67% of Global CEOs predict that in five years, workplace talent will focus more on corporate culture and values than they do on pay.
-Source: The Avast Business 2018 Mobile Workforce Report
Culture is a crucial contributing factor in a company’s success. Effective company culture includes the following elements. Values, management practices, norms, and governance. When the employees believe in what their company believes in, they start living out the values of the company and work together to take a step forward.
To make employees follow the organizational core values, they should know ‘why’ they are doing what they are doing. Once the individual goals and aspirations are in alignment with the business objectives, the company becomes unstoppable. The alignment can be ensured during the hiring process. Looking for the right culture fit should be one of the top priorities while hiring and onboarding a candidate.
“We…believe that the key to effectively motivating our employees begins with hiring individuals who are naturally inclined to serve. If a person is a culture fit at Rackspace if they believe in Fanatical Support both internally and externally, and if they are passionate about the company’s mission, then motivating them becomes much easier. For us, culture fit is one of the most important qualifications for employees at Rackspace — equally as important as technical skill. You can see this… in the way that Rackers interact with each other as well as with customers.”
-Julian Lopez, Director of Customer Loyalty, Rackspace, in an interview with Forbes.
Having a strong culture does not determine growth but the right culture does. High-performing cultures are not built with old school practices but modernized and new emerging technological systems. Before going into the details of how it can be built, let us see the benefits of a high-performing culture in an organization.
Benefits of a High-Performing Culture
- Increased Employee Engagement Rate. The positive company culture keeps the employees engaged and motivated by bringing them into the decision-making processes and making them feel that the company cherishes and values their work.
- Low Employee Turnover. The motivating culture will boost the morale of the entire workforce. Once the employees are at peace and happy with their workplaces, they stay loyal to the companies, and mutual trust and loyalty are built between the employers and employees.
- Enhanced Employee Experience. Experience drives the economy. Every company strives to give the best experience to their employees as well as customers. One of the factors that enhances employee experience within an organization is company culture.
- Attracts the Best Talents in the Industry. Research suggests that by 2025, the majority of the workforce would consider culture over pay. The era has already started, and only a company with strong culture can attract the best talents in the industry and win the war for talents.
- Company Gets Stronger Even During Tough and Changing Times. In this remote working scenario, a company with positive and strong company culture sustains and thrives because employees, no matter where they work from, are aware of their expectations and the company’s objectives.
- Higher Productivity and Company Growth. The engaged employees work harder and try to achieve their goals. They also go out of their way to perform some beneficial tasks, which, in turn, results in organizational growth.
- Increased Profitability. Strong company culture has a plethora of benefits that generate more revenue for the company. The innovative ideas and hard work will go hand in hand to reach success and increase profits.
How to Build a High-Performing Culture?
Gallup surveyed around 30,000 employees and found the key factors that contribute to building a high-performing culture.
- Robust Performance Management System
- Effective Communication and Collaboration
- Autonomy and Accountability
- Strong Leadership Capabilities
- Customer-centric strategy
- Training and developmental plans
Robust Performance Management System
A powerful performance management system that leverages technology breaks all the archaic practices of companies. The digitally equipped performance management process can clearly communicate the goals to the employees, reward them transparently, offer continuous learning, and also conduct a fair performance review process at the end of each quarter or a year.
This new system can create an open culture that engages and motivates employees. Besides, it also gives power to the employees’ voices through continuous check-ins, which promotes both downward and upward communication. Synergita’s trailblazing performance management software makes the performance review process simpler and fair by keeping a record of all conversations and tracking the performance of employees.
Effective Communication and Collaboration
The key to creating a healthy culture is strong communication and collaboration among the employees. Continuous check-ins with managers, one-on-one meetings, regular team meetings, and 360 degree feedback can ensure effective communication and collaboration among employees and also between the managers and the team members. The employees will also learn about their strengths and weaknesses, and work toward improving their weak areas.
Autonomy and Accountability
In traditional performance management systems, managers tend to micromanage their employees, and the team members become mere machines who complete the tasks given instead of bringing innovative ideas and different ways of performing a task to the table. Making sure that employees are held accountable for their respective jobs and giving autonomy to the employees in carrying out a particular project can build a strong company culture. Ethical and legal values too should be part of organizational core norms.
Strong Leadership Capabilities
Creating a transparent and fair company culture lies in the hands of the managers. The managers, who are not well trained enough, micromanage employees and fail to inspire them. The managers should be given proper leadership training and monitored to see they instill the values in their everyday work. If the managers inspire the employees, the employees work harder and stay motivated.
Whenever a team member goes off track, the manager will be able to identify it earlier and work on increasing the confidence of the employee by listening to his/her concerns and taking related action. The employees who feel valued stay engaged and perform better, thus, creating a high-performing culture.
Customer-Centric Strategy
To create a customer-centric strategy, your employees should know what is expected out of them and the reason behind it. They are your frontline warriors, and they are the ones who communicate frequently with your customers. If their objectives are aligned with your company’s vision and mission, they will give prompt responses to the clients and resolve their concerns immediately to enhance the customer experience and customer satisfaction rate.
Recognizing their customer services can reinforce the values in the everyday work life of all other employees and new recruits.
Training and Developmental Plans
The employees started prioritizing too above salary. Therefore, a manager should identify the areas of improvement of his/her team members and recommend suitable training programs and development plans to them. This will improve the skills of the employees, which will benefit the company in times of crisis. In addition, taking an interest in the professional growth of employees will build a long-term relationship between the employee and employer.
Culture Score
If you believe that you already have a strong culture, you can also check the culture score by using the culture score analysis of Synergita, where the employees’ adherence to the company culture can be calculated. Once the results are out, the companies can plan the strategies based on the outcomes to create a more engaging and perfect organizational culture. The data and insights are significant to take appropriate action at the right moment.
Thus, creating a high-performing culture is absolutely necessary to weather any storm and grow without any prolonging hindrance. Comment your thoughts on it. We would love to hear!