What is Corporate Culture, why is it important, and how can it benefit your medical practice?
What: From simplistic to complex, there are a multitude of definitions for what corporate culture means. And it does not matter whether you are talking about a corporation, hospital or medical practice, all the definitions say basically the same thing:
“Corporate culture is the shared values, attitudes, standards, and beliefs that characterize members of your organization and define its nature”
“Corporate culture is the beliefs and behaviors that determine how your company’s employees and management interact and handle outside business transactions”
“Corporate culture describes and governs the ways your company’s owners and employees think, feel and act”
“Corporate culture is what you value, what is important for you and your company”
Corporate culture is unique to each business and no two businesses will have identical cultures. Corporate culture starts at the top – with the owners. The owners must teach and share their beliefs — what is important in the practice — with all those who work with them. Corporate culture is typically implied by factors including satisfaction of employees, practitioners and patients, office hours and practice layout, employee benefits, hiring practices, turnover, dress code and almost every other aspect of operations.
Why: A successful corporate culture promotes realization of your organization’s purpose as identified in its mission statement. Corporate culture serves as the common thread that connects members of your practice with each other, your patients and your community. A 2014 survey found that 91 percent of respondents who believed that their organizations had a strong sense of purpose said that their organizations would maintain or strengthen their brand reputation and loyalty as compared to 49 percent of those working at organizations without a strong sense of purpose.
How: Corporate culture should be ingrained in your practice’s mission statement, goals, policies, organizational structure, and approaches to employees, patients and the community. Your practice’s mission statement provides a foundation for creating a purpose-driven corporate culture and engaging all members of your practice. Whatever form it takes, your corporate culture plays a significant role in determining how well your business will do. A 2013 workplace report shows the importance of improving employee engagement with their jobs and workplaces; in 2012, only 30 percent of U.S. survey respondents considered themselves engaged with their work. Keys to fulfilling your practice’s purpose and achieving its goals include effective communication, organizational transparency, and recognition for your organization and its employees for goals achieved and excellent job performance.
Please contact us to learn more about corporate culture, core values, mission statements and improving your team’s motivation and productivity.