3 Ways to Create a High-Performance Culture at Work

Company culture is more than just a buzzword that teams use to attract talent with random perks and incentives. A positive organizational culture is vital to attract and retain top performers, keep employees engaged, and maintain a competitive edge in your industry.

Companies with solid cultures see greater employee engagement and increased productivity. Highly-engaged employees can lead to a 202 percent increase in performance, and a culture that attracts high-performance employees can lead to a 33 percent increase in revenue. 

Creating a high-performance culture that engages employees and promotes growth isn’t rocket science. With a few small tweaks, you can be well on your way to building a strong company culture. 

What is a high-performance culture?

First, it’s essential to understand what defines a high-performance culture. A high-performance culture is where employees perform well because they are engaged, valued, and continually learning. In addition, it prioritizes employee growth and development to create an environment where team members feel supported and can succeed and feel fulfilled in their roles.

Why is a high-performance culture important?

A high-performance culture helps employees perform optimally and can influence their work, productivity, and results. To create this environment, you must prioritize growth and continuous improvement. As a result, employees strive to do their best work, feel valued for their contributions, and have the resources they need to succeed.

What are the elements of a high-performance culture?

There are three essential elements to create an environment with happy, productive employees:

• Employee engagement
• Value and recognition
• Learning and development

Engagement

First, you need your employees to be engaged. Yet, in early 2022, Gallup found that only 36 percent of U.S. employees felt engaged at work.

In a separate survey from 2017, Gallup reported that engaged employees have 41 percent lower absenteeism and 24 percent less turnover. These workers also have 10 percent higher customer ratings, 20 percent higher sales, and 21 percent better productivity. 

Employees are happier and perform better when they feel engaged in the workplace.

Value

Creating a culture where employees feel valued can increase retention and performance. Often, it’s the little things that matter most.

For example, regularly check in with team members and ensure they have the tools and support they need to succeed. Celebrate their hard work and recognize them for their achievements. 

When you show employees that you genuinely care about their success, you’ll be on your way to creating a culture of high performers.

Learning and development (L&D)

The final element of a high-performance culture is learning and development. L&D is one of the most effective ways to attract talent, boost retention, and gain a competitive advantage in your industry. Based on a report, employees who don’t get the training they need with a current employer are 12x more likely to consider leaving. 

How to create a high-performance culture

Now that you know the elements of a high-performance culture, it’s time to look at strategies to implement these elements in the workplace. 

Here are some ways to create a high-performance culture in your organization.

Improve employee engagement

Employees feel engaged when they know their work matters to the organization and have a sense of purpose. Therefore, helping employees connect their actions to a more significant outcome can impact overall engagement. 

For example, Lineage Logistics is a $2 billion company that provides food storage and distribution. They define their purpose as “feeding the world,” making it clear that every job matters and leaders are accountable to their employees. One of the top drivers of performance, even at the top levels of an organization, is making a positive contribution to society. Framing their purpose in this way helps everyone feel they are making a difference.

When you define this purpose, the one that makes a difference to society, you can work to tie every team member and initiative to that overall goal. 

Help employees feel valued

Employers often talk about valuing employees, but some don’t follow through with this idea with their actions. 

For example, SHRM found that while nearly half of HR leaders say their companies support employee well-being, only 24 percent of employees agreed. A full 40 percent of HR leaders agreed strongly that their organizations support employees’ mental health, but only 18 percent of employees strongly agreed.

This discrepancy is often because the company doesn’t follow through with its well-meaning initiatives. Other times the company isn’t clear on what employees need and provides the wrong kind of support.

Little changes can have a significant impact, for example:

• Look for good work, not just mistakes
• Get input from employees and show that you’ve acted on their feedback
• Reward both effort and results
• Provide team members with appropriate support and tools to succeed

At WorkRamp, we have a dedicated Slack channel for employee shoutouts and praise. Team members, managers, and company leaders often share updates on exceptional performance, shoutouts for team members, gratitude for help with projects, customer feedback, and more. It’s easy to recognize outstanding work and remind employees that their contributions do not go unnoticed.

Recognition is one way to help employees feel valued, but it’s also essential to ensure team members feel like an integral part of the organization. Based on LinkedIn’s Learning Report, 91 percent of employees say they would stay longer with a company if it invested in their careers. You can do this by offering growth opportunities. In addition, help employees map out a plan to advance their careers. Employee career paths help team members plan for the future and develop valuable skills they can use in their current roles and long-term career goals.

Many managers think that people leave an organization for better pay, but 79 percent of employees who quit their jobs said lack of appreciation was a significant reason for their decision. By showing your team members they matter—you can retain those employees and create a high-performance culture.

Create a culture of continuous learning

Encouraging continuous learning in your organization can help you create a high-performance culture where employees are engaged and motivated.

WorkRamp is an All-in-One Learning Platform that can help create a learning culture for your organization. You can combine instructor-led training and on-demand guides to create effective onboarding and L&D programs for employees.

PartnerHero used WorkRamp to create a learning culture and inspire employees to embrace growth and become leaders within their teams. 

“At PartnerHero, we believe hard work, passion and talent have no boundaries, so helping our employees grow professionally, build essential skills, and become leaders is the foundation for everything we do. As a core part of our employees’ experience, WorkRamp enables us to empower teams and their managers to rise to their full potential, boosting employee engagement scores.”

 

Robyn Barton, Global Director of Talent Development, PartnerHero

Start creating a high-performance culture today

The three elements of a high-performance culture are something that any organization can implement.

Lower employee turnover, better productivity, higher profitability, and attracting the best talent are just a few things your company can experience when you build this culture. 

Learn more about how you can use WorkRamp to provide continuous learning opportunities for your employees. Contact us to schedule a free demo.