Does the board understand your workplace culture?
Workplace culture stems from the top
Boards and senior leaders play an important role in setting the tone, expectations and direction for workplace culture. But culture is not created by the board alone. Leaders and managers at all levels shape it through the way they communicate, make decisions, respond to concerns and treat people every day.
Workplace culture directly impacts employee engagement, retention, performance and workplace relationships. For organisations where people are central to service delivery, understanding the cultural climate is particularly important.
A board that does not actively monitor workplace culture can miss important people, governance and risk signals.
Why workplace culture is a governance and compliance issue
Workplace culture should be considered as part of an organisation's broader approach to people, risk and governance.
A tense, negative or toxic workplace culture can contribute to workplace conflict, poor performance, staff turnover, complaints, grievances and other workplace risks. It can also make it harder for employees to raise concerns and for organisations to identify problems before they escalate.
Workplace culture also intersects with important legal and workplace obligations, including:
the Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth), including protections relating to workplace rights and adverse action
the Sex Discrimination Act 1984 (Cth) and the positive duty to take reasonable and proportionate measures to eliminate relevant unlawful conduct
work health and safety obligations, including the duty to manage psychosocial risks so far as is reasonably practicable
Culture can be particularly relevant to psychosocial risk where workplace systems, behaviours or interactions contribute to bullying, harassment, conflict, poor support, lack of role clarity or other harmful workplace conditions.
Workplace culture is not simply a 'soft' people issue. It can provide important insight into workforce, compliance and organisational risk.
What should boards be asking about workplace culture?
Boards do not need to manage day-to-day workplace culture. They do, however, need enough visibility to understand whether people-related risks are being identified and managed effectively.
Useful questions include:
What are our people telling us about workplace culture?
Are employees confident raising concerns?
Are complaints, grievances, turnover or absenteeism showing recurring patterns?
Are leaders and managers consistently modelling the behaviours we expect?
Where are our workforce or psychosocial risk hotspots?
How are we monitoring whether actions taken are actually improving the workplace?
Are we meeting our legal and workplace obligations?
These questions can help move culture from an abstract concept to something that can be understood, monitored and acted on.
What workforce data can tell you about culture
Regular people and culture reporting can give boards greater visibility of workforce trends and potential areas of concern.
Depending on the organisation, useful information may include:
staff turnover and retention
absenteeism and leave patterns
employee engagement or culture survey results
complaints, grievances and workplace investigations
workers compensation or psychosocial risk data, where relevant
exit interview themes
other workforce trends relevant to the organisation's risk profile
No single metric will tell you whether workplace culture is healthy. The value comes from looking at patterns and considering what the information may be telling you about the employee experience.
Without meaningful workforce insight, boards can make decisions without a clear view of the people and culture risks sitting underneath organisational performance.
Workplace culture reviews: a proactive risk tool
One way to gain a clearer picture of workplace culture is through a workplace culture review.
A culture review can provide independent insight into employees' experiences, values, behaviours and perceptions of the workplace. It can help identify patterns, emerging issues and areas of risk that may not be visible through standard reporting.
A well-designed review can provide boards and leadership teams with:
independent and confidential employee insights
visibility of trends, patterns and potential hotspots
early indicators of workplace risks
practical recommendations aligned with organisational priorities
The goal is not simply to identify what is going wrong. A culture review can also help organisations understand what is working well and where targeted action could strengthen workplace relationships, engagement, performance and safety.
How Workplace Plus can help
Workplace Plus provides independent, practical insight into workplace culture and organisational risk.
Our workplace culture reviews can help boards and leadership teams understand the employee experience, identify emerging risks and make more informed decisions about people and culture.
Our support can include:
Workplace Culture Reviews
Strategic Reporting to Boards
Executive Leadership Coaching
Risk, Change and Sensitive Workplace Matters
Culture stems from the top, but it is experienced through everyday leadership. Understanding what your people are experiencing gives boards and leadership teams a stronger foundation for managing workplace risk and building a better workplace.
If you would like to better understand your workplace culture, book a confidential discovery call with Workplace Plus can help you identify the right approach for your organisation.
