Culture: Where behavior meets business outcomes

What is culture in the workplace? Like art, “you know it when you see it.”One company might have a "work hard, play hard" culture, while another may have one that is more flexible and family-friendly. Others have cultures of blame or harassment. But one thing’s for sure: your culture affects employee engagement and retention, which affects the company’s bottom line. At a time when employers are reporting major talent shortages, it’s more important than ever to ensure your culture is the result of a deliberate, strategic choice. Workplace culture is how people behave and work together to deliver results, says Barbara Porter, chief customer experience officer for Senn Delaney, a culture-shaping firm. That business outcome is an important distinction, Porter said. “For so long, people thought [culture] was about the soft, emotional stuff; making people happy,” Porter added. “If you’re just focused on making people happy, you will lose money and go out of business.”  Instead, a healthy workplace culture means creating the right environment for people to succeed and to impact business results.