Having been in business for several decades, I’ve been asked many times “What is the most important aspect of selecting a technology partner?”
And I always say the same thing: I see corporate culture as the most crucial factor when selecting new technology vendors or partners. And it’s something I’m proud to have built at Xpediant Digital over the last more than two decades.
What, you may ask, is corporate culture? Well, it’s been defined in a few ways. For example, Entrepreneur magazine describes it as a firm that exhibits low turnover, strong opportunities for growth, transparent and responsive management, recognition of success and achievements, and a healthy work-life balance.
A healthy corporate culture can help boost employee enthusiasm and engagement, not to mention productivity, resilience, and ultimately performance.
And lots of research bears out the importance of a healthy corporate culture. For example, research from Quantum Workplace tells us that employees who see their company’s culture in a positive light are 400% more engaged at work.
And Gallup research tells us that engaged employees can drive profits that are 23% higher than competitors with unhappy workers.
However, as the Harvard Business Journal writes, many managers and leaders in the business world underestimate the importance of a company’s culture. So, they move full speed ahead trying to build strong, efficient, and effective organizations only to be tripped up by a weak or negative corporate culture.
And that means, as employment expert Boris Groysberg writes, they “may lay out detailed, thoughtful plans for strategy and execution, but because they don’t understand culture’s power and dynamics, their plans go off the rails. As someone once said, culture eats strategy for breakfast.” I heartily agree.
So, in conclusion, a positive workplace culture can largely determine whether a company can successfully execute its work, and that’s why I consider it a crucial factor in selecting new technology vendors or partners.
I urge readers to give serious thought to corporate culture – or risk struggling with the same challenges.
