Three effective ways to measure your workplace culture

Company culture, or organisational culture, may seem intangible but it is very impactful on organisational performance. Without a strong workplace culture, your employees are not going to be as high-achieving as you need them to be.

How does one measure culture? You probably have an idea of the workplace culture you’re aiming for. But how do you know if you’re achieving it? Measuring your workplace culture is critical for knowing where you are now and helps you identify the steps to get you where you want to be.

It enables you to assess the link between your culture and behaviours – is it actually being lived across your organisation? At all levels? Or is it just words on a page that gets discussed twice a year and then forgotten again?

Your workplace culture is the thing that keeps employees sticking around. Of course, they have to enjoy the actual work they do, but the people, environment and attitude around that work make or break an organisation.

Three Solutions to Measure Workplace Culture

1. Employee surveys

To track and measure improvements, send these at regular intervals across the year. If you want to hone in on a specific driver and take a snapshot – for example, on workload or reward and recognition – you can send these as one-off pulse surveys.

You can use various tools and platforms, but something as simple as Survey Monkey can be sufficient. Keeping the survey anonymous will usually yield more fruitful and honest results. Still, you can ask participants which business unit or area they are in to know where grievances are occurring.

Focus on things that drive employee engagement like meaningful work,  strong leadership,  belonging, autonomy, freedom of opinion, and opportunity for growth.

2. Third-party measurement tools

Third-party tools may be more advanced and flexible than tools you have designed internally. Participants can feel greater confidence that their submission will remain anonymous, leading to more honest responses. Third-party tools can often segment your workforce and give insights into any sub-cultures that have developed within your organisation.

3. Focus groups/exit interviews

Don’t underestimate the power of hearing verbatim from your employees. They can shed light on a company’s culture and reveal unseen positive and negative insights that can be used to do more of what’s working and fix what isn’t.

Tips

• Keep focus groups manageable – maximum of six and a cross-section of employees.
• Exit interviews should always be one-on-one.
• Communicate psychological safety, confidentiality and respect.
• Ask for stories, behaviours and examples, not opinions or rumours.
• Listen empathically.
• Let the participants know you are recording the conversation or taking notes in advance.
• Analyse data. You are looking for trends and patterns.

Use this information to develop action plans to improve your workplace culture.