Don Alexander (GeneCoda), Ted Benson and Jerel Bonner (Corralling Chaos)
Introduction
Crafting and activating corporate culture can be challenging. Many papers, speakers, and books discuss various aspects of corporate culture, from time-worn standards like Jim Collins’ “Good to Great” to new classics like Dan Ariely’s “Payoff”. There are also company founders who are outliers in crafting unique cultures, like Jim Goodnight at SAS and Tony Hsieh at Zappos: leaders who’ve blazed new trails getting employees to completely buy into, and sustain, company culture.
But less often considered is how working individuals in the real world evaluate the value of workplace culture. For example: Do they think that the company actually cares about culture? How important is a company’s culture to current employees? How do candidates consider it when researching prospective employers, and how do they do investigate it? Do they find it easy to identify corporate culture from their research and interview? Will their impression of the culture influence their decision to accept a job offer? Once onboard, can they actually recognize the culture and does that match their expectation created during their research and interview? And does the culture support their growth and development, proven key factors for employee retention?
This study explored these questions by surveying several hundred individuals. The respondents serve in a range of functions, from individual contributors to executives, in a variety of private firms across several scientific and technical industry sectors. Continue reading “The Real-World Importance of Corporate Culture”
