Guide to navigating organizational uncertainty

Putting culture first to overcome uncertainty

As your company makeup changes, the employee experience changes too. When people leave, they take parts of your culture with them. When people join, they may assimilate fully into your culture – or add new pieces to the cultural mix. In times of ambiguity, this culture – and how well you maintain it – will determine how well you weather difficult moments.

This interactive research guide was designed to equip organizational and people leaders with the data and insights necessary to navigate uncertainty. Learn about the four company types, how the employee experience differs, and which actions each can take to lay a resilient culture-first foundation.

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What uncertainties are today’s leaders facing?

The future has always been hard to predict, but modernization has only accelerated the rate of change. Fortunately, by focusing on and prioritizing culture, companies can set a solid foundation that enables them to endure and overcome uncertainty.

Variables that are creating ambiguity in today’s world

Worldwide rise in inflationGlobal tech stock crashPossibility of recessionSupply chain disruptionsGeopolitical instability and conflictsThe ongoing COVID-19 pandemic

Your culture determines:

How quickly you’re able to pivot and continue to prosper in difficult times

How much time employees spend on productive work rather than spinning their wheels

How committed and willing employees are to go above and beyond – both during the good times and the not-so-good times

Whether employees feel that working at your company hurts or helps their wellbeing – which ultimately decides whether they choose to stay

By understanding the predictable impact hiring and retention has on culture, you can lay a more resilient foundation for overcoming change.

While Culture Amp doesn’t assess the norms, practices, and values of a company directly, we’re able to measure the employee experience to understand what it feels like in a particular culture.

We looked at:

companies worldwide

employees

For the full experience (with data), we recommend viewing this page on a desktop.

Dive into the findings

#1 reason for joining#1 reason for leaving

High hiring rate

Low retention

Rotating

Expanding

Decreasing

Holding

High retention

Low hiring rate

#1 reason for joining#1 reason for leaving

High hiring rate

Career
development

Low retention

Rotating

Expanding

Decreasing

Holding

High retention

Low hiring rate

01—07

One significant factor that impacts an employee’s experience is how quickly the people around them leave the company.

This leads to a vicious cycle where increased workloads fuel burnout, driving employees to leave and further increasing workloads.

02—07

Unsurprisingly, employees at low-retention companies, who see their peers leaving, are more (+6% points) overstressed than employees at high-retention companies.

As a result, these employees are also less likely (-6% points) to see themselves sticking around, as attrition creates more attrition.

03—07

The other major factor that influences your employee experience is how quickly people are joining the company.

Current employees need to spend time and energy onboarding new hires, who are expected to ramp up rapidly. The influx of new members can also disrupt the status quo, as new employees bring new ideas and ways of doing things.

04—07

Interestingly, employees at high-hiring companies have a positive outlook despite the struggle to maintain a healthy work-life balance.

Compared to employees at low-hiring companies, these employees feel more motivated (+7% points) and are more likely to believe the company will succeed (+8% points) – even if 1 in 2 say they rarely finish everything they need to in a given workday.

05—07

So, why are these employees motivated to put in the extra time?

These employees believe that working hard will be good for their career. The data supports this, as development is the second most influential driver of engagement at high-hiring companies.

This is in contrast to employees at low-hiring companies, where the top driver of engagement is the psychological safety that comes from knowing and working with the same coworkers for many years.

06—07

While retention and hiring have distinct impacts on the employee experience, four unique company directions are revealed when we look at the intersection of these two factors.

07—07

Despite the differences, some findings are true for all company types.

The top reason employees say they join a company – development – is also the top reason they ultimately leave a company. While many companies “sell” employees the dream of career growth, few actually deliver on that promise.

So, what type of company are you?

Every company’s culture and specific company makeup are unique, but there are general best practices you can implement depending on your company’s direction (i.e., the intersection of your hiring and retention rate).

Take the quiz to learn which type of company you are and where you fall in the company direction quadrant. If you’re not ready, keep reading to explore what’s unique about the company directions and how each type can take action.

Find out where your company fits →

Learn more about the four company directions

The four company directions

All four directions (Rotating, Expanding, Holding, and Decreasing) have a distinct employee experience. Explore the unique strengths and areas of opportunities for each below.

For the full experience (with data), we recommend viewing this page on a desktop.

Build a resilient foundation for the future by putting culture first

Engage, retain, and develop your people by understanding how hiring and retention shape what matters most to your workforce.

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