Culture sets winning teams apart. In a McCrindle study we commissioned of 1,000 managers almost all participants agreed. Ninety-nine per cent told us they believe that culture ‘definitely’ or ‘somewhat’ plays an integral role in the overall success of an organisation, with a large proportion (74 per cent) of those responding with ‘definitely’.

Imagine leading a team so well respected that new positions are inundated with applications from the market’s top talent, or leading a team so engaged that your best people never want to leave. Think about what could be achieved if your team could collaborate better, make decisions more easily and adapt or respond to change faster. What would it mean to you and those you lead to show up each day to an environment that allows each person to be fully seen, heard and valued? How would you like your team to be known for its creativity, innovation and results that deliver tangible value to the business and impact your organisation’s bottom line? It’s aspirational but entirely achievable. Culture is the key.

In our research we asked managers where they believe culture has the largest impact on organisational success. Among inclusion and diversity, psychological safety, achievement of organisational goals, creativity and innovation and revenue and profit, here are two areas culture can set your team up for success.

1. Culture can build a team that everybody wants to join

Eighty per cent of managers believe that culture has a massive or substantial impact on employee attraction.
Gallup is a research company that has been studying organisations and teams across the world for more than 80 years. Drawing on this research, the article ‘Culture Wins by Attracting the Top 20% of Candidates’ by Nate Dvorak and Ryan Pendell point out two compelling reasons why culture is your best attraction strategy.

The first is that strong culture is how we create ‘employees that become brand advocates’, with 71 per cent of employees saying that the way they learn about job opportunities is through a referral from current employees of an organisation.

Your team culture may not have a LinkedIn profile, it’s not at barbecues on the weekend talking with prospective employees and it doesn’t speak at conferences about how great it is to work in your team – but your people are, and they are talking about your culture. It’s why you should never underestimate the reach and influence of a raving fan or the damage that can come from a disgruntled employee.

Their second insight is that talented people proactively seek out organisations with exceptional culture. That is, the top 20 per cent of talent are more likely to ask questions relating to your culture. Dvorak and Pendell found that the most talented candidates ask questions like ‘Who will my manager be?’, ‘How will I learn and grow here?’ and ‘What does this company stand for?’ In contrast, they found that less talented prospects will ask transactional questions relating to issues like pay, perks and hours.

When culture is strong, people have a unified, honest and convincing language to describe to prospective employees what it’s like to work on your team. When culture is strong, it has a gravitational pull that attracts high calibre people into your orbit.

2. Culture can build a team that nobody wants to leave

Of all the areas managers believe culture has the greatest impact on, employee engagement is at the top of the list, with 83 per cent saying it has a massive or substantial impact.
From a study of nearly 4000 skilled employees, the Hays Salary Guide FY21/22 revealed the top reasons employees are looking for another job. Alongside a lack of promotional opportunities and a competitive salary, it was ‘poor management and workplace culture’ that made it into the top three for more than a third of respondents.

Culture isn’t just your best attraction strategy, it’s also your most valuable retention strategy, because it’s a driving factor in employee engagement. Engaged people don’t just perform better, they also stay longer. While an attraction strategy may entice great people through the front door of your organisation, strong culture will prevent them from slipping out the back.

Success starts with finding and keeping the best people. A pay cheque and perks might get their attention, and a ping-pong table in the break room might make lunchtime more enjoyable, but the culture is your team’s best unseen competitive advantage.

Shane Michel Hatton is the author of Let’s Talk Culture – The conversations you need to create the team you want (Major Street Publishing)