Organizational Culture - Is it really that important?

Organizational Culture – Is it really that important?

Organizational Culture

Organizational culture refers to an organization’s expectations, experiences, overall philosophy, as well as the values that guide employee behavior, and is expressed in member self-image, inner workings, interactions with the outside world, and future expectations. Culture is based on shared attitudes, beliefs, customs, and written and unwritten rules that have been developed over time and are considered valid (The Business Dictionary).

The very definition of Organizational Culture implies great importance in determining the success of an organization. The culture of an organization should be evident all throughout the organization. Yet so many organizations don’t appropriately recognize and value the importance of organizational culture. Many organizations are content to let their culture develop organically rather than intentionally choosing a set of core values it will be based on. An article by Forbes titled “Three Reasons Why Culture Efforts Fail” discusses a few reasons why many organizations fail at appropriately managing culture.

An organization’s culture has to be its own; Organizations need to be loyal to their established culture. One thing to recognize: the organization’s culture won’t fit everyone. Every person will not fit in every organization.

Here are three benefits of establishing and maintaining a good organizational culture:

1. Increases employee retention

Employees who are happy in their jobs and feel like they belong are more inclined to stay with their organization. When company culture allows employees to learn and thrive, they know the organization supports, values and understands them.

2. Increases employee engagement and productivity
Employee engagement has been linked to a multitude of business benefits, including higher productivity, profitability, lower turnover, and higher employee satisfaction rates. By creating a culture of well-being, you can drive engagement and efficiency within the organization.

3. Increases employee levels of satisfaction and teamwork
When employees come to work feeling valued, happy and healthy because they are immersed in a great company culture, they feel more satisfied in their roles and more connected to their teammates.

Here are three things organizations should avoid regarding its culture:

1. Culture is not officially recognized with the Organization

Often times a culture is developed and allowed to mature with employees or customers of an organization. The culture is valued and is thought to be a major part of the organization only to discover that the culture is not recognized or supported by the organization’s leadership. When culture is not recognized by leadership it is subsequently not protected during transitions of leadership and on-boarding of managers and others throughout the organization.

2. Lack of culture’s connection to mission and success of the Organization

It is very important for an organization to make the connections between the values it promotes and the mission of the organization. When this is not done, the adoption and promotion of certain values may be regarded as optional. These connections have to be made assertively and constantly across the organization.

3. Culture is not modeled by many throughout the organization

The biggest challenge to an organization’s culture can be failure to effectively model the culture by members of the organization, particularly leaders. Values like respect for women, diversity and inclusion and customer service are all values that need to be demonstrated on an ongoing basis by members of an organization. If is not, then there is great risk that the culture professed is not the culture lived within the organization and it will begin to lose credibility and crumble.

Organizational culture often coincides with an organization’s reputation and brand. It can be the lifeblood of the organization, the thing that keeps it alive, relevant and innovative. It can also be the thing that dooms an organization’s chance for success. Therefore, give it the appropriate amount of attention and priority and work to have it be a strength of your organization, not a weakness.