Today’s corporate world has become a significant component that determines world economy and hence people’s lives. Cutting across national boundaries; entrepreneurs, CEOs and prominent business leaders are bringing about positive changes in the world. An improved “corporate culture” is the reason behind these changes. It can be defined as shared practices, values, beliefs, perceptions and understanding of an organization’s employees.
Corporate culture is uniquely distinct for a particular company, which forms the basis for its improved business performance, employee motivation and finally achieving its stated goals. It is no secret that companies having strong corporate culture attract and retain talented employees. Today, entrepreneurs are focusing on creating improved corporate culture, which they believe is the best way to enable a long-term success.
It is also no surprise to see how world renowned companies like Google, Facebook and American Express take care of their employees. As a result of this nurturing, these companies were able to develop a perfect environment for innovation, creativity, loyalty and high productivity. Even the startups have understood the importance of culture because it serves a breeding ground for employees to become more productive. This is the reason why many companies are seriously considering employee engagement as a potential tool for their long-term success.
Key benefits of a strong corporate culture
The positive environment of an organization always attracts new initiatives, drives innovation and motivates employees. In addition to that, there are several other benefits of having a positive corporate culture:
1. Corporate culture is vital in terms of shaping individual behaviors where dispensing responsibility in the face of adversity becomes a benchmark.
2. The new benchmark forms the bedrock of improving the likelihood of stability and success.
3. A good corporate culture always reflects the common interests of owners and customers.
4. It creates an incentive that ensures employee productivity is always in their interest.
5. It provides a way of better utilization of all the resources for the benefit of all the stake holders.
6. Highlighting examples of strong corporate culture infuses competitiveness.
How to strengthen organizational culture
The organizations that lack positive culture force their employees to focus solely on personal goals rather than business goals. It is, therefore, a clarion call for such companies to incorporate effective cultural transformation. The following are the key factors that help towards improving organizational culture:
1. Developing a mission and sticking to it
The most fundamental aspect of a company culture is to develop a clear set of goals and a mission statement that encourages everyone to collaborate. It is very important to stick to these fundamentals throughout the hierarchy of the organization. The higher authorities as well as the employees should follow the principle of doing all the good at their respective levels.
By creating such an actionable philosophy, employees understand this core mission, which in turn always helps the company to stay on track and scale up its success. This scenario is not just a morale booster for employees, but it also gives an impression that their ideas and feedback are equally important.
2. Creating an environment that attracts highly motivated people
A positive work environment engenders creativity and innovation. Unless employees are motivated enough to accept challenges, there will always be a gap to fully harness the overall potential of an organization. Therefore, employers or entrepreneurs must focus on creating a culture in which motivated employees should always find an opportunity to deliver their best. A good way of attracting talented pool of individuals is to focus on employee productivity rather than their working style. As a matter of fact, most of the employees find flexible work options comfortable and encouraging. A survey conducted by Flexjobs in 2014 showed that 74 percent employees wanted flexible jobs because work-life balance.
3. Developing a strategic plan that is accepted by all the employees
The core strategy of an organization should be the one that is fully accepted and embraced by all the levels. The companies that do not clearly spell out their core strategic plans end up creating confusion among their employees. The employees tend to develop their own interpretation as to what management expects from them. It may result in conflict and disorientation. It is, therefore, very important that employees should understand where they are going and how to achieve the organization’s stated goals and visions.
4. Improving the communication
Communication is a vital element for the success of an organization. There should be a healthy communication in a workplace at all the levels. From micromanaging all the operations to achieving the long-term business goals, communication is very critical in effectively running an organization. It is crucial in terms of product development, customer relations and employee satisfaction. For an instance, a culture of transparency in a company is helpful in many ways -- it establishes clear expectation for employees, builds strong relationships, it encourages trust and loyalty and it leads to new ideas and innovation.
5. Encouraging passion
Passion in business is very important for its success. Being passionate about achieving goals and objectives is like a force-multiplier for an employer or an entrepreneur. The leaders, who are passionate about succeeding, come what may, are the ones who keep on going despite difficulties and challenges. Similarly, passionate employees are an asset for a company because they are more likely to come up with out of the box solutions. Richard Branson said in a recent blog on Daily Monitor, “passion is one of the most effective motivators when it comes to launching a business -- and often one of the strongest predictors of whether an idea will lead to success”. “If you have an idea that might work in an area that you’re not passionate about, instead think about ways that you could apply it to a sector that does excite you”, he added. Apart from your passion, you must need a good marketing strategy so that you build your brand.
Conclusion
Corporate culture is indeed a fruitful investment that forms a legacy on which employees come and go but they contribute their best efforts for the success of organization. It is essentially a culmination of shared beliefs and values of employees who perform their responsibility in a good spirit. A strong corporate culture, therefore, is a win-win proposition for all of its stake-holders.
