What is company culture?

Company culture starts with the organisation's vision. A vision is normally a single sentence describing the organisation's purpose. Alongside that vision, company culture determines things like what the working environment is like, how colleagues relate to each other, what the most important core values and rules are, how communication happens and how people are expected to behave. In short: company culture is what makes an organisation unique.

Why does company culture matter?

Company culture has always mattered, but over the past 20 years it has become a popular topic of conversation. The reason is that the modern workplace keeps changing. The modern workplace calls for a strong company culture, and for most millennials it is a must. For them, culture is even one of the most important reasons for wanting to work at a company. And whether you like it or not, millennials are the generation of the future, and every company will be working with them.

What are the advantages of a strong company culture?

1. Identity Culture contributes to an organisation's identity and values. If you have a culture that gives priority to setting and reaching goals, your people will be more likely to set and reach their own. 2. Retention and engagement A strong company culture makes it easier to attract talent and, perhaps more importantly, to keep it. When people feel they are genuinely part of the organisation, they feel more engaged and will stay longer. 3. Reputation Your culture also contributes to your reputation. Treat your people well and have a good, enjoyable, inspiring company culture, and your customers will rate you more highly, which ultimately leads to a stronger reputation and more profit.