... creating workplaces that work
Why do some workplaces win awards while others are branded as 'toxic'?
Why do people enjoy going to work in one place but dread going to work in another?
What is it that you can 'feel' as soon as you walk into a workplace?
The issue of workplace culture is more important now than ever before, for several reasons. Firstly, your culture is not a secret that is known only inside the tent. The transparency and connectivity of the world today means that people spread the word about your organisational or workplace culture freely and quickly. Reviews from existing or former employees, like this one, can be accessed in seconds -
Melbourne Construction Company X - Former Employee:
Pros: Comprehensive induction process, good reputation, large-ish projects
Cons: bad culture, bullying, other employees in clique club, terrible facilities for on-site workers.
What type of candidate will be attracted to your organisation after reading that review? Obviously not the best ones! In a market where there is always competition in attracting and retaining good people, organisational culture is extremely important.
Secondly, it significantly impacts your results. Over the past 50 years there have been so many research articles and books written explaining the direct relationship between workplace culture and profit, productivity, quality, reputation, retention and business longevity that it is now fully accepted by business people and organisational leaders.
Lastly, organisation culture is a primary competitive advantage, or not. Competitor organisations can most often replicate people, product, services, geography and resources but it is much harder to replicate a great workplace culture. In challenging industries such as airlines, construction, retail, manufacturing, financial services, healthcare, cosmetics and software, some companies just stand out as great places to work. These companies know that their culture is a significant advantage, and they work hard to keep it that way.
Strangely, some leaders still see 'culture' as something baffling, incomprehensible or just too hard, and resign themselves to accepting the status quo. In reality, workplace culture is not very complicated and although change takes effort and time, it can be achieved by any organisational leader who genuinely wants to and is prepared to consistently take the right actions.
Ian Curry has significant experience in supporting managers and leaders in the improvement of their workplace culture, and subsequently, their results.