A positive workplace culture is crucial to achieving organizational goals. But culture is more than casual Fridays and office happy hours: it’s driven by the beliefs at the heart of an organization, and it can have a concrete effect on your company’s long-term success. In fact, a flourishing company culture can increase profit margins and bolster productivity throughout your organization.
The story of Bristol Farms speaks to this truth: after a series of buyouts in 2014, the company was grappling with employee dissatisfaction and burnout. After pairing with Partners in Leadership to reshape its organizational culture and establish a common language for employees at every level, the company transformed its unproductive “culture of sarcasm” to a culture of positive, collaborative, solutions-oriented communication.
Communication and Accountability Unlock Employee Engagement
“Bristol Farms exemplifies how a commitment to culture can revitalize a company,” said Marcus
Nicolls, Senior Partner at Partners In Leadership. As a result of their cultural transformation efforts, Bristol Farms saw a 7.7% growth in year-over-year sales and increased the point-of-difference products number by 22% in an otherwise stagnant industry.
So how did Bristol Farms accomplish this turnaround? Through a renewed commitment to culture that centered on establishing better lines of communication and cross-functional accountability. Rather than viewing communication and feedback as a one-way street, creating a dynamic and egalitarian openness across organizational levels can have a dramatic positive effect on employee attitudes. When all members of an organization feel comfortable expressing and receiving feedback from their coworkers and superiors, the result is a company culture of trust and increased employee accountability.
Open feedback loops inspire increased accountability — defined by The Oz Principle as “a personal choice to rise above one’s circumstances and demonstrate the ownership necessary for achieving desired results.” And when an organization like Bristol Farms makes higher accountability a priority in its cultural transformation, all employees become more actively engaged in their work. This is good news, given that organizations with high levels of employee engagement report 22% higher productivity, according to a 2012 Gallup survey of some 1.4 million employees.
A Positive Workplace Culture Creates More Productive Employees
There is a direct connection between a focus on workplace culture and increased profitability: organizations that revamp their culture to motivate and engage employees consistently see better business results.
When open communication and positive accountability in the workplace are at the center of a company’s culture, employees tend to be happier — and it should come as no surprise that happy, fulfilled employees work harder. According to our Happiness at Work survey, when employees are happier, 85% take more initiative, 73% claim they are better collaborators, and 48% care more about their work.
It’s clear that making the effort to establish a positive company culture fosters loyalty in employees, making them feel more engaged and motivated while benefiting your company’s bottom line. Take a cue from Bristol Farms’ successes and see what a cultural transformation can do for your organization.