Company culture is arguably important, and has always been so, however it is only becoming more of a focus and hot topic for companies worldwide in recent years.
How do you go about creating a strong company culture? It’s much more than superficial benefits like free coffee, happy hours and video games in the break room; instead, it’s about creating a deep sense of camaraderie.
We spend a lot of time at work, an average of 90,000 hours during a person’s lifetime according to a statistic widely quoted and attributed to Jessica Pryce-Jones in the book Happiness at Work (Wiley-Blackwell).
With that being said we are seeing a different generation coming into the workforce that is looking for a purpose to their work, making employee retention a major potential benefit.
Benefit 1: Employee Retention
Employees that feel as though they are a part of a community, and feel valued, are more likely to stay with an organization. And by making employees feel more connected, it helps improve upon employee engagement, and retention.
But company culture isn’t just significant for employee overall happiness. Culture is a leading strategy for stronger brand awareness.
Benefit 2: Brand Image
Your company culture ultimately reflects what your organization stands for. Look at it this way, if organizations do not care for its own employees, why should customers trust they will look after them? Understanding this simple idea is why aligning your company culture with your company brand is imperative to your success.
But it doesn’t just start with the CEO. There must be buy-in across the entire organization. Defining and living core beliefs set the stage for executives and their employees to connect, and as such, executives and senior leadership must inspire employees to believe in an organization’s value. Teamwork takes hold when employees join leadership in owning the responsibility for the overall company’s success.
Living the brand culture allows great organizations to win the battle for employees and customers, leading to the achievement of remarkable results.
By ConnectWise Chief Talent Officer Jennifer Locklear, recipient of the 2018 People First Award. Read more ConnectWise blogs here.
