By Annette Micallef

Workplace culture – it’s a term you’ve most likely heard of, but what does it really mean? From the personality and characteristics of your business to the traditions, values, behaviours, expectations, and attitudes your company stands by – these are just some of the elements that cultivate culture within a business.

It’s no surprise then that having a negative workplace culture can have a huge impact on the success of a business. It’s a proven fact that having a strong workplace culture improves employee engagement, increases productivity and generates higher profit margins. So, whether your business needs some slight cultural enhancements or a complete overhaul, here we point why creating a positive workplace culture and success go hand in hand.

1. Attract and retain talented people into your business

In this survey, one-third of workers said they would pass on a good job if the corporate culture was not a good fit. Finding and recruiting high-quality talent isn’t easy, so you’re going to have to offer more than just an excellent salary – a happy working environment, flexible working hours, and genuine recognition are just some ways employers can quickly boost culture and a company’s success.

2. Boost productivity

It’s a fact that when your employees are happy and enjoy the environment they work in, productivity increases. In this extensive study into happiness and productivity, happy workers were found to be 13 per cent more productive! Having a positive workplace culture inspires and motivates your people to be their best to achieve and succeed!

3. Strengthen your brand’s reputation

Not only does your workplace culture define the internal interactions that happen behind the scenes, but also, the attitudes and behaviours of your people are on display in front of your customers, prospects, suppliers, business partners, investors. You’ll want the people who are discovering, considering or already supporting your business to have a positive experience with your brand – a crucial step to developing a good reputation which contributes to success.

4. Mitigates employer risks

How your people behave in the workplace or at a work function can affect your liability as an employer; it just takes one bad egg to cause an issue – sexual harassment allegations, unfair dismissals are just some issues that come to mind.

Unfortunately, when a company has neglected to build good workplace culture, it’s difficult to enforce high standards of behaviour that employers expect from staff.

Communicating to your employees how they’re expected to behave while in the workplace is not only crucial to developing a strong culture, but it’s also fundamental to workplace compliance. Having an employee handbook which contains your company policies is one thing but getting your employees to read and acknowledge the policy on a regular basis is important recordkeeping that could support any future decisions such as dismissing an employee for misconduct.

While creating a strong workplace culture takes time to develop, for it to be successful, it requires strong leadership from the top down. HR Assured is the people management platform that helps businesses reduce the time they spend on HR admin (by up to 70 per cent) so leaders and managers can focus on more meaningful HR initiatives such as growing culture!

Your people are your most valuable asset. Building a positive workplace culture will clearly communicate the expectations, values and behaviours of your company, which will your staff to be their best, and in turn, your company is able to achieve its goals and objectives

For more information on creating and maintaining a strong workplace culture, contact the HR Assured team.

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Annette Micallef is a Content Marketing Manager and works for FCB Group (HR Assured’s parent company). Annette is an incredibly passionate and enthusiastic marketing communications professional and she is responsible for creating interesting and meaningful content across FCB Group’s businesses. When Annette isn’t creating e-Books, email campaigns and blogs, you can find her in the great outdoors; she loves being surrounded by nature and considers this to be her happy place where she finds inspiration and ideas.