The impact of company culture on productivity

Lack of productivity can be an incredibly serious and costly problem. Research by analytics and consulting firm Gallup found that unengaged employees cost their companies 18% of their annual salary. That’s a loss of more than $60 million a year for large companies with 10,000 employees at an average salary of $50,000. In such a highly competitive market, businesses can’t afford to lose profit margins over poor productivity.

While there can be many factors behind a disengaged employee, one of the biggest reasons is a negative view of company culture. Reversing that mindset can have a direct and measurable impact on employee productivity.

How company culture affects productivity

Modern professionals, especially those in younger generations, want to work for a company with values that align with their own. A 2021 study by Lexington Law found that U.S. professionals are two times as likely to value personal interests, benefits, company culture and professional growth opportunities over salary when choosing a new job opportunity. Furthermore, 38% of U.S. employees want to work for a company that complements their personal interests and passions.

What role does company culture play here? Your culture is the living, breathing, ever-evolving embodiment of your company’s mission and values. So in order for your employees to relate to and care about your mission, you need a strong company culture.

How company culture affects your business

When employees enjoy their work environment and feel connected to their company and its mission, business leaders see better overall productivity, higher accountability and improved team morale. Here are some concrete ways great company culture can impact your business and its bottom line.

More productive employees deliver a better customer experience. Engaged employees are passionate about what their business offers and motivated to carry out its mission. This means they’ll offer better service to your customers, improving their experience and driving more sales and higher customer retention rates.

Satisfied employees aren’t looking for a new job. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that the rate of people leaving their jobs in 2021 is the highest it’s been in 20 years. Employee turnover is a huge expense you want to avoid. Employees who are satisfied with their company culture, believe in the leadership team and feel aligned with their coworkers likely aren’t looking to jump ship for another opportunity. In fact, a 2018 TINYPulse survey found that employees who don’t like their company culture are 24% more likely to quit.

Happy employees are present and innovative. A 2017 study by Gallup found that highly engaged employees are 17% more productive than their less engaged coworkers. Plus, highly engaged employees tend to feel ownership when it comes to their work and truly want to move the business forward. This drive and passion leads to innovation that can keep your business ahead of the competition.

Future trends in company culture and productivity

The Covid-19 pandemic pushed many organizations into a fully remote work model, and for many, that experience went better than expected. Many employees are realizing that they want to keep working remotely at least part-time. As a result, hybrid working models that balance the best of both remote and in-person work are now more common than ever.

Offering a flexible work schedule and prioritizing work-life balance can help employees avoid burnout and stay engaged on the job. But it also comes with some challenges for employers who didn’t expect this whole remote-work thing to be long term. How can you strengthen your company culture when your team has little or no face-to-face interaction? How will you integrate new employees into the team? How can you easily share company updates and important info with employees working across time zones?

Looking ahead, these are the kinds of questions that will be top of mind for employers and HR departments as they find ways to prioritize company culture in a hybrid working model. Luckily, there are tons of tools, technologies and applications like Slack designed to strengthen company culture and communication for remote troops.

Shifting to a more long-term fully remote or hybrid working model doesn’t mean you have to sacrifice human interaction and let company culture slide. Slack was built to empower teams to meet the demands of modern-day work from any location. Watch our webinar now to learn how to evolve your remote culture with Slack.