Your organization has a unique company culture. And it exists either by design, or by default. But what many employers and managers fail to appreciate is how much culture matters.
Assuming that you are one of those business leaders who actually understand and appreciate the value and importance of your company's culture, are you happy with it?
According to eighty percent of respondents in a recent survey respondents, their company cultures must evolve quickly in order to see successful growth and hope to retain their quality employees in the process.
What Company Culture?
Because of the subjective and intangible nature of culture, it can be hard to explain and hard to grasp mentally. But culture in an organization is real and it influences everything in that organization.
Entrepreneur.com has defined company culture as “a blend of the values, beliefs, taboos, symbols, rituals and myths all companies develop over time.”
Another way of framing it is company culture as the personality of a company, particularly from an employee's perspective. To "visualize" culture in a business, it helps to think of it's ingredients, which include a company’s mission, values, and work environment. Whether it’s intentionally shaped and fostered, or has simply grown organically, the culture determines a company’s personality.
Company Culture and Hiring
Authors James Collins and Jerry Porras analyzed 18 U.S. companies with over 50 years of consistent high performance in their book Built to Last. They found that one of the major common traits these companies shared was an emphasis on hiring, developing and managing employees based on clearly defined values and principles.
According to the CEO of Accountants One,
"A great hire is not just talent that fulfills the job description. A great hire is 75% Culture and 25% technical skills. That’s because hiring a person who mirrors your company’s culture is more apt to be a long-term, happy, and contributing performer. After all, you can train technical skills, but you can’t teach a person to fit into an organization."
And there is plenty of statistical and anecdotal evidence to back this up. The point is that, when it comes to hiring - and employee retention - culture matters.
The Society of Human Resource Management (SHRM) website states that,
"The central role that HR plays in helping an organization capitalize on its culture is in hiring. HR has the opportunity to select people who fit the way the organization operates. Traditionally, hiring focuses primarily on an applicant's skills, but when a hire's personality also fits with the organization's culture, the employee will be more likely to deliver superior performance.
On the other hand, ill-fitting hires and subsequent rapid departures cost approximately 50 percent to 150 percent of the position's annual salary. Unfortunately, nearly one in three newly hired employees' leaves voluntarily or involuntarily within a year of hiring, and this number has been increasing steadily in recent years."
The employment environment is decidedly in the job seeker's favor right now and, although salary and benefits are still significant factors for determining a candidate's decision, a prospective company's culture has become a more important consideration. This is especially true among Millennials.
And this matters since, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Millennials will make up about 75 percent of the workforce by the year 2030.
Before you write that off as media hype, note that a 2018 survey by management consulting company, PricewaterhouseCoopers, revealed that 70 percent of employees indicated they would consider another job offer if it were a more fulfilling job than they currently had. And 33 percent said they would take a cut in pay to do so.
HR managers, who are largely responsible for developing and implementing recruiting and hiring processes, are under pressure to find better employees faster and with shorter time-to-hire. New strides in HR technology is helping to make this happen and to happen more seamlessly, but changing the hiring paradigm of CEOs and other C-level executives is often as much of a challenge as is improving the process.
Company Culture and Productivity
A great company culture is one that, among other things, embodies the pursuit of creating a positive work experience for employees. And a key aspect of this experience is valuing and recognizing workers.
An article from Forbes relates that,
"Put simply, an engaged culture marked by high levels of involvement, consistency, adaptability, and a transparent mission improves sales and customer satisfaction. More proof about the causality of culture and performance comes from Queen's University Centre for Business Venturing. Using data over a ten-year period of employee engagement surveys and company results, it found the following for organizations that possessed an engaged culture:
• 65% greater share-price increase
• 26% less employee turnover
• 100% more unsolicited employment applications
• 20% less absenteeism
• 15% greater employee productivity
• 30% greater customer satisfaction levels."
Employees want to be valued and recognized.
In another survey from enterprise software company, Sage Group, more than 65 percent of workers that a culture that provides recognition is one of the most important elements of their work life. In addition, over 90 percent of those surveyed believe that they are more productive with a positive workplace.
Your Partners for Workforce Management
Employee development and engagement, building company culture and workforce management can all be part of the responsibilities of a company's HR staff. And oftentimes the tasks and demands can seem overwhelming. This is where having an alternative for your HR management can be highly beneficial.
Another key step in maintaining HR workload, while increasing your company's cost-effectiveness, is to consider outsourcing. A professional agency such as Accuchex can provide much-needed help with Human Resources needs and questions.
Accuchex is a full spectrum Payroll Management Services provider offering expertise in Time Management, Insurance and Retirement issues, as well. Sign up for our free "My HR Support Center" tour.
