4 Ways To Create a Company Culture That’s a Competitive Advantage

Company culture — often considered the catch-all term for the beliefs, interactions, practices and priorities at a company.

Culture is the personality of an organization, and it influences how people feel, work and interact with the company and each other.

The impact of a good company culture is undeniable: Organizations with the best cultures outperform the broader market by 16% and enjoy a three times greater return. Employees also feel the impact of culture, as those who rank their culture highly are 790% more likely to be satisfied at work and 83% less likely to look for a new job.

But here’s the catch: while 84% of leaders report a thriving culture, only 49% of employees agree.

How do you close that 35% gap and ensure that your culture is something both leaders and employees can get behind?

The Hallmarks of a Great Company Culture

What makes a great culture great? Research done by SHRM and Great Place to Work shows some commonly cited factors:

• Equitable and fair leadership practices
• Respectful interactions and practices
• Connection and pride in the company and the work, and
• Belonging and growth.

When a company builds a culture around these guidelines, employees are healthier, happier, more productive, and more loyal, leading to higher annual returns. It’s that simple.

Strategies for Improving Company Culture

You’ll need an organizational initiative to build a culture that sustainably meets employee needs successfully. It won’t happen overnight, and it won’t happen if HR is the only team striving for improvements.

To that end, here are strategies to improve your company culture in a holistic way.

1. Let the Role of Leadership Evolve

Whether they like it or not, leaders are the face of company culture, and they have to exemplify those behaviors, mindsets and beliefs. These are ways to help leaders enhance employees’ view of the culture:

• Leaders should actively solicit employee feedback on all things related to their work experience, and they should have processes in place to make improvements based on feedback.
• Leaders should work on transparency as much as possible. Be open and honest in all communication and ensure employees know the reasoning behind corporate decisions.
• Leaders need to equitably offer performance evaluations, growth opportunities, rewards and recognition. They should be liberal with their appreciation and strive to spread it to everyone, not just the visible few.

When leadership equitable practices are in place, employees are nineteen times more likely to rate their culture as good or excellent.

2. Focus on Supportive, Respectful Interactions

Microaggressions, micromanagement, inconsiderate behaviors and unfair treatment create a toxic workplace. Every employee should be treated with respect from their colleagues, manager and senior leadership.

Other ways to respect employees is by respecting their time: work-life balance needs to be a priority. If employees are going home exhausted or frustrated, or if they feel like they’re missing important life events, they’re going to resent the company.

Create the expectation that when we’re at work, we work hard and we get along. And when we go home, we’re allowed to enjoy our lives.

3. Forge a Sense of Connection for Everyone

Each employee needs to understand that what they do on a daily basis is important, and they need to feel connected to the company and its mission. To that, employees need to feel:

• Pride in their work
• Pride in their team, and
• Pride in the company and how it operates.

First, help employees understand the impact their work has. Build greater transparency to show employees how their efforts help the company hit its goals.

Second, make sure teams emphasize collaboration, not competition. Regularly check in with team leaders to help them resolve points of tension.

Third, ensure the company stands for something that employees can believe in. What is the company’s mission and how does it tie into each employee’s work? How can the company engage with the community and other worthy causes more?

4. Show More Appreciation and Support More Growth

A culture of recognition and appreciation ties everything else together. By recognizing each employee’s accomplishments and milestones, you show them that they matter and that their work is valued. 

One way to effectively recognize employee effort is with greater growth opportunities. Make sure each employee has a clear path of growth, complete with a success matrix, personal goals, and meaningful progression through projects and learning opportunities.

Company Culture: the Glue That Binds Everything Together

Creating a positive company culture that uplifts your employees and supports their needs is like building a strong foundation for a home — without it, your business will be on shaky ground.

By involving leadership more, increasing respect, helping employees build connections, and spreading more appreciation, you can build a foundation of success that will stand the test of time, setting your organization apart in a work environment full of disengagement and burnout.