Fix Your Workplace Culture - Why Internal Focus Beats Benchmarking Competitors

Several years ago, at an annual SHRM conference (and several times since), I've found myself answering a very similar question from different people that goes something like this;

We'd like to see how we benchmark compared to other organizations. Can BP2W provide that?

It always makes me wonder why comparing an intangible experience, such as your internal employee sentiments, against other companies' average employee sentiments is viewed as important. So every time, I find myself offering the same reply:

Honestly? It doesn't matter.

Not in the way you think it does.

Don't get me wrong; I fully understand and agree with the proliferation of best practices. If you can 'steal' some of these from successful people and companies (or even other areas/teams/departments within your own business), then, by all means, have at it.

I'm just not sure of the actual value of knowing things like;

• We have 50% lower staff retention than our competitors
• 64% of our employees think we are ethical, which ranks us in the 50th percentile for similar companies
• More of our employees are aware of our corporate vision than 75% of our competitors
• Our leadership team is viewed as not valuing employees as much as 70% of our competitors

To start with, most of those high-level metrics are not actionable. The devil is in the details, so you need granular-level data to make highly targeted internal improvement efforts. For example, if your company's low retention is primarily due to extreme turnover in one department with a rotten culture unless you know why things are bad in that department, you could be chasing your tail for years.

Here's another thing: unless the sampling is of ALL your competitors asking ALL the same questions, how can you really be sure what you are comparing yourself to?

Why External Benchmarks Fall Short

You can't copy someone else's workplace culture.
Every organization is different. Your culture is unique to your people, your values, your challenges, and your leadership style.

So while benchmarking might offer a momentary sense of where you are compared to "the average," it's often misleading or even harmful when used as the primary basis for change.

Because you're not trying to build their workplace - you're trying to fix yours.

For a case in point, look at the 'major' organizations publishing engagement statistics each year. Some say it's getting better, others will say it's flat, and others tell us it's getting worse. What's important is that you realize the importance of improving it, regardless of any generalization.

We are told that disengagement and poor workplace culture result in over $500 billion in lost productivity annually. But how does that eye-popping number help you identify your problem areas and (more importantly) fix them?

These published findings can make for interesting reading. Still, at best, they are extremely high-level metrics for all collected data or, conversely, averages for a small subset of other organizations.

Your People Don't Work for an Average

If your employee engagement is lagging, comparing yourself to the “industry standard” doesn’t solve the problem.

Your people don’t work for the average company. They work for yours.

Your culture issues are yours to own — and fix.
No benchmark can tell you what’s going on in the minds and hearts of your employees. And more importantly, no external survey can fix it for you.

If you know you need/want to make changes within your workplace, comparing outside data to your inside is not a good way to kick off an internal improvement process.

The truly great individuals, teams, and organizations don't waste time focusing on what everyone else is doing and how they stack up against them. They focus instead on making themselves and those around them great.

Do yourself a favor and aim to build engagement at the local level and develop a great workplace from within.

Benchmark the smaller pockets of your own employees against your organizational numbers. That way, you can see (for instance) that 'Marketing' is struggling with managing their differences, 'Accounting' has problems being open with each other, or 'IT' needs to focus on making their people feel more valued.

That way, as each team/department improves and the entire organization improves, success becomes a natural by-product.

Why BP2W Takes a Different Approach

Rather than comparing you to others, BP2W helps you understand what's really happening inside your own organization — and gives your employees the tools to take action on what matters to them.

It’s not a survey. It’s a system.

• One that makes issues visible.

• One that empowers people to take ownership.

• One that turns feedback into forward motion.

Internal Focus = Real Culture Change

This isn’t just theory. It works because:

• Everyone gets a personalized diagnostic showing what’s important to them

• They take action individually or in teams

• Progress is measured continuously, not once a year

• Leaders guide change instead of enforcing it from above

And the best part? It actually frees up manager time by reducing moaning, misunderstandings, and interpersonal conflicts.

Worry Less About Competitors — Focus More on Connection

Competitor comparisons may feed strategy, but culture change starts at home.

If your organization becomes a better place to work, you’ll attract better people, retain top talent, and outperform the market — not because you benchmarked it, but because you built it.

 

P.S. 

If you want to see how much of that $500+ Billion might be attributed to your organization, check out The Employee Engagement Calculator

It's a Free and Easy-To-Use tool that might just shock you.