Quick Printing

FEB 2015

Quick Printing is the resource for the Commercial printing, visual and graphic arts industries. Since 1977, Quick Printing has focused on improving efficiency and increasing sales and profits in the print shop. Industry experts share their ideas and

Issue link: https://quickprinting.epubxp.com/i/455911

Contents of this Issue

Navigation

Page 14 of 35

Association Insights MyPRINTResource.com Quick Printing | February 2015 15 Jim Workman is assistant VP of Technology and Research at the Printing Industries of America. Your Company Culture Why is it important, and how can you improve it? By Jim Workman I f you asked your employees what it's like to work at your company, how would they respond? Do they feel like they work in an environ- ment that supports their goals and ideas? Are they provided the resourc- es to excel at their jobs? How would they rate their managers? You may wonder why company cul- ture is so important. Only three out of 10 US workers are involved in and enthusiastic about their workplace, according to Gallup's 2013 State of the American Workplace report. That means that 70 percent of work- ers are not fully engaged in their workplace. This lack of commitment leads to decreased productivity and lower overall profts. If this is a reality check for your company, take a moment now to get an honest look at your organizational culture. If you haven't tried the new www.cvent.com/Surveys/Welcome. aspx?s=f6af357a-9460-4479-a3f1-09 35b9ff3647 Culture Audit Tool, it's a free member resource that allows you to examine the fne details of your culture and compare your answers to other companies. The survey contains 33 precise questions based on how employees assess your company. The areas include: § Mission, Purpose, and Success § Communication, Respect, and Trust § Team and Empowerment § Training, Development, and Support § Corporate Behavior and Ethics § Compensation and Benefts This survey is 100 percent con- fdential and helps you get to the root of your company culture and provide a vision of which areas you need to focus your continuous improvement efforts. So just how important is a healthy company culture? Research says it not only impacts your employees but also your bottom line. We've laid out four reasons to invest in your organi- These and other 2014 Best Workplace in the Americas Award winners understand that a healthy culture affects their bottom line. While not every organization can offer perks like an on-site ftness center, you can fnd ways to show employees they are valued. How to measure it § Assess your culture using the www.cvent.com/Surveys/Welcome. aspx?s=f6af357a-9460-4479-a3f1-09 35b9ff3647 Culture Audit Tool and benchmark your answers against those from other frms. Then if your leadership is committed to sharing the results and using them to take action, go a step further. Ask your employees to take the same as- sessment and compare the results. You'll probably fnd gaps between management's and employees' perceptions. § Another way to measure your culture is from the outside in—how your customers feel about your organization. The www.printing. org/customerfeedback Customer Feedback Management Program is a customized survey that reveals your customers' opinions of your product quality and service. If your culture places a priority on custom- ers and continuous improvement, then customers should like dealing with your company and report that your employees are responsive to their needs. The free Culture Audit Tool is provided in support of the 2015 Con- tinuous Improvement Conference, April 12–15, in Minneapolis, MN. For details visit ci.printing.org . zation's culture along with key ways to measure it. Why invest in culture? § It's connected to fnancial perfor- mance—An 11-year study by John Kotter and James Heskett looked at the effects of culture in 207 compa- nies from 22 industries. The results, published in their book Corporate Culture and Performance (Free Press, 2011), showed that compa- nies that managed their corporate culture signifcantly outperformed similar companies that did not. The right corporate culture can be one of a business's most critical assets. § There's a high ROI—Cultivating a great culture is a fnancially low-cost endeavor that can yield high economic returns. Best of all, it is an advantage that competitors cannot duplicate. ("How Intangible Corporate Culture Creates Tangi- ble Profts") § Ignorance can lead to serious consequences—While culture may not seem like a top priority, a weak one will reveal itself when you try to implement a new strategy. You may fnd that your employees' current thinking and behaviors are incompatible with new corporate initiatives. The confict can make for an unsustainable strategy ("How Healthy is Your Culture?"). § Managers have infuence—At the organizational level, managers can help improve key outcomes by giving careful attention to how their actions and practices (such as values, beliefs, and norms) affect employee working conditions and their perceptions of these condi- tions. ("Causal Impact of Employee Work Perceptions on the Bottom Line of Organizations") Many of today's best companies also have a great culture—Look at companies like Suttle-Straus, Vox Printing, and Hammer Packaging.

Articles in this issue

Links on this page

Archives of this issue

view archives of Quick Printing - FEB 2015