Do you feel like your employees aren't reaching their full potential?
Maybe you notice that they're dreading coming into work. Or maybe you just have poor retention.
Whatever the issue is, the solution is one that you might be overlooking: organizational culture.
Organizational culture is a very important part of a workplace. In many cases, it can actually make or break an organization's success.
So what exactly is the importance of organizational culture? It can't be answered in just a few words.
What is organizational culture?
To really understand the importance of organizational culture, we first have to understand what it is.
One of our favorite explanations of organizational culture is by Richard Perrin: "Organizational culture is the sum of values and rituals which serve as ‘glue’ to integrate the members of the organization."
Basically, what this means is simple. Organizational culture helps give meaning and direction to your employees.
When we know our company's values, it colors everything that we do. And when we have rituals, it helps create a routine.
Organizational culture helps to turn employees into comrades, or even family.
Why is it important?
Now that you know the definition of organizational culture, it's probably obvious.
When there's a culture attached to something, it makes your employees more personally involved with their job.
Today's employees don't want to feel like cogs in the machine. They want to feel personally invested in what they're doing.
Think of why you began your company. Chances are, it was because you believed in something, and wanted to share that belief with the world.
Now imagine if all of your employees had the same passion and drive that you did when starting.
That's what organizational culture can do for you.
How do we shape it?
So, the question is: how do we make our organizational culture something that our employees want to be a part of?
The truth is, there is no one-size-fits-all answer to this question.
In fact, experts agree that the best thing you can do is to lead by example. But exactly how you do that is incredibly personal.
Exactly how you do this will depend on what your company is, what it stands for, and what it does. So if you don't know these things, neither will your employees.
We don't know exactly how you'll shape your organizational culture. But the first step is to take a long hard look at your company's values, and figure out how to get your employees to share them.
Do you understand the importance of organizational culture?
If you do, then you'll immediately understand the importance of our workforce solutions.
We'll help you figure out if your employees are happy and content with your company, and if not, we'll give you the information you need to make the decisions that will change this for the better.
One of the best ways you can improve your organizational culture is to figure out where your employees think you're lacking. We can help you with that.
