The tangible benefits of an open work environment

It's difficult to determine how much impact the culture of an office can have on a company's bottom line. In an economic climate that's encouraging many business owners to do more with less, empowering employees and nurturing this workplace culture can unfortunately fall by the wayside in an effort to achieve more tangible and seemingly relevant goals.

However, according to Adrian Gostick and Chester Elton – two authors and business consultants – improving a company's culture often does have real, meaningful effects on productivity. Citing data from research conducted by Towers Watson, the two noted that high-performance organizations have a distinctive type of culture in which employees have faith in their managers and the company's business values.

Moreover, the annual operating revenues of these highly productive companies are three times greater than those lacking such a culture, Business News Daily reports.

Creating a high-production environment

The key, Elton says, is creating a workplace that empowers people at all levels to respond to challenges with creativity. Most organizations are oblivious as to what their target audience finds attractive or appealing about potential rivals, but at highly productive companies, the best leaders are able to encourage disruptive solutions that could benefit their firms.

“Successful companies fall into various traps, including fixating on what made them successful and failing to notice something new displacing it,” Elton told the news source. “That's why customer-focused organizations actively seek feedback from clients as they grow, and they put more responsibility in the hands of key employees who are asked to push the entire organization forward.”

To that end, trust is crucial to building this culture. Employees can't be transparent when talking to management if they don't feel trusted. At its core, distrust is simple misunderstanding – when employees are confused about what's happening around them, they grow afraid. By adopting an open and transparent environment, managers are able to create the opportune work culture.

“Leaders can begin this process of openness – driving out the gray and helping employees regain trust in a culture,” Elton adds. “Through their example, leaders can create openness, which leads to trust and is a major contribution to a culture in which employees are engaged, enabled and energized to give more effort.”