Have you wondered what an organizational culture actually means? Apart from the vague descriptions you might have read online about how employees interact, organizational culture is a concept that includes a lot more than just how employees interact and operate.

Speaking in terms of a firm, the organizational culture would comprise the firm’s basic personality, or the essence of how its employees communicate and carry out various processes required to achieve collective goals. It is, nevertheless, an enigmatically complicated entity that keeps surviving and evolving as a result of shifts in leadership, strategy, and several other factors. 

It can also be defined as the self-sustaining pattern of behaviour that determines how things are done in an organization.

Culture is something that is difficult to define, yet everyone recognises it when they experience it. Similar to how you can get a sense of someone’s personality by looking at them, you can determine the culture of an organization by looking at the arrangement of furniture, what they brag about, what members wear, and so on.

Members of an organisation tend to pick up on the culture of that organisation sooner than one can ever imagine. 

Importance of having an Organizational Culture

Developing a winning corporate culture within your organization boosts recruitment efforts and increases retention rates. The types of candidates you attract and the personnel you keep have a direct impact on your company culture. 

And so, a positive corporate culture is just what you would need to attract the best job prospects and keep them on board as employees. It takes a lot of time and effort to build a winning company culture that reflects your beliefs and matches with your entire objective. It’s a difficult, however not impossible task, and here’s why having a good organizational culture is so important:

Increases employee engagement levels

Employee engagement is defined as an employee’s level of interest in, motivation for, and connection to their work and company. And so, it’s no surprise that high levels of employee engagement are associated with winning business cultures.

Strong corporate cultures provide employees with a reason to stick around and to do so with zeal. Employees with a winning culture establish strong bonds with their peers, company, and position, improving their work experience and increasing their engagement.

Reflects your organization’s core values

Your company’s values and beliefs, as well as the underlying assumptions held by employees in your organization, form the foundation of your culture.

In a nutshell, your company’s basic principles are brought to life through your organisational culture.

Helps to increase employee satisfaction and productivity

Your organization’s culture has a bigger impact than you know, on employee satisfaction and engagement. If your corporate culture values teamwork but a person prefers to work alone, they are unlikely to be satisfied at your organisation. 

While you won’t be able to please everyone, you may attempt to create a company culture that balances your employees’ individual requirements while also aligning with your organization’s objectives. Thus, your staff will show their appreciation by increasing their productivity and performance.

Scope for improved recruitment efforts

Studies show that organizations that provide a favourable candidate experience enhance the quality of their hiring by 70%. You can’t hide your company culture from job seekers; they’ll be able to get a sense of it almost instantly and use it to make a decision. Thus it is important to prioritize developing a corporate culture that promotes a strong and compelling brand image to prevent losing top prospects’ attention.

Understanding and developing organizational culture

In most cases, leaders do have a strong awareness of their organization’s culture. However, they simply haven’t made that sense conscious enough to be able to learn from and lead within the culture effectively.

Diverse people within the same organisation may have different perspectives about the company’s culture. This is especially true when it comes to the perspectives of the organization’s top and bottom levels.

Here are four elements to understanding your company’s culture, as well as the criteria for determining whether it needs to change. 

Recognize that your company does have a culture

Every firm, whether consciously or unintentionally created, has a culture. This culture comprises the set of values, goals, ethics, and expectations that guide and affect employee conduct.

If you want to create a certain type of culture, it’s not enough to just say so. To build a roadmap to achieve those changes, you must first figure out what present habits need to change. It is thus critical to first establish your current corporate culture before attempting to change it.

Evaluate the Priorities of Your Business

It is crucial to analyze your company’s priorities if you want to learn more about your culture. These objectives and initiatives show what your company values and what it does not ,both explicitly and implicitly.

Inquire about the culture of the company

The behaviours that are encouraged, tolerated, and discouraged in your workplace make up your company culture. It’s best to go straight to the source, i.e., your employees. This will help you figure out what kind of people make up your organization. Consider ways in which you can gather input on which behaviours are now beneficial to the company and which should be avoided or altered in order to elevate your firm.

SUPER TIP – If you’re interested in engaging with your team to understand your knowledge of your organisation’s culture, here’s something to help you start with.

Types of organizational culture 

Every organization is different, and all of them have a unique culture to organize groups of people. Adopting a culture that matches your people and your goals- is the only right way out to understanding and developing an organizational culture.

Now when it comes to types, there are over five to eight types of organizational culture, out of which only a few are amongst the popular ones. They are as follows:

The Clan Culture

A clan culture is people-focused in the sense that the company feels like one big happy family. This culture follows the motto of being together throughout everything. Clan culture comprises a highly collaborative work environment  that is super flexible where every individual is valued and communication is a top priority.

Market Culture

Market culture mainly believes in competition and growth, where losing isn’t considered as an option. These are organisations that are more concerned with external success, i.e., profitability  than with internal contentment.

Everything is measured against the bottom line; each position has a goal that is aligned with the company’s overall goal, and employees and leadership roles are frequently separated by several degrees. 

Hierarchy Culture

Companies with hierarchical cultures stick to the traditional business structure and value quality over quantity. These are businesses that place a strong emphasis on internal organisation, with a clear chain of command and various management tiers that separate employees from executives. Employees are typically required to obey a dress code in addition to a rigid structure. Hierarchy cultures have a set of rules to follow, making them predictable and risk-averse.

Adhocracy culture

Adhocracy cultures are rooted in innovation and risk taking and go by the motto- risk it to get the biscuit. These are the businesses that are at the forefront of their fields, looking to produce the next great thing before anybody else has even begun to ask the appropriate questions. They must take risks in order to do so. Individuality is valued in adhocracy cultures because employees are encouraged to think creatively and contribute their ideas.

10 Amazing organizational culture examples

A good company culture not only consists of one or a combination of the above mentioned types, but should also be something that stands out from one’s competition. 

It is not something that can be achieved within a snap of a finger, but takes a considerable amount of time, understanding and planning to emerge as an organization with a great culture where employees are productive, happy and satisfied.

Here are a few examples of organizations with commendable culture to help you take inspiration from:

#1 Of course, Google

Google is known for being an excellent employer that has pioneered many of the perks and advantages that startups are now known for. Google’s employees are a hardworking, talented, and an enthusiastic bunch.

For its employees, Google’s corporate culture is a treasure trove of perks and bonuses. Free meals, employee vacations and parties, cash bonuses, open speeches by high-level executives, employee recognition, gyms, and a pet-friendly atmosphere are all available at Google. It’s no surprise that Google’s company culture is the gold standard by which all other IT firms are judged.

#2 Zoom cares not only about connecting users, but its employees as well!

The video conferencing technology company -Zoom is known for its amazing culture, and with good reason: their emphasis on people. The business has a reputation for genuinely caring about its employees. Zoom even encourages employees to bring loved ones to work so that teammates and coworkers can meet the individuals who work behind the scenes, who inspire them, and for whom they work.

#3 Everyone’s favourite digital streaming platform: Netflix

Netflix’s corporate culture is based on the principle of “people over process.” They have a set of ideals in which they strongly believe and which they want their employees to live out in their job.

The foundation of the organisation is a strong sense of loyalty and ownership. Their goal is to pervade the workforce with their values and philosophies in order to motivate and urge people to support innovation in order to achieve higher growth.

#4 Zappos

Zappos’ culture is now well-established and well-known. They concentrate on hiring to keep things going. The goal of the hiring process is to discover people who share the company’s values. Zappos devotes a significant amount of time and resources to employee team building and culture promotion. They want every employee to embody the company’s principles.Customers can even tell that Zappos staff are happy.

#5 DHL

DHL is unique in how it benefits from its dynamic, multicultural environment. With a variety of programmes, such as the unique integrated learning platform that fosters talent development, the organisation looks after its employees throughout their careers.

Another pillar is workplace wellness, which includes annual events and long-term activities to protect employee health.

#6 LinkedIn

LinkedIn was even on Glassdoor’s 2020 Best Places to Work list, but two characteristics aren’t mentioned enough: devotion to people and a focus on five principles: transformation, integrity, collaboration, humour, and results.

#7 Hubspot

Hubspot has appeared on numerous best-of lists. It does not end here. The marketing, sales, and service software firm is ranked first on this list of the finest places to work. The explanation for this is simple: Hubspot’s company culture revolves upon its people.

#8 Warby Parker: the specialists for glasses

Warby Parker has been creating and selling prescription glasses online for over a decade now. Warby Parker’s company culture inspires “culture crushes,” run by a team dedicated to culture, making it one amongst the several  reasons for the company’s success. Warby Parker provides its employees with a positive work environment by organising enjoyable meals, events, and programmes, always ensuring that there is an impending event to look forward to.

#9 Every child’s favorite: Pixar

How does a corporation maintain such a high level of creativity and excellence at the same time? Well. we would never really know. At Pixar, everything is a work of art and employees are encouraged to be their true “creative” self. The essential ideals of the animation studio inspire the entire culture. 

Pixar believes that if you want to be creative, you must be innovative in everything you do. This can even be seen throughout Pixar, especially in the design of the company’s “cubicles,” which are sometimes shaped like cute little huts.

#10 Twitter: home for happy and fulfilled employees‍

Twitter employees can’t get enough of the company’s culture!  Rooftop meetings, amicable coworkers, and a team-oriented workplace where everyone is motivated by the company’s goals have prompted this acclaim. 

It’s impossible to beat having team members that are pleasant and friendly to one another, as well as excellent at and enthusiastic about what they do. There is no programme, activity, or set of regulations that can compare to having happy and pleased employees who believe their work counts.

You would notice that most of the organizations read about a while ago, have similar perks and bonuses, but keep in mind that these do not entirely determine your organization’s culture. The way employees are treated, as well as the level of ownership and trust they are given, is the key aspect of any and every company culture.

Suggested Reading –

Understanding Organizational Health: A Guide for Success

Decoding Employee Engagement with Inclusion and Diversity

Take your employee experience to new heights with our customizable employee engagement module. Book a free demo today!