3 statistics to avoid:

- 54% of staff are unhappy in their jobs (online survey result 7/09)
- More than $1 of every $3 of payroll is wasted as result of unengaged employees (Gallup 6/09)
- 46% feel honest dialogue is missing in workplace (Lighthouse Leadership survey 2007)

Caught rereading the statistics? One conclusion ‘Culture Matters’.

A glossy brochure, a hip video or a ‘multi-cultural’ workplace; doesn’t mean you’ve figure out the culture gaps that plague most companies. The urgency of assessing and adjusting your company culture is critical. Avoiding is high risk. The one positive timing issue you have is employees aren’t jumping ship due to the economy.

Stop ignoring and start focusing on the necessary actions:

1. Ask and listen….find out what the employees feel about the company culture.
2. Core company values…keep it to three and live it and breathe it, but most importantly protect them.
3. Ensure that you do more than print the core values in a brochure…weave them into the measurements of the company performance.
4. Demonstrate that they are important…head, heart, and soul.
5. Deal with issues that go against the culture values – that’s people and process.

Bottomline, the statistics reflect a direct cost to the bottomline. Hiring, training, relationship building, special skills sets are all expensive. Getting your team to row together can be the edge you’ve been striving for.

Mike and Jodi work with companies on assessing company culture and help leadership teams adjust and adapt to improve their culture.