Your culture story

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By Jayne Hughes

Culture. Values. Purpose. Behaviours. What’s the difference? They’re all characters in the same brand story, but with distinct parts to play. In this blog, we’ll be focusing on culture – essentially, the way you get things done and how it feels at your organisation. Its character and personality – and the sum of its values, traditions, interactions, behaviours and attitudes.

Why culture counts

There’s a growing expectation for companies to measure success beyond financial results. Organisations that embody purpose have employees that are 3x more likely to stay, 1.4x more engaged and 1.7x more satisfied. In fact, culture and values were what mattered most to employee satisfaction in the UK in a report by Glassdoor. A strong, positive, defined and well-communicated culture attracts talent that fits:

– 75% would consider a company’s culture before applying for a job

– 69% would not apply to a company if its values did not match their own

– 63% say their company’s culture is one of the main reasons for staying

– 70% would look for a job elsewhere if their company’s culture deteriorates

– 57% say workplace culture is more important than salary for job satisfaction.

Happiness and satisfaction go up

With work-related stress leading to 12.5 million lost UK working days, employee happiness and satisfaction are linked to a strong workplace culture. Organisations that foster a culture of creativity are likely to have happy, motivated employees who are more loyal and productive. Nearly 60% of HR directors have seen an increase in productivity when employees work remotely, and 90% of employees consider flexible working to be their biggest motivator. Whilst these studies were done pre-2020, they’re facts worth real consideration as we begin emerging into a new working landscape and shaping our organisations for the future.

Take Google

Google have a Chief Happiness Officer to keep employees happy and productive, an entire section on dogs at work in their code of conduct, lots of scope for development, free classes from painting to languages, and plenty more. Muhammed Othman says, “They’re one of the first companies to really understand the need for employees to have a flexible schedule and work on their terms to unleash their creativity and a greater level of productivity.”

How can you tell your culture story?

Each organisation is unique. Which means its cultural journey is too. Yours may depend on where you’re at now, how diverse your business is, how engaged your people are, how much internal data you already have, and what you’d like to achieve through a defined culture. And our tried-and-tested process can help. It all starts with a talk – a deep, honest discussion about your challenges. Then it’s research, defining your messages, crafting your communications, an activation strategy, then measurement and refinement. It easily flexes, and has helped organisations of all shapes, sizes and sectors to tell the right stories.

We can help you to define, enhance and reveal your culture, bring unity, and get people excited about being part of it – whether they already work with you, or not. We can even help you to change your culture, if it’s not where you want it to be. We can help you find your story, tell it, and make it come true. Everyone works happily ever after.

We did this for N Brown, a traditional mail order clothing company who’d grown to become a key digital retailer. Following research, we developed an EVP, values, behaviours, a whole suite of communications (both external and internal), and even a memorable event to launch it all. If you’re interested in finding out more, let us know.