The Link Between Workplace Culture and Employee Retention

Did you know that a third of job seekers would give up their perfect job if the corporate culture just wasn’t a good fit? How about the fact that 75% of workers cited corporate culture as a factor influencing their decision to work at any given company? Workplace culture can really make or break any company. A positive workplace culture will result in better employee satisfaction, reduced employee turnover and most importantly higher employee retention.

What exactly is workplace culture?

In a textbook sense, culture is known as a set of psychological predispositions called basic assumptions which are held by all of the members of a business or organization and which will influence the ways that they behave. 

To put it in simpler terms, workplace culture is the way that things are done in an organization. Each company will always have a set of values, rules, attitudes and unspoken routines that make up its own one-of-a-kind culture. 

Your culture dictates the way that your employees handle problems, interact with each other and how they carry themselves each day. This is why, as a leader or manager, it is quite important to set the company’s culture tone as early as possible. 

However, it’s important to keep in mind that workplace cultures are complex, just like ethnic or regional cultures, and they can be contradictory and flexible. While you might find meaningful patterns in certain areas, you can’t assume that success in one area can be cut and pasted every time.

When you are developing your workplace culture, it will take a lot of effort as well as active, present management so you can expect to put a lot of time into participating.

There is one constant though: workplace culture directly impacts retention. Studies reveal that a third of job seekers would let go of their perfect job if the workplace culture wasn’t a good fit. And over 70% of workers cited corporate culture as an important factor influencing their decision to work at any given company.

What makes bad workplace culture?

If you’ve kept up with our blog, you would know how much we love to emphasize the importance of keeping your employees engaged. A lack of engagement is statistically one of the biggest reasons for a lack of employee retention in any organization. It impacts all of your employees, and unengaged employees are more likely to quit even if they are well paid. 

Here are some red flags that will also contribute to bad company culture:

• Hearing gossip around the office. Gossip wasn’t cool in high school, and it’s definitely not appropriate in any professional setting. Gossip results in “clique”-like behaviors that are undesirable in the workplace. These work to divide your workforce, and turn employees against each other creating an atmosphere of distrust.

• Having a high turnover rate. High employee turnover is almost always a symptom of having bad workplace culture. Not only will bad culture drive your employees to quit, but it will also scare away potential job seekers from joining your company. 

• Your employees are always late or absent. If you have excessive tardiness or high rates of absenteeism week after week, these are very clear signs that you have a poor workplace culture. Being tardy shows that your employees are lazy, disengaged and just simply don’t want to be there. If employees are frequently calling in sick to the office, then they are most likely disinterested and not very passionate about their work. 

All of these factors, and more, will lead to a heavy atmosphere at work. If you had to spend 40 hours a week in a work environment like this, it’s enough to make anyone depressed and avoidant. This is what we mean when we are talking about a toxic workplace culture. These are the reasons why a bad workplace culture is directly linked to poor employee retention. 

What makes a good workplace culture?

A company with a clear set of positive values helps to drive employee engagement and can even boost retention rates. Your values will be what your employees identify with and inform them of how they are making a difference in the world and your clients’ lives while they are employed. This means that your company values should be something that helps bring people together. For example, going green and reducing your emissions or ending world hunger. 

A good workplace culture will foster engagement and effort within your employees. A bad workplace culture will overemphasize punishment, whereas a good workplace culture emphasizes reward. Rewarding employees who strive to go above and beyond or to innovate and help out their coworkers should feel appreciated with promotions or special recognition. Nothing can squash a company’s culture than feelings of underappreciation. 

Keeping employees engaged and satisfied is also linked to ongoing professional development and similar opportunities. Job satisfaction depends a lot on the opportunities that employees have available to them for growth, advancement, learning, promotion and expanding their current skill set. Organizations that have a strong infrastructure in place that supports employee growth helps foster a strong sense of culture and community at the workplace.

Create a Healthy Workplace Culture with 1Huddle

At 1Huddle, we offer cloud-based employee training software where you can easily upload and customize your training content for a seamless training experience. All of your employees will have the ability to access their training anywhere, anytime and at the push of a button. This helps make training engaging and kept up-to-date, while you emphasize employee growth and development. You can use our game platform to measure their performance and make key decisions on where you should take your training next. 

Do you want to learn more about how 1Huddle can help you level up your own workforce? Request a demo today.