Company culture is a key factor in attracting top talent. It predates employees’ hire dates—they can sense it when walking in the door. It can also impact retention: If employees aren’t happy with their company’s culture, they are likely to leave in search of a workplace they feel has a better one.
A good company culture benefits companies and its employees. A Glassdoor study revealed that companies named to their “Best Places to Work” list outperformed the S&P 500 Index five years in a row.
So what makes a good company culture? We asked ourselves this question at Bridge, and in 2016, we set out to discover what different company cultures are really like by surveying 2,000 employees across the U.S. Our survey was intended to find out what kind of culture works best, and which values have the greatest impact. We also wanted to learn how company culture and values relate to loyalty, employee engagement, leadership skills, and professional development—and if companies with learning-centric cultures had any impact on company health.
Learning Is Culture
Our findings showed that a good company culture doesn’t mean just cushy benefits—it means having a strong culture of learning. Understanding the importance of a culture of learning is important for everyone, from partners and employees to customers and users.
54.4 percent of people surveyed indicated that their company has formal ways to measure and track employee goals, performance, and progress. 43.8 percent have work/life balance, and 42.3 percent of employees have generous benefits. Only 23.3 percent have a strong culture of learning at work, and 13.3 percent work at companies that provide free meals on a regular basis.
Employees want more than free food—they want free learning, too. Those catered meals and shelves full of snacks may seem like a highly desired perk, but our survey found that they don’t have much positive impact on company culture. While employees certainly appreciate having access to free food at work, this alone does not translate to having a good culture. Free meals actually had the smallest impact on employee engagement and loyalty, while having a culture of learning had the greatest impact.
A Culture of Learning Isn't a Culture of Spending
Some leaders fear that creating a culture of learning is expensive and requires time that they just don’t have. In fact, employees in companies with a strong culture of learning reported spending only .02 to 1.1 percent more of their time and departmental budgets on professional development.
Still not convinced that an emphasis on learning is good for company culture? Consider this: Companies that valued learning—and communicated this value to employees—had a 33.7 percent increase in engaged employees and a 55.7 increase in loyal employees. Further, nearly 100 percent of employees at companies with a strong culture of learning reported feeling engaged at work and loyal to their company—and engaged, loyal employees also means higher retention.
Taco Tuesdays and chilled LaCroix are great, but your employees want more. They want a culture of learning. And it doesn’t cost as much as time or money as you think.
So what does a culture of learning look like? Stay tuned.
This post was adapted from Bridge’s e-book, Strong Culture, Strong Leaders. Download the full e-book.