Why building a unique culture is important Good organizational culture can help to deal with challenges

Organisational culture is built on the mission, vision and shared behaviour of people. Culture is a set of values, accepted norms and guidelines by the people of the organisation. Every organisation has a unique set of culture to which people adapt and also contribute to it. Now, since people's preferences and priorities are changing at a fast pace, it has become very important that the culture of the organisation should be prioritised in the business.

Today, companies are talking about following challenges:

1. Employee engagement

2. Employer branding

3. Handling the expectation of the millennials and Gen Z.

4. Attrition and retaining people

5. Differentiator as an employer and a service provider

However, there could be a single solution for all of the aforementioned challenges, which is, building a unique culture as a differentiator for its people and the world at large. This not only creates a separate identity for the company, but also helps generate similar sentiments, ideologies, belief and goals and creates value.

The culture of an organisation has to be visible through its mission, values, leadership styles, internal communications, employee engagement activities, policies and frameworks, building and layout, etc. In some of the organisations, it is a part of the performance management system as well. Nowadays, people spend more time with the organisation, so it is important to build a strong culture which is liked and supported by them in order to create satisfaction and an engaged workforce.

If people or employees are engaged, it becomes less challenging for the company and the Human Resources department to retain employees. It can possess the direct positive impact on productivity if they feel aligned to the culture of the organisation.

Here, it is also important that companies focus on enabling happiness in the work environment. It could be the core of all activities. The thought process is that happiness should be contagious and we should evangelise happiness in the organisation. If people are happy, they will become more productive and this will result in happy customers.

An employee will work hard to keep up the identity of the organisation, achieving the goals and will make sure he/she lives up to the culture of the organisation. Every employee has a reason to join an organisation apart from monetary benefit. Culture can be one of the top factors in their decision making process for a prospective candidate. Organisations also have to ensure that they follow the cultural fitment process so that the alignment becomes easier and faster from both sides.

To conclude, organisational culture is crucial for the reason that they can encourage employees to work in different ways. Every so often, teamwork is more important than competition and creative freedom than authoritativeness.

It is also an effective tool to build up the brand and also to improve people's productivity. As a result, it has to come in the front seat for any organisational goals and mission. And everyone in the organisation has to strive to achieve that goal.

(This article first appeared in the Indian edition of Entrepreneur magazine (October, 2015 Issue).