What is a high-performance culture?
A high-performance culture is an organizational culture built on a set of behaviours and norms that lead an organization to achieve better results. That is to say, companies with high-performance cultures achieve better financial and non-financial results than companies without high-performance cultures.
Non-financial results include employee retention, customer satisfaction, competitiveness and innovation. In other words, having a high-performance culture isn’t just about encouraging good behaviour or empowering employees, it’s a combination of both.
High-performance culture = encouraging good behaviour + empowering employees
- Encouraging good behaviour
- A set of behaviours and norms that lead the organization to better results
- Empowering employees
- The other half: the culture is a combination of both, not just one
- Better results
- Financial results, and non-financial ones: employee retention, customer satisfaction, competitiveness and innovation
Characteristics of a culture with high-performance
Organizations with high-performance cultures have several common characteristics which include:
1. Strong leaders
Team performance is built on the foundation of leadership. In other words, leaders set the tone, communicate action-oriented goals, and affect employee performance in many ways. Furthermore, they set the bar for performance through their actions and behaviours. For example, a leader who works hard to meet key performance indicator (KPI) goals will inspire their employees to do the same. Essentially, leaders of high-performance cultures motivate employees and inspire them to be and do their best. They are both cheerleader and coach, creating a work environment where employees feel engaged and empowered.
2. Engaged and empowered employees
Organizations with a high-performance culture ensure that employees have the necessary tools, knowledge, and skills to confidently make key decisions on their own. As a result, this leads to increased engagement. In fact, according to a SHRM survey, 70 percent of employees ranked that being empowered to take action when a work problem or opportunity arises was an important factor of their engagement.
3. Continuous development
High-performance organizations know that employees need to continually improve their skills and knowledge to experience long-term performance. Therefore, organizations need to evaluate employee development needs and determine strategies to support ongoing growth and learning.
4. Openness to change
Like all organizations, high-performing organizations experience constant change as they adapt to technological advancements, competition, and changing consumer behaviours. So, this is why openness to change and agility are key characteristics of organizations with a high-performance culture. These organizations plan for change and are ready to adjust strategies, work practices, processes, or job descriptions to achieve optimal results.
Strong leaders
Set the tone and the bar through their own actions; both cheerleader and coach
Engaged and empowered employees
Tools, knowledge and skills to make key decisions themselves; in the SHRM survey the post cites, 70 percent ranked empowerment as important to their engagement
Continuous development
Development needs evaluated and ongoing learning supported
Openness to change
Plans for change; ready to adjust strategies, practices, processes or job descriptions
Source for the 70 percent figure as the post cites it: a SHRM survey.
How to create a high-performance culture
To create a high-performance culture within a company, organization’s should consider five key elements:
1. Clarify and communicate values
Value added to your business processes makes your company more desirable to work at and more profitable. The values you define for your organization will drive company behaviour day in and day out. Additionally, it will contribute to the overall success of your company, helping you to foster a high-performance culture.
2. Reinforce positive behaviour
Fostering a positive and motivative mindset in your employees is important. So, leaders should reward employees who represent the values of the organization as it increases the chances of them performing well again. When employees perform better, customers are more satisfied, and the overall success of the company improves as well. Therefore, to reinforce positive behaviour successfully, leaders should motivate employees to work efficiently and productively. As a result, their confidence will be increased.
3. Encourage open communication
Organizations that encourage open communication experience a more trusting and healthy workplace atmosphere. To clarify, no matter what the topic is, communication should be unbiased and open. Furthermore, effective leaders ensure that the flow of information is smooth from top- level to entry-level employees. This will aid in creating a high-performance culture.
4. Empower employees
While employees trust that their leaders will make decisions that will positively impact them, they need to also feel empowered to make key decisions on their own. In fact, employees perform better and are more engaged when they feel empowered. To help employees reach their full potential, successful leaders create a culture of trust, communicate a clear vision, and provide the relevant training for professional growth.
5. Collect feedback
It is essential that organizations promote a feedback-rich culture to establish a positive work environment. By collecting feedback from your employees, you will have a better sense of how employees feel about any internal processes that may need improvement. To create a high-performance culture using feedback, leaders should:
- Encourage employees to submit suggestions
- Reassure employees that they can submit suggestions relating to any topic
- Provide feedback back to them – this ensures that employees feel heard
- 1
Clarify and communicate values
Defined values drive day-to-day behavior - 2
Reinforce positive behavior
Reward people who live the values so they do it again - 3
Encourage open communication
Unbiased and open on any topic, flowing from top level to entry level - 4
Empower employees
Trust, a clear vision and training for growth - 5
Collect feedback
Invite suggestions on any topic and answer them so people feel heard
Frequently Asked Questions
What is a high-performance culture?
An organizational culture built on a set of behaviours and norms that lead a company to better results. Companies with such a culture outperform others on financial measures and on non-financial ones such as employee retention, customer satisfaction, competitiveness and innovation. It is not only about encouraging good behaviour or only about empowering employees. It is both at once, shaped by leaders who set the standard through their own actions.
What are the characteristics of a high-performance culture?
Four stand out. Strong leaders who set the tone, communicate action-oriented goals and act as both coach and cheerleader. Engaged and empowered employees who have the tools, knowledge and skills to make key decisions on their own. Continuous development, with the organization assessing what people need to learn and supporting it. And openness to change, with plans in place to adjust strategies, processes and job descriptions as technology, competition and customers shift.
How do you create a high-performance culture?
Work on five elements. Clarify and communicate the values that should drive day-to-day behaviour. Reinforce positive behaviour by rewarding people who live those values. Encourage open, unbiased communication so information flows from the top level to entry-level staff. Give employees the authority to make key decisions, backed by trust, a clear vision and relevant training. And collect feedback, so you learn how people feel about internal processes and can act on what they tell you.
Why does empowering employees improve performance?
Employees perform better and are more engaged when they feel trusted to make key decisions on their own, rather than waiting for approval. That trust works when it comes with the tools, knowledge and skills to decide confidently, a culture of trust, a clearly communicated vision and training for professional growth. Being able to act when a work problem or opportunity comes up is something employees themselves rank as important to their engagement.
How should leaders collect feedback from employees?
Encourage employees to submit suggestions, make clear that suggestions on any topic are welcome, and always respond, so people know they were heard. Feedback gathered this way shows leaders how staff feel about internal processes and where improvement is needed. A feedback-rich culture also builds the trust and open communication that a high-performance culture depends on, because people keep speaking up only when something happens with what they say.
Free for this topic: Leader standard work template, Gemba walk checklist, Lean maturity self-assessment
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