I recently spoke to Vanessa Ogle at Authority Magazine about why corporate culture is so important for successful businesses. It was fascinating to reflect on something so business-critical, whatever the size of your company and whether you are a start-up or a long-established business.
When I started my first business fifteen years ago, I was definitely task-driven. That approach has evolved as I have learned more about business. The corporate world has also changed, particularly since Covid.
Today, I am passionate about a people-first approach, the value of corporate culture and company purpose.
I don’t subscribe to the corporate thought of companies setting out a vision and mission and expecting a great company culture to result. Yes, there must be a framework for how you want people to behave and the standards you expect in your business. But culture is the living, breathing, and doing result of that. It’s about individuals consciously and unconsciously embracing certain values and displaying them in their everyday work lives. People say, “it’s just how we do things around here”.
Culture directly impacts employee engagement, which is why it is so important for any company’s success.
If a company has a positive culture, teams are more productive, more efficient, more agile and more resilient. Employees feel more secure, more open to new opportunities, and better connected to their work and those around them. They are less likely to be off sick, particularly with issues such as stress, and teams are less likely to be affected by presenteeism, with motivated employees who want to succeed at work.
Losing talented staff is a headache for any business, as replacing employees adversely affects productivity. A positive corporate culture results in happier staff that are less likely to leave and cause disruption in terms of lost skills, experience, time and revenue.
Corporate culture also affects external customers. Success breeds success. If your teams are happy and engaged on the inside, it shows on the outside. Clients speak to more helpful, positive staff who are more productive and provide better service. Those clients are more likely to leave glowing reviews and share their positive experiences with their connections, increasing referrals for new business and repeat business from existing clients.
Business resilience and agility are more important than ever in today’s volatile world. Companies with a strong corporate culture are more likely to be able to navigate change with a can-do mindset.
“Culture eats strategy for breakfast”
– Peter Drucker, Management Consultant
As Peter says, you can have the best strategy in the world, but you cannot deliver it if you don’t have the right culture. Without people, there is no business; leaders must focus on their people and culture to succeed.
For many companies, recruitment is incredibly difficult at the moment. Corporate culture is a key enabler for engaging and retaining employees, delivering a product or service that sets you apart from your competitors and brings back your customers year after year.
You can read the full interview with Authority here: https://medium.com/authority-magazine/james-morris-of-trafalgar-marquees-on-why-corporate-culture-matters-in-business-d20da1cf2897
Please get in touch if you would like to discuss developing a positive corporate culture in your workplace. Drop me an email to [email protected].
