While 100 percent of executives agree that organizational culture impacts financial performance, less than half (48 percent) say they monitor culture to mitigate risk, according to new research from Eagle Hill Consulting. Moreover, many (41 percent) are failing to hold leadership accountable for creating strong cultures, and only 46 percent say that they hold employees accountable for their organization’s culture.
“The good news is that executives understand that their culture drives performance and the ability to recruit talent,” said Melissa Jezior, CEO of Eagle Hill Consulting, in a news release. “This research validates what we hear frequently from executives—culture often is on auto-pilot and not strategically managed.”
Executives recognize corporate culture affects financial performance, but they do not hold leadership accountable for creating strong cultures:
“Executives tell us that they see culture as a vague, nebulous and confusing concept, and they struggle to build an infrastructure that drives a strong culture. But, there are ways to provide clarity around culture and hold employees at all levels accountable for living and driving culture. Organizations that are deliberate about their culture will have a competitive advantage because culture is a major factor in aligning a workforce to achieve results,” Jezior explained.
Not even half of executives surveyed agree that their organization monitors culture norms to mitigate business risk:
The research includes the following key findings:
- All executives polled agreed that culture directly impacts financial performance.
- Less than half (48 percent) agree that their organization monitors its culture to mitigate risk.
- 75 percent of executives in the survey said that culture is one of the top reasons employees joined the organization.
- 40 percent say that their organizational policies and procedures are not aligned to the culture.
- Just more than half (56 percent) agree that their organization clearly articulates the key attributes of its culture.
- Less than two out of three executives surveyed cited improving culture as a top strategic priority.
- Only 46 percent agree that they hold employees accountable for the organization’s culture.
Download the full report here.
The research was conducted as an online survey by Eagle Hill Consulting and Entromy between March and June 2019 and included 56 C-suite respondents from a select sample of executives across the U.S. The survey polled respondents on aspects of organizational culture including culture priorities, challenges, metrics, and successful practices.
