Enabling growth through company culture

By Catherine Dixon, Executive General Manager People Experience

5 September 2017

When we spoke to New Zealand businesses earlier this year about what growth and success meant to them, we found one theme coming up again and again: people and culture.

Of the top seven factors these businesses identified as supporting or hindering success, five related to people – an exciting statistic for the head of any People Experience or HR team, or CEO for that matter.

But we also found another interesting result – that nearly half of respondents believed that it is hard for a larger business to retain company culture.

So how can we build business cultures that will survive, and thrive, amid the changes that growth and success bring?

What makes a good company culture? 

A healthy culture is critical for every successful business. The more people feel engaged in the business and believe in what they’re doing, the more likely they are to succeed.

So what makes a strong culture?

I think that the most important thing is to find something that people feel really passionate about, and make that the central commitment of your business.

If your employees believe in what they’re doing, and why they’re doing it, – many businesses call this their vision- they will continue to be committed to helping the business succeed.

We see at Suncorp New Zealand that teams who have that strong commitment to delivering on our vision to be the number one choice for New Zealanders because we are the destination for the moments that matter, and understand exactly how their role contributes to that vision, are the teams that really drive hard and make things happen day after day.

The challenge and rewards of harnessing the strength of that commitment is the reason that New Zealand businesses say five out of seven of their top business success factors relate to the people  working there.

How do you maintain your business culture? We’d love to hear your thoughts on LinkedIn