Many of you might be confused reading the title! How is culture supposed to be measured, right? It very well can be through specific methods, you can understand how well-aligned your employees are with your company culture and if it is towards a positive direction. But, to measure culture, you need first to understand it carefully.
Your organizational culture reflects the value your leadership lives by. It gives you a clear reflection of what the workspace looks like. Once you get detailed feedback on how positively your culture is impacting the workspace, you will understand what will be your next steps, how to improve the current status, and what things to avoid.
What is company culture?
An organizational culture consists of shared values and attributes. It refers to the kind of attitude/behaviour instilled by the organization, defines the company’s goals, and establishes an alignment with the employees.
It is fostered mainly by the top management into the organization’s core values. With a strong workplace culture, employees are well aware of the consequences of any action.
Building a positive company culture
Each organization needs to create a customized culture according to what’s more suitable for them. However, some critical characteristics of an ideal company culture that needs to be prevalent in all workplaces are:
- An engaged workforce- regular initiatives toward employee engagement and team-bonding
- Healthy communication
- Learning and growth-centric environment where employees are willing to learn
- Focus on recognizing employees for their contributions
- An equal opportunity for everyone to place their opinion and feedback
How to measure culture?
It goes without saying; that you cannot get a fixed attribute to your company’s culture. So how do we assess organizational culture? Here are a few metrics through which you can define the effectiveness of your company culture:
Number of employee referrals
This way of measuring company culture helps you understand how many employees are willing to invite their peers to work in your organization and how many consider your workplace a great place to work.
Employee referrals function on trust from all three ways- the employees, the referred candidates, and the organization.
The reasons behind why your employees are referring or not referring candidates to your organization can be an insightful indicator of what needs to be improved.
Productivity of the employees
A good company culture results in highly motivated and productive employees. If you do not focus on maintaining a positive work environment, there will be a gap between the alignment of the employee’s goals and the same of the organization. This can affect the overall quality of work. To bridge this gap and enhance productivity, incorporating productivity apps can be highly beneficial.
Employee turnover
What is a more accessible way to evaluate company culture than to find your employee turnover rate? More and more employees leaving are a clear indication that there is something that the organization’s doing wrong.
If you feel your company’s turnover rate is too high, you can run surveys/anonymous feedback forms to understand what you can do better. Hence it will help you analyze and rectify the drawbacks.
Conducting an eNPS survey
Conducting an eNPS (employee Net Promoter Score) gives you accurate data through which you can measure your company culture. Your next step is to analyze this data and take the necessary measures to better your organizational culture.
Engagement among the employees
A healthy workplace culture consists of good employee engagement.
If you notice a lack of engagement and team bonding among your employees, it is a red signal towards the positivity of your workplace culture.
Ensure healthy engagement practices and team-bonding activities like informal meets, engagement tools, and more. This shows that the organization cares for their employees beyond tasks and responsibilities.
Healthy + over-communication
Communication needs to be two ways and active. How employees take your feedback, how comfortable they are with giving an opinion, and how many open loops are a few factors through which organizations can analyze and base the success of their communication.
Glassdoor Reviews
One of the most important ways to get honest feedback from your employees is through anonymous Glassdoor reviews.
They can give you direct answers to certain drawbacks within your organization and what your employees expect from you. Also, it also hints at the plus points of working with your organization.
FAQ
What are the benefits of collecting company culture data?
Collecting company culture data helps you to:
- Make informed decisions around framing the culture
- Be more transparent in the entire process
- Improve the productivity of your employees
- Maintain a healthy workspace culture
What are cultural assessment tools?
Cultural assessment tools help in examining organizational beliefs, expectations, and missions. In addition, it sets the stage for employee behaviour that is expected of everyone.
What is the difference between company culture and company climate?
The company culture focuses on the values and behaviours of the organization. At the same time, the company climate focuses on the overall environment of the organization. It reflects the workspace’s overall mood created by a few daily or long-term measures.
Examples of apps/services for pulse surveys?
Here’s a list of a few of the best apps/services for pulse surveys:
EngageWith – EngageWith allows you to conduct pulse surveys within your Slack/ MS Teams workspace. It will enable anonymous and non-anonymous pulse surveys and reduces the hassles of follow-ups, making it convenient for both employees and HR professionals.
Culture Amp – this tool helps you create employee surveys to measure the organization’s engagement levels. It gives you an overall benefit in your workplace culture assessment.
OfficeVibe– OfficeVibe has around 120 survey questions that can be used to analyze an organization’s engagement metrics.
What is eNPS?
An eNPS (Employee Net Promoter Score) survey helps you get accurate feedback from your employees around the workplace culture and its alignment with the organization. Then, the management can pick the required data and analyze it to determine the next steps toward improving the company’s culture.
