How much should you invest in your workplace culture?

With a significant portion of the workforce looking to move forward in remote or hybrid work models, strong workplace culture is at the top of mind for most leaders across all industries. In fact, in our 2022 report: How Managers Are Investing in Remote and Hybrid Team Success, in collaboration with Omnipresent, we found that 80% of our respondents (managers and leaders) have an allocated budget to build workplace culture for their teams.

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What is Workplace Culture?

Workplace culture can be defined as the sum of values, beliefs, behaviours and actions of the business. As aptly summarised by Zane Harris, CEO/Managing Partner at NeuroPower Group:

“(workplace culture can) …genuinely become a company’s number one differentiator… As the war for talent heats up again, the businesses that grow and succeed will be those who can attract the best talent based on their amazing cultures.”

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Why Workplace Culture Matters

These are some tangible benefits echoed by managers of remote and hybrid teams:

• 62% of managers said productivity and profitability are the most important benefits of investing in workplace culture.
• 52% believes it improves work-life balance.
• 50% believes it improves team communication.

With tangible benefits and a clear link between a workplace culture that empowers people, and the growth/ ROI of a business, more and more leaders are choosing to invest in their employees to succeed in a remote or hybrid work environment. ‍

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How much should I invest?

Having a budget in place is a critical starting point for developing a successful workplace culture for your distributed team. We found that US$51 - $100 per employee, per month is the most common workplace culture budget.

In saying that, it’s important to note that there isn’t a one-size-fits-all approach to budgeting – what may work for one team may not necessarily ring true for you and your team. Instead, you should compare your own organisation’s history of workplace culture budgeting pre- and post- pandemic.

The question now is how you can direct your funds in a way that benefits your team. This is an opportunity for you to work closely with your employees and consider the kinds of tools, strategies, opportunities and policies you need to be putting in place to better support them and improve the overall employee experience. From benefits and wellbeing support, to various tools for communication – workplace culture can include many different areas. The sky is the limit. Here are some ideas:

• Learning & development
• Team socials (online & offline)
• Volunteering leave
• Task management tools
• Tools for collaboration

Productivity, work-life balance, and communication are all common challenges for managers of distributed teams. Rather than accepting these as necessary side-effects of remote or hybrid work models, embrace them as opportunities to invest appropriately to make new ways of working work for your teams.

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Keen to learn more?

Download a copy of the report: How Managers Are Investing in Remote and Hybrid Team Success and learn more about how team leaders are building a robust workplace culture and how you can do the same for your distributed team.

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Resource:

Omnipresent & Remote Social, 2022. How Managers Are Investing In Remote And Hybrid Team Success.

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