Feb 27, 2021 | Updated Feb 27, 2021
by @JoshuaNgala
One of the three ways in which internal governance is established in organizations is by drafting, publishing, and enforcing policies and procedures.
An equally important aspect of establishing good leadership within an organization is the establishment of a corporate culture that supports it. Culture determines how a company’s employees and management interact and handle business transactions.
Think about your current workplace. If you are constantly dealing with negative reinforcement, work to rule mentality, punishment versus praise, and never experienced a work social event, chances are you are part of a negative corporate culture.
corporate culture is the willingness of staff to cooperate with an organization’s policies and procedures and to adopt the spirit of those policies into their work and behavior. This process begins with the organization’s leadership and filters down throughout the organization.
Toxic corporate cultures can therefore quickly kill future success of a business organization. Changing your corporate culture is a challenging process but is possible.
Here are five ways to identify if your corporate culture has gone toxic with possible ways to fix it.
1. Unmotivated employees
Toxic culture results in employees lacking the motivation to perform their duties. Such employees are “present,” but demonstrate no “presence.” This culture develops when employees, management, and leaders lack the commitment towards reaching organizational goals.
A Harvard Business School study found that nearly half of employees who experienced toxicity in the workplace reduced their effort and made a conscious choice to spend less time at work. Fixing this problem is establishing effective company-wide communication to enhance engagement. Effective communication can shift a culture.
2. Lack of Core Values
Core values are the behavioral rules inside of a business. Finding the right set of employees and leaders for the organization means also ensuring that every new hire shares similar values in their work-style and ethics.
Those that are already part of the company need to also remember what shared values are of importance. The solution is to develop company behavioral rules — the core values.
3. Failure to meet deadlines
If you are a business owner or manager, you can’t afford these setbacks. It is imperative you identify the reasons behind these missed deadlines. It’s typically an imbalance of responsibility and authority at many levels.
Such a setback occurs when employees are not trained to communicate and lead at each level. Encourage collaborative communication.
4. Feeling undervalued
Employees would lose interest and morale to work when they feel undervalued. This creates dissatisfaction and negativity which leads to a toxic culture. Good leadership should create a culture that gives employees a sense of recognition and appreciation.
5. High turnover
One major warning sign of a company culture gone bad is high turnover. Your turnover rate is the figure that can give you an idea of how well your employee retention strategies are. This rate reflects the number of employees who have left your company during any given time period.
The first step in correcting this issue is identifying the root cause. Then correct the problem and create a more positive effect downstream.
Addressing a toxic culture requires buy-in from top-down. Only once the people leading the company make necessary changes can they expect the rest of the company to follow.
Companies can spend millions in trying to replace lost talent, implement the latest technology, and even train employees. But if a toxic workplace environment is not replaced, they’re bound to fail.
