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Organisational Culture

Culture: why you should care

Let’s be honest, if you’re not shaping your employee wellbeing strategy around creating a dynamite culture, you’re missing out. It’s one of the strongest advantages you have in terms of differentiating yourself from the competition. It’s the driving force behind improving your employees’ productivity. And it’s a surefire way to acquire and retain top talent.

All these things matter to you as an HR professional.

From startups to Fortune 500 companies, everyone can reap the benefits of a solid company culture. Here are three reasons why you should care about making culture a focal point in your organisation:

Great organisational culture produces great results

Culture is a proven springboard into a highly productive organisation. In fact, it’s a better driver of long-term success than success itself. Think strong financial numbers and sales growth are all you need to keep employees happy and productive? Think again. Working for a successful company isn’t enough to create a positive culture in and of itself, according to a recent study in the Journal of Organisational Behaviour. And while a company may be able to find success without a positive culture, the study revealed that eventually performance will suffer.

Developing a culture of health is especially significant when it comes to your organisation’s productivity. Why? “Unwellness” comes at a cost. A big one. When added up, the combined cost stemming from productivity loss, chronic diseases, work-related injuries and illnesses costs businesses $2.2 trillion annually, according to the Global Wellness Institute. And it’s not just work-related absences that are the culprits. Presenteeism – employees being physically present at work but not producing at full capacity – is a big concern, costing companies 10 times more than absenteeism.

Meanwhile, on the flip side, research conducted by Virgin Pulse Science Advisory Board Member Ron Goetzel shows there’s a positive link between companies that invest in health and wellbeing programs and their stock market performance. In fact, companies with award-winning wellbeing programs outperformed the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index by a good margin.

Turns out, it pays to care about wellbeing.

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Your Culture Defines You Better Than Anything Else

Think about it, no company culture is alike. It’s something uniquely individual to you based on your mission, beliefs and people who work for you. It’s your biggest differentiator. And as a result, your greatest business advantage.

A strong culture can benefit you on every level. Showing your employees you care makes them more likely to take care of your business in return. It can empower employees to execute based on the best interest of your clients and drive results. And guess what? Your business partners – and potential partners – care about that too. Executives want to know you stand for something and that you live out your mission.

The secret to creating a workforce like this? Focusing on breeding healthy, productive employees. High-performing employees contribute to the bottom-line with their creative ideas, world-class customer service and leadership. A top-notch workforce is the real key to organizational success and creating a culture of wellbeing is critical to enabling employees and your business to realize their full potential.

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A Dynamic Culture Helps You Win the Best Talent

Your company is run by your employees. As such, you want to ensure you acquire and retain top talent. Emphasizing culture is a great way to keep employees happy with and dedicated to your organization for the long run. In fact, our research shows that when employees are engaged, they’re 47% more likely to stay.

Perhaps no generation cares more so about culture in the workplace – and lets you know it – than Millennials. Now the largest generation in the workforce, Millennials care about culture. Just as much if not more so than salary. Culture is the cornerstone that could keep them connected and engaged. They want to work for an organization that has meaning and allows them to balance their work and personal life.

Understanding what drives their motivation is key to your future success. So make sure you listen.

The bottom line here? Employees won’t continue to working for a company they don’t connect with and feel supported by, no matter the results. And in the end, all that does is negatively impact your organization’s bottom line. Without culture as your backbone, you’re just asking to come undone.

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Our customers already know that culture drives their bottom line and that their people play an integral part in achieving their business goals and reaching important milestones.

Interested in learning more about why our customers invest in Virgin Pulse and how we can work together? Request a Demo now.

Bryan Mahoney is the Director of Content Marketing at Virgin Pulse. He brings more than a decade’s worth of experience as a content producer and blends his interests in all things wellbeing to help organizations become the best places to work. A former marathon champ, he now balances running with family by constantly chasing after his two-year-old daughter, Gia.