Corporate Culture Is A Key Ingredient In Supporting Innovation

In today’s fast-paced times where companies are struggling to stay afloat, what sets top companies apart is their futuristic vision and an ability to innovate and adapt to changing consumer needs, expectations and demands. So how does an organization prepare itself for the disruptive forces that have become the norm in current digital times? What is the secret ingredient that allows some companies to better adapt to changing circumstances? It has been found that corporate culture plays a big role in the ability of an organization to innovate and adapt.

Corporate Culture

So what exactly is corporate culture? Corporate culture usually refers to the value system and beliefs that drive the behaviors and decisions of a company’s management and employees both within the company and with outside business partners. Culture usually builds over a period of time and is not explicitly defined. Culture affects the day to day functioning of the company and its employees. A healthy business organizational culture can go a long way in motivating employees and in turn increasing customer satisfaction. There is a theory that if you keep your employees happy, they will keep your customers happy.

Importance Of Corporate Culture

According to research, corporate culture is one of the most important factors that drive innovation. A company that welcomes diversity encourages learning and allows people to fail will automatically be a more innovative company as people will be more willing to experiment and try out new ways of doing things.
It has been found that all innovative companies show similar traits in terms of corporate culture. The extent to which a company supports and fosters innovation within its structure and provides incentives for innovation allows it to quickly adapt to changing industry trends and stay ahead of its competitors.

Role Of Leadership

Leadership plays a very important role in building a positive corporate culture in the following ways:

• Leadership needs to foster diversity in thinking and building of knowledge within the organization
• There should always be an emphasis on team-work and collaboration
• The corporate goals and values must be articulated very clearly and in such a way that it is understood by employees at all levels and imbibed in their day to day work
• Leadership should have a pulse on the organization – this implies a good understanding on the thinking of their employees and how it impacts their behavior.

It is very important to continuously reinforce the company’s values and beliefs so that employees are aligned. New employees must be trained and made aware of how they are expected to function within the company or while carrying out business transactions with the company’s partners. A good training program can go a long way in achieving these objectives.

Thus, companies need to invest in understanding and developing their corporate culture that is conducive to growth as well as helps them to attain their long-term objects. Culture cannot be enforced and has to be built over a period of time. It also needs to be regularly monitored and corrective actions are taken where necessary.