More than half of professionals think their organisation has ‘culture rot’

The latest piece of research has found that over half of all professionals in the UK believe that their organisation suffers from ‘culture rot’, which means the decaying of its culture and values.

A total of 54% of the professionals working in this country told the research that they felt that way. In addition, another 28% of them said they were aware of early-stage indications that the culture of their organisations was in trouble. ‘Culture rot’ is a problem that can lead to workplaces becoming dysfunctional and negative for everyone concerned.

This research was carried out by Robert Walters, an international recruitment agency. It also asked professionals to identify symptoms of this issue, with 41% citing a lack of rewards or incentives. Another 31% said their organisations were unable to achieve effective collaborative working. 23% said that lines of communication were broken or lacking in clarity.

All of these are issues that illustrate the importance of good HR to an organisation. This is why more companies are bringing in external HR services in Hertfordshire to help them develop a healthy workplace culture.

One of those who commented on the research findings was HiBob CEO Ronni Zehavi. Talking to HR Magazine, he said:

“You can’t fix culture with a campaign. When values rot, it’s usually because leaders have stopped living them. HR’s power lies in holding the mirror up.”

He went on to say that you define organisational culture but what its actual priorities are, not by any written messages or slogans.