3 Impacts from a Positive Work Culture
The market has never been more competitive, and with more small to medium businesses cropping up every week, standing out from the crowd is not easy. When planning for business success, most owners consider the cost to return ratio of marketing, staffing, and the soundness of their supply chain as well as how they interact with their customers. Few, however, think about how their internal culture can affect their business.
What is Company Culture (and Why Does it Matter)?
Company culture is a buzzword that refers to the internal social order, procedures, and practices which fuel a business. Unlike your business ethos, which primarily fuels the way your team members interact with your customers, your company culture dictates how they interact with each other and view their work. This is far more important to your business's success than you might think. Your company culture is the way you lead, how your team works together, and the way you take care of each other; it affects everything from employee satisfaction and productivity to retention. In fact, it can also impact the way the public sees a company; look at the negative press that Amazon received for its treatment of warehouse workers.
3 Effects of a Positive Company Culture
Your company culture affects every single aspect of your business, but there are 3 main ways in which a positive company culture directly contributes to the success or failure of your business.
1. Increased Employee Satisfaction
A happy staff is efficient and productive; by creating a positive and constructive culture, you can reduce unnecessary stress for your team members. Likewise, a positive culture that encourages teamwork will help your staff manage stress more effectively by encouraging solidarity and normalizing turning to coworkers for help.
2. A Feeling of Ownership
A positive company culture should encourage a sense of ownership in your team members. When your team feels they have a personal stake in the business, they will put their heart and soul into their work. This will lead to increased customer satisfaction and a happier office environment.
3. Employee Retention
A high level of employee retention is important for a number of reasons. First and foremost, keeping experienced, skilled, and passionate staff on your team should be a priority; your employees are the lifeblood of your business, after all. More than this, however, high turnover is costly and
In short, your company culture is the glue that holds your business together; unseen by your clients and shareholders, it nonetheless fuels every aspect of your business. From ensuring your staff are happier to instilling a sense of ownership and reducing turnover, the culture you create can make or break your business... so it really pays to invest in getting it right.