Deepdive #1
The business value of culture
Four reasons why investing in culture pays off
Culture eats strategy for breakfast
This may well be one of the most commonly shared insights in the business world. And rightfully so: no business strategy can succeed without the right team culture supporting the common goal. We all know it from experience: teams that share strong cultural values and habits simply perform better. They achieve results that other, less closely connected teams simply cannot attain.
And yet, employers often find culture a challenging topic to truly invest in. This is partly because they’re often searching for the ‘how’: what specific actions can you take to consistently develop your culture? Additionally, employers often struggle to see the connection between team culture and tangible, bottom-line results. What is the business case for investing in your culture? Does the time, effort, and money we put in actually pay off?
In this deepdive, we zoom in on the direct benefits of a strong team culture for your organization. We’ll show how a well-developed culture not only boosts your team’s performance but also serves as a powerful tool for attracting and retaining talent. Additionally, we’ll explore the impact of culture on customer relationships and how it can contribute to winning over and retaining your clients.
Investing in Culture: The Business Case
First and foremost, we don’t have to rely solely on anecdotes and personal experience to understand the decisive impact of culture on a team’s business performance. The relationship between culture and team performance has been extensively researched and repeatedly proven for decades
REASON #1
How culture boosts team performance
Research by Gallup shows that employees' understanding of the company’s purpose and culture directly correlates with their effectiveness and performance. Clear expectations, rooted in an explicit culture, are essential for enjoyable, effective, and successful collaboration.
This clear and shared culture results in fewer meetings, less absenteeism, greater adaptability, and a stronger focus on goals. A true team is more than the sum of its parts; a strong culture is what differentiates a mediocre team from a winning one.
REASON #2
How culture helps attract the right talent
For most employees, work is more than just a way to make a living. Talented and ambitious candidates are drawn to employers with a clear vision and a supportive team culture. They seek places where they can grow and make a contribution.
When you, as an employer, effectively communicate your mission and cultural DNA in a concrete, credible, and inspiring way, you set yourself apart from other employers. This not only helps attract more candidates but particularly those looking for an employer and team with which they can connect through a shared purpose. This connection ultimately leads to lower recruitment costs, a reduced chance of mismatches, and a strong foundation for successfully onboarding new team members.
REASON #3
How culture helps you attract the right talent
Everyone wants the best team, but talent is scarce, and competition in the job market is fierce. Therefore, it’s equally important to ensure that this scarce talent remains connected to your organization. A strong connection to the company's mission and culture, along with the opportunity to contribute as an individual, proves to be one of the most effective ways to retain employees.
Helping to shape the development of colleagues and the team culture as a whole enhances engagement and fosters both motivation and appreciation. This creates a positive work environment where employees work not only for a paycheck but also for one another and the shared purpose. This, in turn, leads to greater loyalty, satisfaction, and a stronger bond with valuable employees.
REASON #4
How culture helps you win over customers
Many employers view their team culture as something "internal" and their marketing as an "external" message. This is a misconception. Your customer proposition and employer proposition are two sides of the same coin. (Potential) clients want to know who they are working with. This is especially true for service providers, as clients prefer to partner with suppliers who can clearly articulate what drives them and who have their talent and team development well managed.
Your culture can be a powerful part of your unique value proposition. Leverage this asset and provide clients with a strong reason to choose you over the competition.
WRAPPING UP
Practice what you preach & preach what you practice
Looking at the four ways culture creates business value, it becomes clear that culture plays a role beyond the internal workings of your organization. It not only shapes how your organization functions but also influences how the market, customers, and talent perceive your business.
A distinctive team culture can provide a powerful competitive advantage, as long as it is first internalized and then consistently and credibly communicated externally: "Practice what you preach and preach what you practice." By explicitly defining your cultural DNA and embedding it in daily team rituals, you can make that culture visible in your employer branding and customer proposition. In this way, culture systematically contributes to attracting talent and winning over customers.