Corporate culture is an integral part of business and is quickly emerging as the key to winning and retaining top talent. And it all starts with your purpose—why you are in business.
Culture isn’t just saying you value your employees. It's about having purposeful efforts in place to engage employees and have them feel like a part of a team and/or a larger purpose.
For many employees, especially younger people, the key motivator is a sense of purpose. If you want employees who are more engaged and productive, give them a purpose.
Today, younger people entering the workforce have different demands for their jobs.
Past |
Present and Future |
My paycheck |
My purpose |
My satisfaction |
My development |
My boss |
My coach |
My annual review |
My ongoing conversations |
My weaknesses |
My strengths |
My job |
My life |
While most leaders can pinpoint how their role supports their organization’s purpose, most workers can’t.
“Six in 10 employees are showing up to work feeling some level of disconnect from their company’s mission”
In a study conducted by Gallup, only four in 10 U.S. employees strongly agree that the mission or purpose of their organization makes them feel their job is important. This means that nearly six in 10 employees don’t feel that way. In essence, six in 10 employees are showing up to work feeling some level of disconnect from their company’s mission or purpose and, ultimately, from their own workplace culture.
This disconnect has a negative impact on everything, from attracting top talent to keeping superstars. In short, your best employees will leave if they don’t know your organization’s purpose.
To access the state of your organizational culture, ask yourself the following:
- What strategic and operational goals has your organization tied to its culture?
- Where are your key performance indicators (KPIs) tied to these goals?
- Can you make direct connections between achieving these KPIs and the impact on the following workforce measures?
- Employee attraction
- Employee retention
- Employee satisfaction and engagement
- Diverse workforce
- Productivity
- In terms of the relationship between corporate culture and innovation at your organization, does innovation typically come from the top-down or the bottom-up within your company, and how is it encouraged or facilitated?
- How important are managers/supervisors to promoting the organization’s culture and innovation? How do you support them to develop the skills to be effective in this role?
- Regarding diversity, equity, and inclusion in your workplace, what programs, initiatives, or processes do your team use to make meaningful progress in these areas?
- Have you expanded the population of potential workers that you now consider for hire and, if so, in which groups have you had the greatest success (i.e., ex-offenders)?
Many senior executives are not adequately addressing these questions, either because:
- They don’t fully appreciate the importance of purpose in strategic planning and its impact on corporate culture
- They are too focused on short-term financial importance, or
- These questions shed light on fundamental corporate vulnerabilities
Why Is Corporate Culture the Key to Success?
A strong company culture:
Attracts High-Quality Talent
A strong, positive, and highly communicative culture attracts qualified job candidates who fit your organizational culture. People want to work for companies with a good reputation among previous and current employees.
Improves Employee Retention and Engagement
Your employees will leave if you don’t offer the perks they want. And when they leave, you’ll have to spend a substantial amount of time and money looking to replace them. Employers who invest in the well-being of their employees will be rewarded with happy employees who are much more likely to stay.
Increases Productivity
Employees tend to be more motivated and dedicated to employers who invest in their well-being and happiness. Businesses with strong cultures make more money and are more productive and successful than those that don’t.
Encourages Workforce Diversity
You can create a positive and inclusive workplace culture by welcoming individuals from all backgrounds and celebrating their differences. Companies with diverse leadership teams or diversity at all levels within the organization are more successful, innovative, and tend to exceed expectations beyond some of their counterparts that are slow to adjust.
How Manufacturing Works Helps
Manufacturing Works helps Northeast Ohio manufacturing companies thrive by delivering solutions that support their people, enhance their productivity, and help them prosper.
We use an onsite recruitment specialist to attract employees who have the skills and proven work histories to fit your culture in a wide range of occupations.
Our manufacturing recruitment solutions:
- Ensure you spend less time and money recruiting talent for business growth
- Focus on long-term employee retention and development
- Put customer satisfaction first
- Are delivered by expert staff at competitive rates that save you hiring costs
We work closely with manufacturers in Northeast Ohio and provide prescreening interviews and assessments to ensure the candidate’s experience, salary requirements, and motivational factors align with your company’s profile.
Contact us today and let’s talk about how you can attract employees to your manufacturing business and ensure they stay.