Why is Corporate Culture A Thing?

Every company should be working on their culture. Why? The internal culture affects productivity, image, morale and quality of the work. 

A benefit of a strong corporate culture is giving the company a clear identity. If a company promotes creative thinking and listens to employees, the employees themselves will dare to be more creative and communicate their ideas. Depending on the company values, the behaviour of the employees might change into the direction of the company goals. 

Having a strong corporate identity is also a way to attract like-minded workers into your company. They will continue to cultivate the company culture. If employees are aligned with the company culture they will feel that they belong in the company and be less prone to changing their workplace. Lower turnover is good for every business, it saves money, drives up productivity and keeps the team chemistry.

Employing a new person should be viewed through the prism of the corporate culture

A bad hire might affect the overall morale of the team, leading to adverse effects on business. Imagine going meeting with a team of sales representatives from a company, whose products you want to discuss buying. If the employees of this company each have their vision of how to present the company and conduct business, they’ll inevitably add pressure to the meeting. They might possibly argue and make an overall bad impression. Having a cohesive team is important. The customer experience improves if the customers feel the chemistry of the team and accept the values promoted by the organisation and its employees.

The corporate culture is what differentiates an organization from its competitors. Whereas some depend on the logo or the product others choose their culture to differentiate. As far as the employee experience is concerned, the company culture is the highlight of a business. Salary can only motivate an employee to an extent and usually doesn’t affect morale after a while. Therefore, it is important to invest time and resources into building up corporate culture. In a recent article, we mentioned that the average Briton spends around 10 years in the workplace over their career. A sense of belonging and self-actualization goes a long way. There is no universal formula for integrating company culture. Every organization needs to define its values and practices and start communicating them to the stakeholders.

Corporate culture, when developed, gives a company a sustainable competitive advantage.

It is unique to the organisation. It is a source of value, due to the aforementioned factors and it is not easy to imitate. A majority of companies do not have an established culture. Therefore, the companies that promote their internal culture are rare and stand out. However, it is important for companies to be able to utilise this advantage. Simply promoting values is not enough. Hiring, policies, work ethic and processes should also be aligned with the values promoted.

Today, establishing and maintaining the company culture is more difficult than a year ago. Working from home puts the employees in a position where their family and their work are in one place. On the other hand, it is also a time where people need more support. Companies can and should take a proactive approach in their engagement with their workforce. Through activities and communication, a company can not only promote values and behaviours but also hold itself up to the standards attached to them.

 

(KindLink is the technology platform supporting corporates in promoting company culture and managing their CSR, offering features ranging from impact reporting and measuring SDGs to employee engagement and volunteering opportunities marketplace)