Organizational Wellness

How a Culture Audit Can Unlock Your Company's Full Potential

Last Updated Dec 9, 2024

Time to read: 8 minutes

As the saying goes, "what gets measured, gets managed" — and company culture is no exception. Culture audits will help you maximize the ROI of your investments in your company culture.

Think about it: Companies obsess over financial health, using profit and loss statements and cash flow sheets to guide big decisions — from production tweaks to expansion plans. But they often don't give the same weight to tracking how their culture evolves.

That's where company audits come in. They act like a report card for your organization's core values, showing where you are and where you're going. With these audits, you can make targeted improvements to your company culture, backed by solid data that tracks how well your latest wellness efforts are doing.

What Is a Culture Audit?

Think of a culture audit as a medical check-up for your company. Just as a doctor assesses your health by checking various physical metrics, a culture audit examines your company's health.

However, unlike a medical check-up that measures clear, quantifiable data like blood pressure or cholesterol levels, a culture audit looks at more nuanced, subjective aspects of your organization. It's a thorough examination of an organization's company culture, including how the values, beliefs, and behaviors influence employee interactions and satisfaction. The biggest drivers of company culture are work life, communication, motivation, empowerment, strategic decisions, leadership, and core values, according to a study published in the International Journal of Professional Business Review.

A culture audit can help you evaluate these metrics in your organization. It consists of surveys, interviews, and direct observation that help you assess the state of your company culture.

A culture audit aims to identify strengths and pinpoint areas that need improvement. The information you get from these audits can help you understand the underlying dynamics of your workplace. You can then use these data to make informed decisions to boost employee morale and improve overall performance.

The Benefits of Conducting a Culture Audit

Culture audits are great resources for organizations looking to harness the full potential of their workforce. A staggering 84% of North American executives believe their company needs to improve its culture, according to a journal published in the Journal of Financial Economics. With the right audit, you'll be able to see what's fueling or holding back your team, so you can make your workspace a more supportive place for everyone. Some of the biggest benefits of culture audits are:

Boosting your Team's Energy

A culture audit takes a deep dive into what gets your team going. It uncovers the true motivators and drivers behind your employees' engagement. According to Wellhub's State of Work-Life Wellness 2024, 93% of workers consider their wellbeing as important as their salary. With this knowledge, you can craft strategies that genuinely resonate with everyone.

Recruiting and Retaining the Best

Understanding your workplace culture is like having a blueprint for building a dream team. You can attract the right talent — those who will thrive in your environment and stick around because they genuinely fit in. This is especially important in today's landscape, as most recruiters underestimate how much new hires value happiness.

Spotting Disconnects

Do you ever feel like your company says one thing but does another? A culture audit will help you understand what's going on, showing any discrepancies between stated values and day-to-day operations. For example, if your company prides itself on teamwork but operates in silos, a culture audit can highlight this inconsistency. By identifying these gaps, you can make adjustments that match your company's values.

Polishing Your Brand

A strong, authentic culture isn't just felt internally — it radiates outward, enhancing your image in the eyes of potential hires, partners, and clients. It's like ensuring your company always puts its best foot forward, no matter who's in charge of client communications.

How to Conduct a Culture Audit (Step-by-Step)

Piloting a culture audit might sound daunting, but breaking it down into manageable steps can make the process smooth and effective. Here are some of the best practices for employing a culture audit:

Define Your Objectives

One of the best ways to facilitate the success of your culture audit is to craft strategic objectives. Are you looking to boost employee satisfaction, improve communication, or align your workplace culture with strategic goals? Setting clear objectives before you start will guide your entire audit process and help you stay focused on what matters most.

Gather the Right Team

Assemble a team that reflects a broad spectrum of your organization. Include members from various levels, departments, and backgrounds to provide a diverse perspective. This team will be involved in both gathering and analyzing data.

Develop a Data Collection Plan

Decide on the methods you'll use to collect data. Surveys and questionnaires are great for quantitative data, while interviews and focus groups can provide deeper, qualitative insights.

Collect Data

Roll out your surveys, conduct interviews, and facilitate focus groups. Make participation voluntary and anonymous to encourage honesty and candor. This stage is about listening and gathering as much relevant information as possible.

Analyze the Data

With all the data collected, it's time to dig in. Look for trends, patterns, and anomalies. How do the findings relate to your initial objectives? Use this analysis to identify strengths to build on and areas that need improvement.

Report and Plan

The next step is to compile your findings into a comprehensive report that summarizes everything you've learned. Now's a good time to present this report to key stakeholders and use it as a basis for discussion. Before presenting it, plan actionable steps based on the data to address issues and reinforce strengths.

Implement Changes

With a plan in hand, start making changes. This could involve training programs, new communication strategies, or changes in HR policies. Ensure these changes are well communicated and integrated into your company's daily operations.

Monitor and Adjust

Keep an eye on how these changes impact your organization. Continue to gather feedback and measure the effects of your initiatives. Be ready to make adjustments as needed. Remember, cultivating a positive workplace culture is an ongoing process, not a one-time fix.

Strategies for Overcoming Common Challenges During Audits

Doing a culture audit isn't tricky, but you may encounter some challenges. You'll feel better prepared for those challenges if you can brainstorm solutions before you discover the problems. Here are some common challenges and ideas of what to do if you run into trouble:

Resistance from employees: Sometimes, team members may feel threatened by the audit, worrying about exposure or consequences. Employees may resist changes even when they benefit them, according to a Safety Science study. Openly communicate the audit's goals, processes, and benefits to encourage employees to buy into the process.
Inadequate resources: An audit requires significant time, tools, and personnel, which might not always be readily available. Planning is an excellent way to maximize resources so it doesn't take too much time or resources away from other areas.
Data overload: Managing a massive influx of data can overwhelm the analysis phase. Some best practices for managing this include streamlining data collection by focusing only on information relevant to your audit goals and using efficient data management tools to help organize and analyze the data effectively.
Maintaining objectivity: For internal auditors, remaining unbiased, especially when auditing their own areas or colleagues, can be challenging. One way to overcome this is to utilize external auditors for certain critical areas or rotate internal auditors to different departments.

Ways to Measure the Success of Your Culture Audit

Once you've carried out your first culture audit, you'll want to find ways to track its success. These are some of the things you may want to keep an eye on:

Employee feedback: One of the most direct measures of success is how your employees feel about the audit process. Post-audit surveys or feedback sessions can provide insights into whether the audit was perceived as fair, comprehensive, and valuable.
Implementation of changes: The real proof of a successful audit is the changes it brings about. Track how well everyone implements the recommended changes and whether they produce the intended results. This could be improved employee satisfaction scores, higher engagement levels, or better teamwork.
Re-audit results: Conducting follow-up audits can help you see if issues identified previously were addressed effectively. Improvement in previously flagged areas indicates success, showing that your interventions have had a positive impact.
Business performance metrics: Beyond employee-related outcomes, look at broader business metrics such as turnover rates, productivity levels, and customer satisfaction.

Find How to Transform Your Company With a Culture Audit

A well-executed culture audit can help boost employee engagement and help your employees match your company's values.

However, a culture audit only highlights your culture's strengths and weaknesses. The right employee wellbeing programs can help address these issues. They bring real benefits, like more productivity and less turnover. Simply put, your company and its culture thrive when you take care of your employees' wellness.

A Wellhub Wellbeing Specialist can help you find the right wellness programs. Get in touch with us today to help you turn insights into action.

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[*] Based on proprietary research comparing healthcare costs of active Wellhub users to non-users.