High engagement of employees through cultural alignment is necessary for business success
- According to Gartner, only 31% of HR leaders agree their organizations have the necessary culture to drive future business performance. However, since 2010 mentions of culture among senior leaders have increased by 12% annually
- As per Business Insider, in 2019 the job search process has been largely digitized and a lot has changed when it comes to the way hiring is done
- According to Gallup, as of 2018, 34% of employees are engaged at work and 13% are actively disengaged. Therefore, employee well-being strategy is the key to increase their engagement
Culture is a strong part of people’s lives. It influences their views, perceptions, values, humor, hopes, loyalties as well as worries and fears towards organization. So, businesses need to be very careful while they are working with people and building relationships. In the process, businesses learn several perspectives and understanding of their cultures.
Here are the major reasons why culture is important for businesses:
1. To define the identity of company
Various attributes such as: “good work-life balance”, “lots of meetings” and “team-orientation” can shape positive attitude of employees towards organization. The ways in which businesses manage workflow, interact as a team and treat customers all add up to an experience of what company believes. On the other hand, culture is the sum of company’s beliefs in action.
2. To build up best people
Employees who feel like they are part of a community, while working in an organization are more likely to stay. In fact that is what most job applicants are looking for in a company. A workplace culture focused on people has profound appeal. It helps improve engagement, deliver a unique employee experience and make people feel more connected. “Hire for cultural fit” is one of the ways to attract top performers.
3. Assists in familiarizing new employee
Organizational culture has the potential to act as an aligning force for the guidance of those employees who have just joined the organization. They do not put any considerable thought into the type of culture they are entering into and gradually develop a perception. So, it is important that starts with familizaring them with the norms and conditions of the company. According to Forbes, people fail in new jobs because of poor fit, poor delivery or poor adjustment to changes.
4. Transforms Company into a team
A successful culture brings together the people at company and keeps them aligned. The culture at organizations set expectations for how people behave and work together and most importantly, how well they work as a team. Hence, culture can break down the boundaries for independent teams and transform them into dependent one who improves through common decision-making. A study conducted by the IBM workforce institute also says that meaningful work in teams provides the most significant contribution to a positive work experience.
5. Impacts performance and employee wellbeing
Reports shows that organizational culture is directly related to performance as well as employees’ wellbeing. A healthy culture addresses both the issues and brings a larger satisfaction among employees. Paul Bareet said that employee wellbeing strategies have the potential to bring huge benefits to employees as well as employers but they need to be introduced in a right way for right reasons. According to Harvard Business Review Article, people these days want to understand how their work connects with the purpose.
Above all, culture is the backbone of every organization and when it is articulated and executed, employee engagement soars. Employers need to be provided a platform where they can freely share their problems outside the organizational boundaries. This makes them more engaged and perform harder work to achieve greater output.
