Your company culture has the power to set you apart from the competition, and it can do miracles for your team.
If these past couple of years have taught businesses anything, it’s been the importance of a healthy and authentic company culture. After all, it’s what has kept teams together as they worked from their kitchen tables and Zoomed in to every meeting.
But what exactly is workplace culture? It’s the character and personality of your organisation, made up of your people’s values, beliefs and traditions. It’s ultimately what brings your company to life, and together. Culture is reflected in just about everything at work: be that the office setup, employee benefits, hiring decisions, leadership or even working hours.
But a healthy culture doesn’t just happen. It needs to be nurtured and invested in, continually. And we don’t mean just buying the office a ping pong table.
So what are the benefits of an authentic company culture?
Your company culture has the power to set your business apart from the competition. Not only can it attract clients looking to work with a business with aligning values, it can do miracles for your team, too.
Here’s what a good company culture can do for your business:
Attracting new talent
As more and more companies bounce back after the lockdowns, the competition for talent is higher than ever. Today, hiring isn’t just about what you offer, be that the number of personal days offered or the possibility of free lunch. It’s now more about what you stand for as a company, and how you do business.
According to Glassdoor’s 2019 Mission and Culture survey, 77 per cent of respondents said they would “consider a company’s culture” before applying. Meanwhile, 56 per cent said they found a good workplace culture to be “more important than salary” when it came to job satisfaction.
To top this, a survey by the Society or Human Resources Management (SHRM) found that company culture was the number one reason why people picked one job over another – proving it pays to invest in your culture.
Retaining your talent
Your company culture doesn’t just help attract new talent. It plays a crucial role in retaining your talent too. In fact, the same Glassdoor report found that 65 per cent of respondents said their company’s culture was the main reason for staying at their current job.
And retention pays off – a loyal workforce will enhance your culture even more, as they’ll effectively act as brand ambassadors of your company.
And it doesn’t stop there… good retention rates are good news for your finances too. A study by Oxford Economics and Unum found that the average cost of employing someone earning £25,000 a year or more is £30,614 – and it takes 42 days to fill that position, according to Glassdoor.
Business performance
It’s been proven time and again that companies with healthy, authentic cultures are profitable. A recent report by Forbes found that businesses that put culture first saw a fourfold increase in revenue growth.
So what’s the connection? When a company culture is strong, teams work together in harmony towards one common goal. More often than not, everyone is driven, motivated and productive and will ultimately make better decisions and resolve issues much faster.
Looking Forward
There’s so much more a good company culture can do for your business, too, which is why Pleo is bringing together the industry’s brightest minds at our free digital summit, Forward.
On 9 December, I’ll be joined by more than 25 speakers from all over the globe, who will share their lessons learned, discuss their people-centric initiatives and tell the honest truth about authentic leadership, and what it takes to build a future-proof culture.
Our agenda is jam-packed with sessions and discussions exploring pressing topics such as mental health, diversity inclusion and equality, while also reflecting on product innovation, and how businesses can build better solutions to support the future workforce.
If you’re looking to hear more about the importance of company culture, and how to build it, we’d love for you to join us.