Jeff Previte August 21, 2020 Cracking the code for building an awesome company culture is difficult. It’s not as easy as hiring the right people or simply giving out a new handbook. Your company culture is a living, breathing entity, influenced by several moving parts.
It’s important to stay on top of the latest company culture research and best practices. This can help you in several ways. By staying educated, you can:
- Reduce employee turnover
- Boost employee satisfaction levels
- Improve workplace productivity
- Hire better cultural fits who stay longer
- Foster a fun, positive, healthy environment
Here are Bluleadz, we take pride in building our culture. This is why we created the annual company culture digest. We want to continue building a fun, awesome culture and help you do the same.
What Is Company Culture?
Company culture is a broad term that describes the way a company interacts with its employees and how its employees interact with them. It is a reflection of a company’s attitude and behavior, the values they exhibit, and their decision making.
The elements that company culture incorporates are:
- Company mission
- Leadership style
- Ethics
- Values
- Expectations
- Goals
- Work environment
Why You Need Company Culture Research
The reason for this is simple – your awesome company culture gives you a big competitive advantage. In fact, a whopping 82 percent of the respondents to Deloitte’s 2016 Global Human Capital Trends survey said they believe that culture is a potential competitive advantage.
But most employers struggle to build a company culture that’s right for their team. The same survey found that only 12 percent of executives believe their companies are driving the “right culture,” and just 19 percent of executives believe their company has the “right culture.”
A strong company culture will resonate throughout the workplace and should be expressed well on social media, in your website messaging, and even with clients.
Don’t settle for merely guessing what makes a positive company culture. With research in hand, you can make strategic decisions to build an awesome culture that attracts and retains talent and produces big business results.
The Most Valuable Company Culture Statistics
Here are some helpful company culture statistics to help you understand the organizational culture standards to improve or maintain your workplace culture in 2020 and beyond.
Hiring and Retention Stats
Your company culture directly impacts your ability to attract, hire, and retain A players. If your staff hates working for you, they will jump ship and likely warn others to stay away.
Your Candidate Experience Makes or Breaks How You Attract and Engage Talent.
- 78 percent of candidates say the overall candidate experience indicates how a company values its people (CareerBuilder’s Candidate Experience From End to End: What’s Your Weakest Link? report).
- Organizations that invest in delivering a strong candidate experience improve their quality of hire by 70 percent (Glassdoor’s 2017 report).
- 72 percent of hiring managers say they provide clear job descriptions, while only 36 percent of candidates say the same (Allegis Group’s 2016 report).
Over Half of Your Staff Doesn’t Plan on Staying.
- 75 percent of U.S. employees do not stay at their jobs for more than five years (iHire Talent Retention Report).
- 59 percent of Gen Z say they expect to stay with their current employer for less than two years (Deloitte’s Millennial Survey 2018).
- On average, 47 percent of high-performing employees left their company last year (The Predictive Index’s The 2020 State of Talent Optimization).
Turnover Is a Costly HR Issue.
- 47 percent of HR leaders said employee turnover and retention are their top challenges (SHRM and Globoforce’s 2018 Employee Recognition Survey).
- 60 to 70 percent of all employee turnover is voluntary (ADP Research Institute’s Revelations from Workforce Turnover report).
- The cost of replacements after turnover is $ 15,000 per person for an employee earning a median salary of $ 45,000 a year (Work Institute’s 2017 Retention Report).
There Are Multiple Reasons Why People Leave.
- 82 percent of employees said they’d be more loyal and less likely to leave if they had more flexible jobs (FlexJobs’ 4th Annual Super Survey).
- Eight percent of employees are completely disengaged and/or actively looking for another job (Achievers’ 2020 Engagement and Retention Report).
- 30 percent of American workers say their job is “just a job to get them by” (Pew Research Center).
Engagement Keeps Talent Happy.
- Highly engaged business units achieve 59 percent less turnover (Gallup’s State of the American Workplace report).
- An employee who feels engaged and inspired is 125 percent more productive than the satisfied staffer (Bain & Company’s Time. Talent. Energy).
Which Also Helps With Retention and Recruiting.
- 55 percent of businesses say that stronger engagement would improve their ability to either retain, recruit, or carry out succession planning (CBI’s 2018 survey).
Employee Experience Stats
More than just a trendy buzzword, the employee experience is what many organizations are building their culture around. The employee experience is rather self-explanatory.
It involves every interaction talent experiences with your company over the course of their entire employee lifecycle – from hiring to offboarding.
The employee experience is developed through your company culture, the physical workspace, and the tools you provide for your staff. It encapsulates all aspects of how employees interact with their employer every day, most notably employee engagement.
This is one of the most talked about aspects of the employee experience. An engaged employee is enthusiastic and fully absorbed in their work. They also exhibit a positive attitude about the work they do and are dedicated to contributing to the organization’s goals.
Disengagement Continues to Be a Widespread Problem.
- Most of the U.S. workforce (51 percent) is not engaged (Gallup’s State of the American Workplace report).
- 85 percent of adults worldwide are not engaged or are actively disengaged (Gallup’s State of the Global Workspace 2017).
This Causes Problems with Business Outcomes.
- Highly engaged business units see a 41 percent reduction in absenteeism and a 17 percent increase in productivity (Gallup’s State of the American Workplace report).
Most Employees Look to Management to Take Charge.
- 60 percent of employees said managers are most responsible for implementing employee engagement strategies (Quantum Workplace’s report)
Challenging Work and Wellness Programs Help to Increase Engagement.
- 61 percent of professionals who said they were engaged at work feel challenged or very challenged (SnackNation’s 2017 State of Workplace Culture Report).
- 42 percent of respondents say a healthy workforce drives employee engagement (Virgin Pulse’s The Business of Healthy Employees survey).
Your employees’ productivity is impacted by how good or bad their experience is. For example, if your staff suffers from a toxic environment, they will struggle to focus and feel disconnected from their work.
An Awesome Employee Experience Yields Big Results.
- Happy employees are 31 percent more productive than their unhappy counterparts (Talent Works)
Flexibility Can Help Boost Productivity and Is Widely Valued.
- 40 percent of employees said that flexible/remote work options can lower workplace distractions, and 52 percent say they’re more productive when working remotely (Udemy’s 2018 Workplace Distraction Report).
- Among Millennial and Gen Z employees who said they intend to stay with their current employers for at least five years, 55 percent note greater flexibility in where and when they work now compared to three years ago (Deloitte’s Millennial Survey 2018).
Professional Development Stats
A stagnate workforce causes a stagnate business. This is why so many employers continually invest in educating their staff and encourage employees to pursue professional development opportunities.
By investing in employee growth, employers can see tangible business growth as a result.
Engaged Learners Are Focused Employees.
- 42 percent of learning and development professionals who indicated their employees were highly engaged in learning were also highly engaged overall at the organization (Findcourses.com’s 2018 U.S. L&D Report).
- 70 percent of employees believe training could help them become more focused on the job and better at managing their time, but 66 percent have never asked their managers for such training (Udemy’s 2018 Workplace Distraction Report).
- 59 percent of millennials report that opportunities to learn and grow are extremely important to them when applying for a job (Gallup’s 2016 How Millennials Want to Live and Work).
Many Employees Feel Abandoned.
- 56 percent of employees believe that they don’t have any career advancement opportunities (OfficeVibe’s State of Employee Engagement poll).
- 53 percent say they haven’t improved their skills significantly in the past year (OfficeVibe’s State of Employee Engagement poll).
They Want Tailored Training.
- 93 percent of employees want training that is easy to complete/understand, 91 percent want it to be personalized/relevant, and 90 percent want it to be engaging/fun (Axonify’s State of Workplace Training Study).
And the Impact of Development Is Far Reaching.
- Organizations that train and develop employees see improved profitability “while cultivating more positive attitudes toward profit orientation” (2014 study in The International Journal of Academic Research in Business and Social Sciences).
- 83 percent of workers participating in a mentoring program admitted that their experience positively influenced their desire to stay at their organization (River’s 2018 research).
Employee Well-Being Stats
Employers continue to invest in wellness programs and other well-being initiatives for good reason. Healthy employees are more productive, more likely to stay with your company, and strong advocates for your brand.
Work-Life Balance Is Important but Often Overlooked.
- About 47 percent of workers believe that work affects their ability to spend time with family, and 72 percent of workers bring work home in the evenings or weekends (Working Families and Bright Horizons’ Modern Families Index 2018 Report).
- 69 percent of employees say they sometimes/often take work home to finish (OfficeVibe’s State of Employee Engagement poll).
- 37 percent of workers think employers should make efforts to change organizational culture to ensure a good work-life balance.
- 35 percent believe employers should implement more policies that support work-life balance.
- 28 percent say that employers should encourage their staff to use existing policies to help their work-life balance (Working Families and Bright Horizons’ Modern Families Index 2018 report).
The Stress Epidemic Is Prevalent.
- 43 percent of workers say they are often or always stressed, and one-third of these employees said the stress they experience at work is detrimental to their health (TSheets’ 2018 survey).
- 23 percent of employees leave work feeling drained or very drained every day (OfficeVibe’s State of Employee Engagement poll).
- Stress management counseling improves the likelihood of a wellness program yielding positive results. Of organizations offering stress management:
- 53 percent saw improvements in engagement and satisfaction.
- 45 percent noted health care cost improvements
- 43 percent said health screening data improved (International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans’ 2018 Workplace Wellness Trends).
Mental Health Needs To Be De-Stigmatized.
- About 16.2 million adults in the United States had at least one major depressive episode, which makes up nearly seven percent of all U.S. adults (The 2016 National Survey on Drug Use and Health).
- Depression costs companies about 200 million lost workdays in the U.S., which equates to $ 17 to $ 44 billion in lost productivity (CDC research).
- 72 percent of people who have daily stress and anxiety say it interferes with their lives at least moderately (ADAA research).
- Employees say anxiety and stress most often impacts:
- Workplace performance (56 percent)
- Relationship with coworkers and peers (51 percent)
- Quality of work (50 percent)
- Relationships with superiors (43 percent) (ADAA research).
Financial Incentives Can Drive Wellness Program Utilization, Which Improves Culture.
- 86 percent of employers offer financial incentives for participation in well-being programs, with an average incentive of $ 784 (Fidelity Investments’ 2018 Health and Well-Being Survey).
- Financial incentives increased annual preventative visits and cholesterol testing by nearly eight percent and FBS testing seven percent (2017 report in The American Journal of Managed Care).
- 90 percent of employees believe their well-being programs positively affect work culture (Virgin Pulse’s The Business of Healthy Employees survey).
Employee Satisfaction Stats
Your company culture directly impacts levels of employee satisfaction. Without the right practices and values, your organization might be leaving your staff unhappy … and ready to jump ship.
Recognition Is Low Cost and High Reward, but It’s Rare.
- 63 percent of employees feel like they don’t get enough praise (OfficeVibe’s State of Employee Engagement poll).
- 72 percent of employees get praise less than once per week (OfficeVibe’s State of Employee Engagement poll).
- Organizations that give regular recognition experience 31 percent lower voluntary turnover (OfficeVibe’s State of Employee Engagement poll).
- 83 percent of employees think it’s better to praise someone than give them a gift (OfficeVibe’s State of Employee Engagement poll).
Co-Worker Relationships Matter More Than You Think.
- 34 percent of employees don’t think they get enough social interaction with colleagues (OfficeVibe’s State of Employee Engagement poll).
- 82 percent highly value their colleague’s input (OfficeVibe’s State of Employee Engagement poll).
- 62 percent of employees wish they received more feedback from their colleagues (OfficeVibe’s State of Employee Engagement poll).
Your Staff Wants to Feel Aligned With the Bigger Picture.
- 33 percent of employees don’t believe their company’s core values align with their personal values (OfficeVibe’s State of Employee Engagement poll).
- 19 percent don’t understand their core values or simply don’t know them (OfficeVibe’s State of Employee Engagement poll).
- One of four employees are either indifferent or don’t know much about their company’s mission (OfficeVibe’s State of Employee Engagement poll).
- 58 percent of companies with an articulated, understood sense of purpose experienced over 10 percent growth, compared to just 42 percent of companies that don’t make purpose a priority (LinkedIn and Imperative’s 2016 Workforce Purpose Index).
- 73 percent of purpose-oriented people are satisfied with their jobs, compared to just 64 percent of those who are not purpose-oriented (LinkedIn and Imperative’s 2016 Workforce Purpose Index).
- Purpose-oriented employees experience 64 percent higher levels of fulfillment in their work compare to non purpose-oriented employees
- They are also 50 percent more likely to move into leadership and 47 percent more likely to act as promoters of their employers than non purpose-oriented employees (LinkedIn and Imperative’s 2016 Workforce Purpose Index).
There are so many aspects to consider when you’re developing your company culture. These statistics shed light on what matters most to employees and leadership alike.
Now you’re ready to take your company culture to the next level in 2020 and beyond!
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