In the post-pandemic world, fostering a positive company culture is no longer a mere aspiration; it’s a strategic imperative. If you think this is exaggerated, check these stats by TeamStage that show how healthy company cultures can be a competitive advantage:

• 94% of entrepreneurs and 88% of job seekers say that a healthy culture at work is vital for success.
• 86% of job seekers avoid companies with a bad reputation.
• Having highly engaged employees can lead to a 202% increase in performance.
• 69% of employees would work harder if they received more recognition.
• 46% of job seekers said culture was one of the deciding factors in the application process, while 88% found it at least relatively important.

These figures underscore that nurturing a positive culture in organizations influences employee engagement, motivation, production levels and even contributes to talent acquisition. However, saying it is easier than actually designing strategies that will contribute to a positive environment.

Many people say that what cannot be measured cannot be improved. So how can HR managers measure company culture in order to fix what is wrong and promote a collaborative and positive culture?

Step 1: Conduct Culture Surveys

Employee surveys can gauge how engaged employees are in their roles and with the organization. Questions should assess their satisfaction, motivation, and alignment with company goals.

The best way to implement culture surveys is to make them regular and rather short to capture real-time feedback and detect emerging issues. The advantage of conducting regular surveys is that they bring quick and actionable insights for HR managers to address concerns promptly.

Step 2: Analyze Employee Turnover

A recent study by Jelly Academy found that 30% of respondents say that the average time an employee stays with a company is 1-2 years. “Nearly half of all participants, 46%, responded that workplace culture is either very little or just somewhat emphasized in their business,” reports Jelly Academy.

This trend shows the importance of acknowledging the reasons for voluntary turnover in order to reduce these rates. There are two ways to do this: exit interview analysis and turnover metrics.

When reviewing feedback from departing employees, HR departments can use this data to make strategic improvements in areas causing dissatisfaction.

Another good idea is to calculate turnover rates and compare them to industry benchmarks. These results can help identify departments or teams with unusually high turnover rates for focused interventions.

Step 3: Assess Alignment with Core Values

Reviewing that the employees’ behaviour goes in line with the company’s values is essential to promote and maintain the desired culture. Observe how employees demonstrate (or fail to demonstrate) the organization’s core values.

The role of managers is key here. They are the ones who monitor employees’ attitudes and how they relate to each other and customers. Managers need to ensure that employees are being respectful, collaborative and following the company’s guidelines and values.

Quarterly or annual employee performance reports can add a metric to measure whether employees are complying with this.

Step 4: Training and Development Metrics

A good way to measure how much an employee is immersed in the company’s culture and its willingness to upskill to help the organization grow is to track employee participation in training and development programs.

A culture that encourages innovation and continuous learning is vital. Tracking the number of new ideas generated and employees participating in training programs is a good way to measure their involvement with the company and its culture.

Step 5: Employee Net Promoter Score (eNPS)

Similar to the customer NPS, the Employee Net Promoter Score measures employees’ willingness to recommend an organization as a workplace.

A single question in the regular surveys or the termination interviews will gather this information. For example, “On a scale of 0-10, how likely are you to recommend us as a workplace?”