The news that poor company culture is costing the UK economy upwards of £23bn is, on the surface, quite surprising. Contributor Ricky Muddimer, Director – Thinking Focus

This figure exceeds the latest estimate for the cost of employee absence, which is around £18bn per year. Yet the number itself doesn’t tell the most shocking part of the story. The research behind it, carried out by breatheHR, also reveals that an incredible 60 percent of SME leaders consider a good company culture as “nice to have” – but not essential to the function of their business.

Just imagine the cost savings to any business if they took company culture more seriously. Not only would the profit margin rise as productivity improved, but it’s more than likely staff turnover would reduce, along with sickness absence, and the workplace would become a much more pleasant and productive place to be.

What is company culture?

At Thinking Focus, we’ve worked with numerous businesses which are facing a challenging company culture. Over the years, we’ve recognised five key areas which are crucial to healthy company culture. They are:

Clarity – Does everyone get the organisational purpose and understand the direction of travel?

Commitment – Is there a collective commitment to one vision and strategy?

Collaboration – To what extent do you engage internal and external stakeholders to deliver?

Capability – Are your people equipped to do what is expected? Consider knowledge, skills, mindset, physiology and environment.

Capacity – Do you have the bandwidth? Is everything a priority? Beware pushing your team beyond breaking-point.

Improving your company culture
For any boss aware that their company culture leaves a lot to be desired, the £23bn headline figure is no doubt worrying. However, the good news is that every culture can be improved, and there are simple steps that any business can take to make improvements – starting right now. Start with why: You need to have a clear purpose, something that engages your people and inspires them to go on your journey. When people buy into your ‘why’, they will willingly adapt to any changes in direction which inevitably come at some point. And don’t forget you need to share it, frequently and consistently.

If people don’t understand why they are doing something, you leave your results to chance.  Without a ‘why’, how do individuals validate whether what they do for you is ‘putting a ding in the universe’, as Steve Jobs once shared?

Steering group: Culture, at its purest, is ‘the way we do things around here’. Culture is how your organisation works together – or not! Go looking for role models, leaders who do what they say and individuals who challenge when it’s not right. The steering group is a multi-level, multi-disciplinary group who will help to drive your vision in the right way and take responsibility for its success or failure. It’s likely you’ll want a group drawn from across all departments.

Consider who your informal leaders are, those who can mobilise others without authority, who motivate others, who inspire people to engage, and who will bring their own ideas and enthusiasm to the project. Release the past: Too many organisations are held back by things that have happened in the past. This could be “we’ve always done it this way…”, which limits your openness to new ideas and keeps you repeating the same old mistakes. You and your team need to let go of the habits that could be holding you back – especially the ones you’re doing without even realising.

Beliefs and assumptions need challenging, too. You will hear things like “we’ve tried that before, and it doesn’t work…” which, if unchallenged, leaves you stuck doing the same old things for fear of failing again. Just because a previous project didn’t work out doesn’t mean the entire concept is without merit. Perhaps you just need to try a new approach or come at it with fresh thinking.

Burn your platform: As humans, we all tend to get attached to the status quo. We become comfortable with our positions and resist change – but it’s a fact of life that we cannot always stay the same.

Accepting the need to step away from what’s comfortable and burn your platform is fundamental to success. It will also provide the opportunity to either ‘reset’ or adjust the culture, establishing the right mindset and the desired cultural norms for what lies ahead: openness and willingness to embrace the opportunities in front of you.

Small wins: Tracking progress is one of the most critical aspects of any team – but this doesn’t just mean measuring yourself against your ultimate aim. It can be dispiriting to hear constantly that you’ve not yet made it to the finishing line.

Leaders are always looking for step change; they spend so much time in the future they forget that everyone else is still on the journey. Leaders can also be guilty of trivialising the small stuff and undervaluing the effort invested in the journey.

Instead, seek out and celebrate the small wins: build a winning momentum, not least when you look back, and the collective value will be tremendous. The buzz your people get from feeling valued is enormously motivating, and remember we complete every journey by taking one step at a time. Thank your team, celebrate their effort, and inspire them to stay on track for the next goal.