We explain what organizational climate is, what its main characteristics are and its importance.
The organizational climate impacts the productivity of the institution.
What is organizational climate?
The organizational climate is the environment of an institution and it is generated from the perception that the members of the organization itself have. It is a phenomenon that occurs as a consequence of various variables, such as culture, internal policies, treatment of employees and working conditions.
It is directly related to the emotions, thoughts and motivations of employees.
It is very important that the organizational climate is favorable or positive.because it can affect the productivity and profits of the institution, in addition to providing all members of the organization with a better quality of work life.
The organizational climate is the perception that people have of the organizational culturel, that is, the norms, ideology and values that govern and give identity to the institution. It is built on routine activity, particular events and the overcoming of conflicts.
The institution that is able to attend to and analyze its organizational climatethat is, understanding individuals and group structures, you will be able to measure their impact with the aim of improving the situation and, as a consequence, you will be able to improve the efficiency of the organization.
Organizational climate factors
The physical workplace influences the construction of the organizational climate.
Among the main stimuli that influence the organizational climate are:
Appropriate physical environment
It is the common environment or physical space that employees share and in which the organizational climate is generated.
Understands:
- The mod cons that each member requires to perform their tasks.
- The materials and inputs.
- Others spaces that provide added value: places for recreation and contact with nature, decoration planned according to the organizational culture.
Careful human resources
The human resource is one of the most valuable and complex resources that an organization can manage and on which its success will depend. It consists of all the workers of a company, that is, the people.
Medium and large organizations They usually have a Human Resources (HR) department. It is made up of specialists in personnel management. It is responsible for managing various tasks related to personnel, such as: conducting job searches, interviewing candidates, formalizing hiring processes, managing licenses, conducting training programs, evaluating employee performance, among other tasks.
It is important that the company carries out periodic evaluations that allow you to detect and measure the level of employee satisfaction, with the aim of making decisions that provide a solution to discontent or lack of motivation.
The way employees are treated by company leaders and the working conditions they receive build the way workers perceive the organization. This employee perception is what is called the organizational climate.
Therefore, the performance of the Human Resources department is very important to contribute to maintaining a good organizational climate that, ultimately, impacts the company’s level of productivity.
Fluid internal communication
Internal communication must be managed from the management of the organization and executed through the leaders who coordinate the work teams. Fluid and reciprocal contact between organizational leaders and employees through various channels contributes to optimizing conflict resolution, strengthening employee trust and responsibility, and obtaining better performance for the organization.
The capacity for emotional intelligence from administrative management and, especially, from team leaders, is key to the success of a good organizational climate.
Benefits and rewards
The impact of work on the employee’s personal life is an aspect that large organizations increasingly take into account, both to recruit new employees and to retain current members.
The positive impact on the employee’s personal life builds a bond of trust and loyalty to the organization. The benefits and rewards that the organization offers to employees help keep members motivated. The possibility of generating benefits and rewards is very diverse and are usually aligned with the organizational culture.
Some common benefits and rewards are:
- Regular training programs for employees.
- Special bonuses based on objectives.
- Non-working holidays.
- Possibility of working in hybrid positions (some days of the week from the office and others remotely).
Positive organizational climate
A positive organizational climate generates multiple benefits, such as strengthening internal work teams, enhancing trust with the institution’s external public, and increasing the institution’s profits.
The main factors that positively affect the organizational climate are:
- Recognition of good performance of employees, through a mention, remuneration or a particular benefit.
- Training for employees according to their professional specialty or that allows them to grow in the organization.
- The growth opportunity in positions within the company.
- Participation in decision making that directly impact the employee’s role.
- Fluidity in communication channelsand with feedback between management and employees.
Negative organizational climate
The negative organizational climate can be due to multiple factors, which occur independently or simultaneously. It is important to identify the factors that affect negatively to modify them and reverse the situation.
The main factors that negatively affect the organizational climate are:
- The spread of rumors among employees, leading to confusion and misunderstandings.
- Task overload and employee responsibilities, which leads to dissatisfaction and increased staff turnover.
- Lack of attention to the needs and conflict situations between employees, which can cause an increase in absences.
- The demotivation of the employee, which can cause a decrease in the quality of work and affect the productive level of the organization.
- Lack of trust in the organizationwhich can impact clients and suppliers who do not receive adequate attention from the organization’s representatives.
Importance of organizational climate
The organizational climate is important because contributes to optimizing the performance and quality of human resources over timein order to achieve the institution’s objectives.
The concept of organizational climate It has been analyzed since the 1930s based on the study of endomarketing or “internal marketing”, which derives from the English “internal marketing”.
The new theories of the time on business administration and marketing began to analyze that employees who worked with enthusiasm and were able to share that feeling with the rest of the members and the external public of the organization generated a positive impact on the organization.
Nowadays, institutions devote time and energy to improving the organizational climate. For example: through internal marketing actionsit helps keep employees informed and strengthen their commitment to the institution.
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References
- “Principles of marketing” Kotler, P., Gary, A., John, S., & Veronica, W. (1999). second European Edition Published. Prentice hall Europe.
- “Fundamentals of organizational behavior” Robbins, SP, & Judge, TA (2009). 13th Edition. Pearson. Mexico.
- “Study of measuring the work environment to determine improvement actions in a PET handling company” Guevara, MPGE, Velázquez, MJA Á., & Avila, MBS (PDF)
- “Internal marketing” Katie, TH (2022) in Techtarget.