How to Describe Company Culture: FAQ for Facilities

Great leaders seek ways to set their organizations apart in today’s competitive markets. While there are many ways to do this — like marketing campaigns and innovative technology — a strong company culture has long been a key differentiator. Yet, positive culture can be difficult to measure and even more challenging to achieve. However, understanding how to describe company culture is a crucial starting point.

To help you understand this fundamental concept, we’ll explore the elements that contribute to company culture. We’ll also describe the benefits of company culture for employees and employers, illustrating how benefits for employees translate to wins for the organization as a whole.

What Is Company Culture?

In order to understand how to describe company culture, it’s essential to grasp each element that goes into shaping it. Company culture refers to the values, beliefs, and practices that define the way people work together in an organization.

An organization’s culture is its identity, which impacts the work environment, employee interactions, business operations, and more. The following table outlines and key elements that can help you understand how to describe company culture as you take steps to improve it at your facility.

While a company’s culture is certainly shaped by its executives and leadership, it can also be influenced by the behaviors and attitudes of individual staff members. This means that teams within a company can develop their own variations of the overall culture.

If you’re wondering how to improve company culture within your organization, start by assessing how your organization, departments, and teams measure up in the elements of culture mentioned above. Then, make necessary improvements in the areas that may be lacking. Investing in a positive culture is a worthwhile endeavor because it benefits all involved with your organization.

Why Is Company Culture Important to Employees?

As you learn how to describe company culture at your facility, it’s important to consider how it will specifically assist the people who keep your organization running: your employees. A strong company culture will not just appeal to prospective employees, but will also support them once they’ve arrived. Below, you’ll find benefits of a strong company culture from an employee’s perspective.

Support

Employees need to know that they’ll receive the assistance, tools, and training to be successful in their roles. An organization with a strong culture can provide support through onboarding and job training, effective leadership teams, and adequate compensation packages.

Belonging

A thriving company culture allows employees to belong to something bigger than themselves. When an employee feels like an integral part of a community, they’re more likely to stand behind the company’s mission and engage enthusiastically.

Respect

It’s important for employees to work in a respectful environment. A culture that allows employee voices to be heard, values the importance of work-life balance, and acknowledges contributions can make all the difference for employees.

Integrity

For employees to buy into an organization’s mission, there needs to be a level of trust with leadership. If ethical issues aren’t addressed, leaders are hypocritical in their actions, or managers criticize excessively, it will be difficult for employees to stay.

Growth

Ample professional development opportunities mean a lot to employees who desire to grow throughout their careers. Stagnation can negatively impact an employee’s perception of their company culture.

Why Is Company Culture Important to Employers?

In addition to the numerous benefits enjoyed by employees, a healthy company culture also aids the organization itself. Here are a few benefits that employers can experience as they invest in employee wellness.

Recruiting

A positive culture can help you bring in top talent. Your company’s recruiters can describe the many benefits associated with being a part of your team and the indicators of a strong culture (support, belonging, respect, etc.) that your organization demonstrates.

Productivity

When employees feel like a valued part of a team, they’re more engaged in their work and more productive. This will end up improving your organization’s results and performance.

Retention

Company culture statistics show that organizational culture and leadership are positively correlated with job satisfaction among staff. Employees who are satisfied with their work environment are more likely to stay with the company for the long term, reducing turnover and keeping positions filled.

Innovation

A company culture that values diversity and recognizes individuals’ contributions will encourage creativity. Employees will feel that they can share their ideas and come up with innovative solutions to problems, which can give your company a competitive edge.

Reputation

News about your company culture will spread. Providing a great place to work can attract new clients, employees, and investors as you build a positive reputation.

Consider concrete ways to build a strong company culture as you develop improvement plans, such as inclusive policies, servant leadership models, in-house professional development programs, commitments to safety, and accessible leadership.

Each organization is different, so the strategies you choose to build a strong culture will vary. It’s important to research a variety of methods to improve your culture to find ones that will work in your specific situation.

Do You Know How To Describe Company Culture at Your Facility?

Now that we’ve explored the key elements of company culture, you may be looking for ways to invest in a positive culture at your facility. To lead your organization to success, it’s essential to stay up-to-date on industry news. IntelyCare’s newsletter delivers free healthcare insights and resources directly to your inbox.