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Company culture is one of the most important aspects of running a successful business. You want to build customer loyalty and set your business apart from the competition. When company culture is well-fostered, it has the power to shape customers’ brand perception and majorly impact your bottom line. If you want to continue seeing your brand grow this year, consider these 10 ways company culture can influence your success to build a profitable business.
1. Employee Treatment Reflects in Your Customer Service
Creating a strong company culture that prioritizes employee satisfaction will lead to better customer service. When employees feel respected and valued, they are more likely to go the extra mile to ensure customers have a positive experience. If customers sense that your business values its employees, they are more likely to trust your business and return as customers in the future.
“The relationship between employer and employee has a direct effect on customer service,” shares Alia Bedi, General Manager of L’Evate You. “If your employees don’t feel valued in their roles, it’s impossible for them to provide the best level of service.”
Unhappy employees are more likely to be unproductive and lack the enthusiasm necessary to provide great customer service. When employees know they are valued at their job, they are motivated to make customers happy.
2. Helps Attract and Retain Customers
When a company provides excellent customer service, that trickles down to not only retaining current customers but attracting new ones. Consumers are deeply interested in making connections with brands, so to increase brand loyalty, the first place to start is by building a strong company culture.
“When customers have an understanding of the values and mission of your business,” Michael Baghoomian, CEO of Muscle MX explains, “they are more likely to identify with it, and that builds loyalty. When they feel a sense of trust, they’re more likely to return.”
In the digital world, consumers are more in-tune with how brands operate than ever before. Showcasing the type of culture your business fosters can be instrumental in building the right customer base.
3. Happy Employees Are More Engaged and Productive
A happy workforce will naturally be more engaged and productive. Engaged employees are more invested in the goals and objectives of the business, and employees being happier in their roles leads to higher productivity levels.
“The days of pizza parties and meaningless gift baskets are behind us,” Matt Masiello, Chief Marketing Officer of Baby Buddha boldly admits. “This does little to motivate today’s workforce. They are more interested in rewards that provide value in their life, such as paid time off or bonuses.”
Creating a workplace culture where employees are happy and engaged includes having a flexible and supportive workplace environment, providing meaningful work, and encouraging team collaboration. By providing a positive work experience that allows employees to feel like they’re part of something bigger, they’ll be more likely to be engaged in the overall success of the business.
4. Attracts Top Talent
A strong company culture is essential for attracting and retaining top talent. When the best of the best are part of the team, everyone feels empowered.
“It is a job seekers’ world right now,” explains Lilian Chen, Co-Founder and COO of Bar None Games. “Talent has their pick of employers, so businesses have to be competitive. One of the most common questions job seekers want to know is what the company culture is like. Give them a compelling reason to join your team.”
Interviewing for roles within the company can be a time-consuming process. To lock in the best candidates for job openings, use company culture as your greatest asset. The hiring process isn’t the only opportunity to interest talent in your company. Word of mouth from internal employees can be incredibly valuable. When word gets out your company is great to work for, job seekers will be lining up to become a part of the team.
5. Helps Retain Employees
Hiring top talent is the tip of the iceberg when it comes to building a strong, engaging team for your business. Once you get the talent in the doors, they must be nurtured and challenged appropriately, so they know they are a valuable asset to the brand.
“Invest in a corporate culture that values its people,” shares Andrew Chen, Chief Product Officer of Videeo. “This means valuing talented employees not only financially but also recognizing their skills and talents. Give them meaningful work and make learning a core part of their role so they can grow professionally.”
When employees feel their work is respected by the whole team, they are more likely to stay with the business. One of the biggest benefits of this is reducing turnover rates. Employee turnover can cost businesses time and money that could be better spent on current employees, whether that’s through traditional compensation or training programs.
6. Boosts Employee Morale and Motivation
When employees work in a positive environment, it can boost morale by creating an atmosphere of camaraderie, trust, and openness. Employees feel that their contributions are valued, and they won’t hesitate to discuss their ideas.
Asker A Ahmed, Director of iProcess Global Research shares the benefit of multiple perspectives. “Everyone has their own unique ideas to bring to the table, but no one benefits if employees don’t feel comfortable speaking up. Ensure your team knows their contributions are valuable by motivating them to share. You never know what you might unlock that could be the next big thing for your business.”
Team collaboration is one of the marks of a great business. When one person isn’t feeling motivated or valued, it can bring the whole team down. Employee morale must be at the forefront of business operations to ensure the team is working together with enthusiasm and passion.
7. Inspires Creativity and Innovation
A company culture that promotes creativity and innovation is key to staying competitive and achieving long-term success. Leaders should foster an environment that values creative ideas and rewards employees for taking risks.
“There is no such thing as a bad idea,” Soji James, Lead Expert Certified personal trainer at 1AND1 shares. “Getting the creativity flowing and keeping an open dialogue about projects is part of the process. No one should feel bad about trying to contribute.”
By inspiring these qualities in the workplace, businesses can set themselves apart from their competitors and stay ahead in the ever-changing business landscape. When employees don’t feel comfortable being creative, it can prevent the business from growing to its full potential, and those employees may take their ideas elsewhere.
8. Promotes a Healthy Work-Life Balance
Having a healthy work-life balance is essential for a thriving business. This can be achieved by fostering a culture that encourages employees to take regular breaks throughout the day, have time for self-care, and make time for their families and other important aspects of their life. Taking this into consideration can go a long way in reducing stress levels and allowing employees to perform at their peak capacity.
“When employees are overworked, the business suffers,” explains Nick Allen, Founder and CEO of SportsLingo. “They’re too burned out to maintain productivity levels or brainstorm creative ideas. In the long run, overworking does more harm than good.”
When employees can balance their personal and professional lives, they experience improved physical and mental well-being, increased engagement and productivity, greater job satisfaction, and better relationships with co-workers. All of these can positively impact a business’s bottom line.
9. Makes Your Business More Sustainable
A positive company culture can lead to a business becoming more competitive and profitable, making your business more sustainable in the long term by creating an environment that helps employees grow and develop their careers. By investing in career development, businesses can keep experienced and talented individuals on board for longer, reducing turnover and the need to recruit new staff.
Nabiha Akhtar, CEO and Founder of Lil Deenies shares the best investment companies can make: “Career development is an investment that returns tenfold. It’s a benefit for the employee and the company.”
Every company strives for long-term success, and the right investments make all the difference. Employees are the greatest investment businesses can make, and prioritizing that will prove incredibly beneficial in reaching company goals.
10. Improves Your Bottom Line
A cohesive company culture is at the heart of any business looking to increase its profits and improve the bottom line. Often, businesses look at too many areas to make improvements when culture can have a ripple effect in all the right places.
“There are five critical areas an optimal culture benefits the bottom line,” explains Maegan Griffin, Founder, CEO and nurse practitioner at Skin Pharm: employee productivity, customer satisfaction, overhead costs, job referrals, and sales.”
No matter how hard employees work towards reaching collective business goals, attaining these goals happens more quickly when company culture plays a primary role in day-to-day operations.
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Final Thoughts
Company culture is much more than a buzzword for businesses to consider. There are real, tangible benefits of fostering a culture that promotes an open and safe environment. When the focus shifts to culture, businesses become unstoppable.
