Reversing this mindset can help improve employee productivity significantly. 

Organizational culture is the code of conduct, values, and practices employees adhere to. The organization’s leadership influences the culture which the employees follow. The administration defines an organizational culture through missions, goals, beliefs, recognition, and rewarding processes. It could also include the language used, feedback process, and written and unwritten rules used by employees at any workplace.

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What Makes Organizational Culture Important?

Culture influences how people behave, respond, and interact with other people. It also affects how fast a society can grow and become a fully functional community. A company’s culture is essential in helping it achieve its mission and values. Therefore, it is vital to have a strong company culture.

Everyone loves working for a company that values its employee. In 2023, a study found that most employees value personal interest, company culture, benefits, and professional growth over income when searching for employment. Companies that recognize and reward employee efforts also receive more job applications compared to those that do not. 

Some of the reasons why a positive and engaging organizational culture is essential include the following:

• It helps establish a unique identity for the organization
• It offers a sense of stability and belonging to the workers of any organization
• It helps recognize and retain the best performers and appreciate their contribution to the company
• It develops an engagement culture that increases employee productivity
• It increases happiness levels within the organization

How Does Organizational Culture Improve Business Performance?

A good working environment helps employees enjoy their duties within the company. Companies with a good culture will experience improved productivity, accountability, and morale. Below are some of the ways culture can affect your company’s operations.

Culture Improves Employee Productivity

Engaging employees increases their passion about what the company offers. Strong organizational culture can make them feel motivated to carry out their business. It will improve productivity which can lead to more customer-satisfactory services. It also improves workers’ experience leading to increased sales and high customer retention.

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Better Employee Retention Rates

According to the U.S. Bureau of Labour and Statistics, the rate of people leaving their jobs was highest in 2021. Employee turnover can cost a company millions of dollars, and it is vital to avoid it. Satisfied employees believe in the company’s leadership and feel like a valued part of the company. They are less likely to search for other opportunities.

It Improves the Innovation Levels of Employees

Engaged employees are highly innovative and productive. A recent study established that engaged employees are 17% more innovative and productive than less engaged workers. It can improve their commitment to work and helping the company succeed. 

How Can You Improve the Organizational Culture?

The employee culture is an overall reflection of your organization’s culture. Observing some of your employees’ behavior is essential to gauge your business culture. Lateness, delayed email responses, and reduced morale can indicate a negative organizational culture. Therefore, it is vital to improve the organization’s culture to create a different environment in the company. Employees will likely put more effort when they see the company trying to change its operations and develop sustainable values and beliefs. 

Some of the ways to make the organization’s culture more engaged include:

1. Analyze your current reward and recognition program and identify any necessary implementation changes. Aim at creating a culture that supports hearty recognition for employees.
2. Share your success with employees. Introduce a new communication channel that informs employees of any latest company achievements. This will make them feel part of the company’s success. Introduce rewards and bonuses each time the company performs well.
3. Review the current organizational culture and employee engagement terms. You can get feedback through surveys or face-to-face talks with the employees. These surveys will help you identify areas that need improvement.
4. Create peer relationships among employees. These relationships allow management to step back and let them engage, converse, and even brainstorm with each other. It can help nurture good employee relationships.
5. Create a flexible working environment, allowing employees to engage in other personal activities and work from home. This can enhance employee experience and morale.
6. Remain loyal to the culture you propose. When management fails to deliver on its promises, employees become discouraged and less productive. Managers should remain honest about what the company culture states. 

What are the Benefits of Organization Culture for Employee Performance?

Organizations with high transparency, clear expectations, and good recognition channels make it easy for employees to understand their expectations. A working environment that allows employees to be open and honest about their experience helps improve efficiency and cooperation.

Well-established organizational culture helps employees feel appreciated and valued within the company. Therefore, it improves productivity and performance, which drives the company to accomplish its goals and mission. A positive company culture provides a competitive advantage, and most companies are unaware of it. When used correctly, a good organizational culture can help improve employee retention, boost performance, and create self-reliant employees. Studies show that engaged employees are 21% more productive. 

Some of the values to instill in your organizational culture include the following:

• Agility
• Diversity
• Collaboration
• Recognition
• Respect
• Performance
• Innovation

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How does Culture Influence Employee Engagement?

Most companies agree that culture and employee engagement are the top challenges within the organization. The best solution is improving the organization’s culture, which will help align employee engagement. Any culture that is prevalent in a company will likely affect employee engagement. The level of employee engagement at the workplace will depend on the employees’ happiness levels and their perspective toward the company’s culture.

As an illustration, some offices face communication problems due to strict and rigid working structures. In these scenarios, employees only communicate with their managers and no one else. These companies will always experience high employee turnover, reduced productivity, and internal conflicts. An engaging culture makes employees happy, open, and productive. Therefore, companies that practice an engaging culture have high employee retention and tend to grow faster.

What Are the Steps for Creating a High Performing Workforce?

Creating a high-performing workforce does not require you to follow any special formula. The efforts need to be put in place from the time of hiring. Some of the tips for building a high-performing team include the following:

• Explain the work culture clearly when hiring. Employees who align with the company’s culture will likely work for you longer.
• Invest time and energy in reviewing your current engagement process and employee culture.
• Stipulate goals and directions and ensure all employees are aware of them. It gives a clear idea of what they should be doing.
• Be open to feedback and provide several channels for employees to provide feedback. The feedback should be multidirectional, and management should ensure that the working style aligns with the work requirements.
• Recognize and reward top-performing employees.
• Ensure regular training of employees and provide development opportunities.

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Verdict on Employee Engagement and Organizational Culture

Employee engagement and company culture work together. A good organizational culture influences the success of your organization. It acts as the foundation on which the workers will rely while working in your company. Therefore, a progressive, transparent work culture will enhance performance and employee engagement. Although it can be challenging and takes some time and effort, investing in improving the work culture and employee engagement can bring a positive outcome for the company.

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Author Bio

Ciarán Hourican is Managing Director of H-Training, a career and corporate service firm helping people achieve their career goals. Ciaran spends a great deal of his time working on interview coaching and career coaching.

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