What is employee culture?
Employee culture is a multi-faceted feature of all organisations and it generally relates to the shared beliefs among individuals who work together. When it comes to the culture of a workplace there are many things that can affect how well an organisation performs.
Finding out about employee culture is important for a wide range of reasons, not least because organisations with a positive workplace culture generally have higher levels of employee satisfaction and employee engagement. Furthermore, there is increasing evidence to suggest that not having a positive employee culture can have far reaching negative impacts, such as increased incidence of employee burnout, toxic work environments, poor quality of work, as well as difficulty retaining and attracting new staff.
Based on unique insights from over 300 HR professionals and organisational leaders, The State of Employee Engagement 2021 report reveals HR’s biggest priorities right now, the challenges ahead for hybrid working, and uncovers the great employee engagement divide.
Why are employee culture surveys important?
Employee culture surveys can give organisations a great deal of insight into how staff feel about their job and employer, as well as how employees engage with their work and colleagues. This allows organisations to truly understand employee experiences and identify any potential issues in the company that could be affecting productivity. For example, the health and safety of employees should be a priority in all industries; however, there may be sentiment among employees that certain aspects of their work environment could be changed to make their jobs more safe. Unfortunately, if there is a culture of unsafe workplace practises, or a disconnect between management and the workforce, then issues like this may never be addressed. In addition to posing a risk to employees while they are at work, this is likely to have a negative impact on productivity because staff are not confident or able to perform their duties in the most effective way.
Once employers gain an insight into employee culture within the organisation, they can begin to take steps to manage change and direct resources to aspects that will make positive change.
What are the benefits of employee culture surveys?
Employers have an important role in developing a positive workplace culture, and instilling the right behaviours is vital to an organisation’s success. Taking steps to avoid a negative or toxic workplace culture will be beneficial for a wide range of reasons, so there are many potential benefits to performing regular or pulse employee culture surveys.
A well-designed employee questionnaire will give employers and HR managers insight into the workplace experiences of their employees. The results from employee culture surveys can then be interpreted to produce meaningful insights, such as what employers can do to improve employee engagement, or promote better practises and reinforce behaviours that have positive implications for employees and the organisation as a whole.
Employee culture surveys can boost employee morale because staff have a platform to express themselves in a constructive way, as well as the chance to share their honest and direct opinions confidentiality. This can be great for employers because some of the best solutions are often brought about by employees who perform tasks every day. With this in mind, understanding employee sentiment can help organisations make their processes more efficient, which can have many positive outcomes.
When employees recognise that their opinions are valued by their employer, especially if action is taken to address any findings from the survey itself, then there tends to be better employee engagement and better sentiment when it comes to employer branding, too. In this sense, employee surveys help organisations nurture a positive workplace culture. An environment where employees can share their views and then see that they have been taken onboard and acted upon by management can help to create a positive workplace culture.
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How can improving the culture among employees increase productivity?
Employee culture surveys can help HR managers identify aspects of the workplace that could improve the experience for staff, such as offering staff training programs, career progression opportunities, or general support with health and wellbeing. All of these aspects play a vital role in job satisfaction and operational efficiency.
When workplace culture is improved, organisations tend to find their staff are more engaged in their work and stay with the company for longer periods of time. This is great for reducing high staff turnover and reducing the impact of poor staff retention rates. Getting the culture right in an organisation can also make it easier to find new staff and improve consumer appeal, as many people are likely to support or be a part of companies that look after their employees well.
The benefits of a positive culture in the workplace are far reaching, but ultimately avoiding a negative environment or toxic environment is something all employers should aspire to achieve. There are many studies which show positive culture among employees leads to more productive organisations. This could be anything from looking at diversity and inclusion within a company or seeking to understand what factors are causing toxicity.
How can WorkBuzz assist companies with employee feedback?
An employee culture survey is an incredibly useful tool that employers can use to create positive change in their organisation. WorkBuzz employee culture surveys can give employers insights from employees that produce actionable data. With this data, employers can learn about what things it is doing correctly, and which aspects of the workplace could be altered to make positive change and promote a better workplace culture.
The WorkBuzz platform is engaging and the dashboards give employers all of the tools and information required to use survey results to better their organisation. With WorkBuzz, it is possible to determine whether or not their employees are happy with their jobs and working in a culture that allows them to reach their full potential. Once they have that information, employers can take action by making data-driven changes to improve employee happiness and their employer brand.
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