The importance of internal culture

Did you know that companies with a strong internal culture see a 4x increase in revenue growth? 

For us, it’s the backbone to success. Which is why we as an agency have put a lot of effort (and love!) into creating a brilliant employee experience that nurtures our people and attracts like-minded talent. But what is internal culture? And why is it so important? Let’s break it down:

It’s not what you do, but how you do it
Internal culture has nothing to do with the products you sell or the services you offer; it’s the environment you create within your organisation. Powerful internal cultures touch every corner of your business, from the values you share to the behaviours you champion to the sense of belonging you create. In short, it’s the glue that keeps people together, creating a shared sense of purpose that unites your people and connects them to your mission. 

It’s underpinned by your mission, vision and values
If you don’t have an authentic mission, vision and values, you don’t have an internal culture. You need to discover and define your purpose, and bring it to life for your people. And when we say “bring it to life”, we mean it; your mission, vision and values should be felt every single day in the way you work, the decisions you make and the way you treat people. 

Develop company ‘behaviours’

So many companies pin their values on a wall and expect cultural transformation. But change only occurs if your people bring those values to life in the way they behave, every single day. Your leadership team and wider employees need to demonstrate your values through the way they work, the decisions they make and the relationships they nurture. Only then will your values go from writing on the wall to something that everyone lives and breathes.

You have to lead by example
When it comes to a great internal culture, there’s no ‘us and them’. Your leadership team needs to embody the culture in everything they do, setting the very best example through value-led actions and decision-making. Not only does this help integrate your culture from the top down, it also builds solidarity and trust, which is integral to healthy and productive relationships throughout the business.

You need to reinforce your culture constantly
There’s little point in creating shared values and behaviours if they’re just going to gather dust on your hard drive. You need to consistently communicate your company culture through powerful and creative internal communications, whether that’s posters, newsletters and emails or a full-blown culture campaign. You can also weave them into your professional reviews, ensuring your people’s development is closely aligned to your values. 

Recognise and reward those who live the culture
Reward and recognition programmes are key to creating a culture of appreciation, where employees feel valued and motivated to succeed. Whether it’s pier-to-pier, public acknowledgement, celebrating milestones or rewarding those who live and breathe the values and behaviours, a reward and recognition programme can help reinforce your culture, increase productivity and enhance employee engagement.

Weave your culture into your recruitment process
When you have a strong internal culture, it’s important to recruit people who are the right ‘fit’. Make sure your company values are communicated throughout the recruitment process, from the job description right through to the initial candidate interactions and interview questions. This way, your candidates get a clear picture of the work environment, and you get the opportunity to assess whether or not they’re compatible with your culture. 

Encourage a good work/life balance
You could have the best company culture in the world, but if you don’t support a healthy work/life balance, it’ll count for nothing. Your employees need the flexibility to thrive in their personal and professional lives, whether that’s through hybrid working, flexible schedules, free time to volunteer or job shares ‒ the happier your employees are, the more productive they’ll be. This is what turns good businesses into great businesses, and is central to attracting brilliant talent and reducing employee churn.

Offer fantastic benefits
A great company culture is kept buoyant by awesome benefits. It’s all about showing your appreciation for what your people do, whether that’s giving an extra day off for their birthday (something our team love!), offering private medical insurance, promising a Christmas shutdown so they’re well rested at the end of the year or offering great career development opportunities. 

Create your unique Employee Value Proposition (EVP)
Once you’ve established a great culture, including company values, mission, behaviours and benefits, you can create your EVP. To put it simply, an EVP is a company’s offer to employees in exchange for their skills and commitment. It’s key to strengthening your employer brand and will simultaneously help retain and attract great talent.

At Halo, we’re proud to have a robust company culture that ensures our values are lived and our team is happy. We’ve integrated our culture into everything we do, rewarding those who champion our behaviours and offering fantastic benefits, including private medical insurance, a great workplace pension, extra day off for birthdays, Christmas shutdown and flexible working, to name but a few! 

We’ve also partnered with fantastic organisations to help them create their own internal culture, successfully rolling it out for their people. It’s something we’re incredibly passionate about and, having seen the benefit of internal cultures firsthand, we truly believe in its power to transform.

If you’d like to learn more about how an internal culture could help your people, and your business, succeed, get in touch. We’d love to hear from you!