How does organizational culture affect team performance? How can you develop your team’s culture?
It is important to understand your organization’s organizational culture in the workplace. It is the glue that binds your employees to the company. Employees who understand what it means to work for you and why they work for you will be more committed and engaged.
Lack of understanding about this often leads to increased levels of turnover and increased costs in hiring replacements, both at the management (CEO) level or at operational levels, not just in terms of HR cost but also the time that could have been saved had this understanding been reached much earlier.
This article will provide a framework for analyzing your organization’s organizational culture, how it grew over time, helped by various external influences.
What is Organizational Culture?
Organizational culture refers to shared values, beliefs, norms, and practices. These values guide employees’ behavior and attitudes towards their jobs. They also shape the way they interact with each other and their environment.
Culture is a complex concept that has multiple dimensions. There are three main aspects of organizational culture: Values, Behaviors, and Beliefs. The first two are internal, whereas the third is external.
Workplace Culture Examples
When managing organizational culture, leaders should develop the following four elements: values, behaviors, beliefs, and structure.
Values: A set of standards or principles by which we make decisions and determine how to deal with situations. We typically associate these values with ethics, morality, honesty, integrity, trustworthiness, fairness, justice, respect, compassion, and responsibility. Every manager must communicate to his or her subordinates the company’s values. Otherwise, there will be confusion among the staff regarding what is expected of them.
Behaviors: This refers to our actions as part of our daily work routine. It includes tasks, procedures, responsibilities, policies, and the like. If these do not match the company’s values, then the results may be counterproductive. For example, if the values at your office are “honesty” and “caring,” but your boss expects you to lie to customers or cheat people out of money, this would be a sign that you have not communicated those values. Many organizations have specific guidelines for employee behaviors.
Beliefs: What do we believe that makes us who we are? In particular, they refer to our perceptions of truth. It involves assumptions, opinions, ideas, facts, feelings, memories, and expectations. It shapes our attitudes toward others and ourselves and determines how we act. Our values and beliefs may clash with those in an organization, resulting in stress. Such conflicts are normal when dealing with different cultures.
Structure: Employees need clear rules and regulations under which they operate. These help them keep track of its mission and objectives, set priorities, and manage time efficiently. When the goals and strategies are clear, it becomes easier to carry out the necessary activities to achieve them.
Some companies use formalized processes to train their new hires and monitor their performance. Some have developed extensive communication systems to ensure that information flows freely between all company parts. However, most companies still work outside the framework prescribed by senior management. To effectively communicate your values and beliefs to your employees, it helps to know your values and beliefs. Then, please clarify what you want from employees by communicating with them.
In addition to having clarity regarding values and beliefs, you need to convey them consistently across various parts of the organization. One way to do this is to develop training materials for recruits to understand expectations before getting into the working environment. Another strategy is to send regular emails to the entire workforce, reminding them of key messages. Managers can also hold meetings to discuss critical issues such as pay increases, layoffs, downsizing, or other significant changes. Finally, everyone needs to feel involved in making decisions; otherwise, employees may become confused about what is happening rather than feeling empowered.
Why is Organizational Culture Important?
Organizational culture in the workplace can make or break the success of any business. A well-planned organizational culture has been shown to increase a company’s competitiveness greatly. Without a well-defined culture, an organization will have problems achieving its goals.
Companies with strong cultures are more successful than those without a clearly defined set of standards. Part of this is due to quality production processes. Still, another part is because new employees undergo a rigorous training process where they learn more about Toyota culture and how it works and how to act according to the desired culture. This helps them become well integrated into the larger group and understand what kind of behavior is expected of them.
In addition, a strong culture in the workplace allows employees to feel valued and respected. This is important because when people feel like their contributions are not being recognized or appreciated, employees contribute less motivation and effort. When people do not feel valued, they become frustrated, making it harder for them to improve their performance.
A strong culture in the workplace also promotes teamwork. According to research, the single most important factor determining employee commitment is participation in decision-making. In other words, if you don’t let your workers participate in defining the company’s direction, it becomes very hard for them to buy into your company’s values. This means that if your workers aren’t engaged and feel as though their opinion counts in determining the company’s future, they won’t stick around long enough to help achieve your strategic goals. Teamwork is one of the keys to success in business. If you want your organization to succeed, it needs to foster a team environment where people feel free to share ideas and support each other.
Organizations need to recognize and reward top performers, but there is little evidence that performance reviews improve long-term organizational effectiveness (Zohar et al., 2008). Furthermore, organizations should focus on improving morale instead of solely on performance outcomes (Baum & Kramel, 2006), as poor morale undermines productivity.