In the business world, company culture is often seen as one of the most important factors in determining success or failure.
HRIS company Cezanne HR published results of their survey where they asked 1,000 UK and Ireland employees a variety of questions to identify how they viewed their company’s culture levels.
Here is a breakdown of some of the key result findings:
The Realisation of the Importance of Company Culture
In any organisation, culture is key. It’s what sets you apart from other businesses and attracts top talent. A strong company culture can help improve employee morale, foster a sense of community, and increase productivity.
Weak company culture can lead to high turnover rates and a toxic work environment. So, what role does the place of work play in the death of company culture?
Out of the 1,000 employees that were surveyed, 84.5% felt that company culture was important to them, but while that might be the case, only 57% said that their company had a stated culture.
When digging into things from all the respondents who previously declared that their company had a stated culture, 73% of employees said that their company’s stated culture was living up to it, but 27% was not reflective at all of it.
Company culture has proven to be important for employees, especially since 75% of them would actively research a company’s culture before applying for a job with them and 54% of employees would consider walking away from their role if their organisation had neglected the importance of company culture.
When comes to visiting the office, 63% of employees felt that access to the physical workspace was absolutely essential for fostering a positive workplace culture. This aspect was even more important for employees aged 54 or over, with 85% stating that the physical workspace was important for company culture.
Company Culture and the COVID pandemic
When asked ‘do you think your company’s culture has been affected by the pandemic?’, 44% of respondents believed the pandemic did not have any effect on their company’s culture levels, while 29% revealed it had significantly deteriorated over time. 33% of millennials specifically stated they felt their company’s culture levels deteriorated because of the pandemic.
To help improve company culture levels, improved recognition and rewards are a big priority for employees, as seen by these responses:
- Improved recognition and rewards – 26.5%
- Improved mental health and wellbeing initiatives – 20.8%
- Improved communication from senior leaders – 19.1%
- Created more opportunities for interactions with colleagues – 18.6%
- Improved diversity, equality and inclusion initiatives – 9.3%
- Something else – 5.7%
Conclusion
So, what does the future hold for company culture? Only time will tell. But if the trends outlined above are any indication, we could be seeing some major changes in the way businesses operate.
It’s up to HR departments to stay ahead of the curve and adapt their strategies accordingly.
