For organisations who recognise the link between workplace culture and productivity, what are the key considerations to be aware of?
Culture surrounds us all the time. It frames how we feel, communicate and even how we make decisions. So, it comes as no surprise that workplace culture can directly impact the productivity and efficiency of any office.
From a business perspective, workplace culture is essential in fostering a sense of pride and ownership amongst employees. Pride drives loyalty, innovation, and dedication, and as such, workplace culture can be a key determinant of organisational success.
What defines workplace culture?
The culture of an organisation is made up of several environmental factors that contribute to the overall employee experience. This can include the physical workstation, office opening hours, people, leadership styles, and access to technology.
Britain’s current skills shortage has meant attracting new staff has become increasingly reliant on workplace culture. Flexible hours, remote working and even gym memberships are no longer considered perks, but essential benefits needed for recruiting and retaining top talent in any industry.
In addition, the ‘always on’ culture that compels us to work anytime, anywhere, even on the commute, has introduced unique pressures to today’s interconnected employee.
Earlier this year, our colleagues at Ricoh Europe conducted a nationwide study of executives and employees to identify the working environments that encourage productivity [2]. They found that a positive working culture is critical to business success.
If workplace culture unlocks productivity, how can organisations encourage it?
Commit to ethical and sustainable business practices.
71% of millennials and 71% of Gen Z employees feel their organisations’ approach to ethics and sustainability positively affect their performance at work.
1) Never neglect the offline world in favour of the ‘on’.
Across the age-groups, collaborative, cross-team working is highly valued. Get everybody in a room and meet face-to-face.
2) Reward innovation.
90% of Gen Z employees, 73% of millennials, 88% of employees aged 38-52, and 83% aged 53 and older report that incentives for innovation enhance their performance and productivity.
3) Remember that a ‘good’ culture is subjective, but critical.
When comparing culture to workspace and technology, executives unanimously agree that strong company culture remains critical to improving employee trust (87%), motivation (83%) and wellbeing (69%) within the organisation.
There’s no one-size-fits-all solution to creating a positive office culture: culture depends on the needs and values of every employee and productivity cannot be created with a great office culture alone. Office culture must be inspired through an optimal workplace combining technology, creativity, and teamwork.
Recent studies have shown that digital transformation is a real challenge for Operations teams in organisations of all sectors of the economy. Did you know that 32 percent of Canadian employees work most of their hours outside of their primary and 23% of data breaches are caused inadvertently due to human error? [3 & 4]
Empowering your digital workforce to boost productivity, seamlessly collaborate with co-workers and clients, and get secure access to information without compromising data security has become a prime objective for many mid to large-sized organisations.
Understand how you can drive your organisation’s work culture to positively impact your productivity and support your business objectives by providing seamless and secure access to information from anywhere. Visit RicohChangeMakers.ca today.
1https://www.ilo.org/ilostat/faces/oracle/webcenter/portalapp/pagehierarchy/Page27.aspx
2 https://insights.ricoh.co.uk/the-economy-of-people
3 https://www.huffingtonpost.ca/2018/11/01/trudeau-ontario-paid-leave-days_a_23577852/
4 Statistics Canada, StatCan COVID-19 https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/pub/45-28-0001/2021001/article/00012-eng.htm
5 98 Must-Know Data Breach Statistics for 2021 https://www.varonis.com/blog/data-breach-statistics/
