Blog

Understanding the factors that deliver a high performance culture

27th January 2020
By Christian Hughes

High Performance Culture can be defined as a set of behaviours and norms that helps lead organisations to achieve greater success and financial gain.

However, before they can begin to influence performance, organisations need to truly understand their people, teams, values and work practices. MyPeople is all about metrics, and here are two that we think are vital in measuring and managing high performance culture:

Social Capital

Our first key metric to measure is social capital, which is the impact of culture on performance. When measured correctly, it can show how invested individuals are in your organisation. It also shows how invested they are in their colleagues, managers and leaders. The Oxford Dictionary defines this term as: “the network of relationships among people who live and work in a particular cosiest, enabling that society to function effectively”. It is vital to keep on top of this and guide it in the right direction. According to Science Direct, social relationships are resources that can lead to the development and accumulation of skills, expertise, knowledge and information.

Psychological Contract

Our next metric looks at how supported individuals feel in their roles by their peers, managers and leaders. We call this a psychological contract which, according to HR Zone, refers to the unwritten set of expectations of the employment relationship as distinct from the formal, codified employment contract. When used as a metric, this two-way measurement approach creates a cultural strength score which empowers organisations to start measuring their culture regularly and quickly in a tangible way. MyPeople helps organisations to do exactly this.

Benchmarking your cultural strength against performance management data provides insight into overall organisational effectiveness. Linking culture and performance enables this impact to be quantified rather than remaining an intangible concept, helping senior management to justify measures taken to help improve culture that may require financial commitment.

Of course, it is important to remember that we are measuring metrics based on real people, and that any and all findings should be considered and managed carefully.

There are a number of factors involved in creating a High Performance Culture which, if done correctly, can lead to greater success for an organisation. Here are just a few of those factors to consider:

  • Innovation and learning – Are you knowledge sharing within your organisation – Both from the top down and vice versa?
  • Direction – Do you and your workforce share a vision and have strategic clarity and employee involvement?
  • Talent acquisition and development – Are you making the most of the people you’ve got?
  • Does your company have values that help motivate?
  • Do you have inspirational leaders and career opportunities?

Of course, changing the culture of an organisation takes time, effort and commitment. MyPeople software enables you to gather the right data to make informed decisions and build on what you already have, on your way to achieving an excellent High Performance Culture of your own.

Share:
Facebook
Twitter
LinkedIn