This is part three of our three part series on the importance of company culture.
Culture can add organizational value, because customers become loyal to a company’s brand. Customers will never love a company until the employees love it first. The companies with the most effective cultures early on experienced the highest customer satisfaction and sales in later years, and this pattern was repeated over time.
99% of employees of values-based organizations report that their company has very satisfied customers, compared with 42% of respondents in organizations characterized by top-down command and control.
Culture shapes the immediate experience of customers, and in doing so, lays the groundwork for positive (or negative) outcomes in the years to come.
Certainly Apple, Inc.comes to mind. Apple Computer’s commitment to innovation is cultural, defined by purpose and style, not process driven. As a result, the organization has flourished, virtually untouched by competition and with a distinct culture all its own, which has become iconic and is embraced by employees and customers alike.
A company that doesn’t understand its own culture is like a person without an identity. To encourage change and positive growth, the first step is to analyze the existing culture.
Even if an organization is relatively satisfied with its culture, assessment is still important to provide a common language for a conversation about current culture, workspace, and direction for the future.
It’s typical to discover a difference between existing and desired culture, so diagnosis is critical in order to effectively implement a space that both supports desired culture and helps create ideal working environment. Creating and understanding an effective company culture requires information, data and analysis, in order for leaders to “ask the right questions and make good decisions.”
Employee/management communication, and employee happiness are key to a company’s success. embracing an organization-wide culture allows the employees to believe in the value of their work.
This emotional engagement and pride in contributing to shared goals and values motivates employees to perform. Even the best strategy to cut cut costs, maximize production and customer satisfaction will fail if not aligned with a strong company culture.