The Importance of company culture

​This is a story about how a company’s culture (values, beliefs, and expectations of their staff) can impact employee satisfaction and retention of talented people. 

​Betsy (not her real name) is a highly skilled computer engineer. Ever since Betsy received her degree in computer engineering, she has been using an approach called Agile to create and debug software. This methodology emphasizes collaboration, adaptability, and an iterative process among cross functional teams. 
 
She left her job of five years shortly after her company was acquired because the new CEO and his leadership team were not committed to the use of Agile. They imposed a reorganization creating groups working independently and encouraging competition among teams rather than a culture of creative collaboration. 
 
Because of this, she found her work to be stressful rather than inspiring. Organizations using Agile development principles and practices report higher employee engagement resulting in low turnover and greater productivity with more rapid and bug free software releases. 
 
Betsy found a position with a company whose culture enhances the feelings of community rather than rivalry. In her new job, Betsy feels less stressed and has a greater sense of engagement, purpose, and belonging working in an employee centric culture.
 
The carriers of a company’s culture are owners, leaders, and managers. To be productive and engaged, people at work need to find meaning and experience satisfaction. This is often measured in surveys from which actionable insights are implemented to improve the culture and support high performance. 
 
Here is a great starting point to create your own engagement survey: https://www.surveymonkey.com/templates/employee-engagement-survey-template/