Make It or Break It: Corporate Culture as a Key to Success

Corporate cultures are shaped by unwritten rules found in the work dynamics, values, expectations, beliefs, behaviors, language, systems, and practices of an organization. In a world that is under stress from readjusting to a post-pandemic reality, stricken by economic downturns, growing conflict and uncertainty, the need for more inclusivity and shared opportunities is also reflected in workplaces. Companies and organizations have realized that getting this right can become a powerful asset but failing at it leads to liabilities. 

The promise of globalization has disappointed many by failing to bridge the gaps of economic, gender and broader social inequality. Social issues not only affect companies as elements that need to be considered in their risk management and supply chains. The digitalization era (pre- and post-AI), and access to information have put the corporate sector under increasing pressure from employees to take stances on political and social issues. 

Compared to 2019, in 2022, there was a 40% increase in employee-led activism, where they are pressuring companies to do something about the issues that are important to them. Leading companies have addressed these demands by fostering a healthy, clear, and strong corporate culture (environment) as a core component of their strategic vision. It is, therefore, key to have a solid strategy that prioritizes people’s personal and professional growth. 

A recent survey shows that a company’s culture was the most frequent reason employees reported quitting, even more commonly mentioned than wages. People (employees) want to feel connected and strive for a sense of belonging. Even a survey conducted by recruiting experts Hayes shows that 71% of candidates looking for a job were willing to accept a new job with a lower wage if the cultural fit was right. Workers rated principles like respectfulness, work-life balance, and morale as the most important components of job satisfaction. We are aware of the preferences revealed by these statistics and as leaders we need to act accordingly. 

Nowadays, we need to look beyond traditional measures of business growth and results; success requires companies to connect, grow, and empathize with our employees. At Element, we have built a corporate culture based on the belief that people are our most important asset. It is our commitment to foster a culture of innovation, empowerment, and connection in a diverse and inclusive environment. 

The Employee Experience area has created a roadmap to attain talent retention and attraction  through a comprehensive approach, with programs like employee networks that celebrate diversity (called Business Resource Groups), creating an identity and a sense of belonging among associates, and offering the possibility of expressing their views on  issues that are relevant to them, such as women's networks or groups in different ethnicities, and the LGBTQ+ community, Activate and CARE.

Shaping a corporate culture that helps a company succeed requires resilience to change and a skillful team that can evaluate and implement needed transformations. We are committed to the personal and professional growth of our teams; we believe that we can achieve greater success through individuals’ growth. We have launched diverse training  and development programs to address language barriers and guide our leaders through effective coaching sessions. 

Also, I want to share an example of a program that has shown the relevance of our employee and client centric culture. In 2023, we designed a customer-facing tailored program for 217 (48% of our headcount) employees to strengthen their interactions with internal and external clients and built on the development of soft skills, such as empathy, resilience and conflict management to ease into the day-to-day activities.

Our complete package of benefits supports work-life balance and flexible schedules. One of the most valued by employees is the wellness bonus. Our ESG 2023 program supports causes such as education, environment, emergency response, and supporting local communities. Employee surveys are a powerful tool to prioritize the most valuable topics and benefits and allocate resources where they will have a real impact.

Our Ways of Working resulted in trust from our people, which can be measured through four indicators: In Mexico, employees have an average tenure of 3.4 years, on our 2022 D&I index, we had results of 96.1% satisfaction, in the Wellbeing Indicator, we achieved a result of 86.9% and we achieved an employee engagement score of 93%.

We must keep in mind that a strong corporate culture can help ensure talent attraction and retention, which is critical for the business. As a CEO, I see it as my role to guide corporate culture and ensure that we are being creative in our approaches and assigning the necessary budgets to ensure that our team members feel valued. It is undeniable that companies are result-oriented  — which means offering the best possible service to our clients to be successful — but evidence shows that shaping a healthy and people-centered culture is the best way to achieve corporate goals in the long run.