The Toxic 9: Eliminating Unhealthy Habits to Get Your Culture Back In Shape

The Next Practices Weekly call series has become a well-attended and wide-ranging discussion for HR leaders each Thursday at 11am ET / 8am PT. On this week's call, i4cp Senior Research Analyst Tom Stone hosted two of his colleagues, Kevin Oakes, CEO & Co-Founder, and Katheryn Brekken Ph.D., Senior Research Analyst, who discussed key elements from recent i4cp research on on toxic and healthy cultures. Here are some highlights from the call:

• We began by asking the following participant poll question: "Which culture traits best describe your organization’s culture today? (Select up to 3)"
  • 55% Collaborative
  • 48% Employee focused
  • 48% Inclusive
  • 26% Hierarchical
  • 20% Bureaucratic
  • 19% Chaotic
  • 8% Conflict avoidant
  • 4% Complacent
  • 0% Disrespectful

• More than a third of large organizations surveyed (34%) in i4cp's recent study reported that their cultures had become more toxic overall since the start of the pandemic.
• During the pandemic, organizations with toxic cultures were far more likely to struggle with…Disrespectful behavior; Senior leaders who don’t trust employees; Employees who don’t trust senior leaders; Leaders favoring on-site vs. remote employees; Unsafe environments for expressing opinions/concerns; Bullying; Pay inequity; Lack of recognition; and Lack of inclusiveness.
• I4cp's research has found what we call "The Toxic 9," the culture traits that most often explain organization's poor culture health: Bureaucratic, Non-inclusive, Disrespectful, Chaotic, Complacent, Cutthroat, Hierarchal, Insensitive, Conflict avoidant.
• The research also found that:
  • Leaders in organizations with toxic cultures were 4 to 5x more likely  to be described as disregarding poor behavior when making decisions about advancement, compensation, succession planning, performance rating, awards and recognition, and high-potential employee designations.
  • Those who described their organizations’ cultures as toxic were 16x more likely to say “lack of trust in senior leaders” is an issue that needs to be addressed.
  • They were also 10x more likely to indicate an “unsafe environment for expressing opinions or concerns” as a top issue in their organizations.
• The fitter the culture the better the performance: High-performance organizations are nearly 6x more likely to have fit cultures compared to low-performance organizations.
• Fit cultures reported excellent (71-100) eNPS scores 9x more often than their unfit or toxic counterparts.
• Since the onset of the pandemic, they are also:
  • 4.5x more likely to report an increase in employee engagement scores
  • 4x more likely to have experienced improved retention of existing employees
  • 3x more likely to report their ability to attract top talent
  • Nearly 3x more likely to report improved well-being
  • 2x more likely to report increased employee productivity
  • Nearly 1.5x more likely to report improved diversity/representation
• The research unearthed "The Seven Habits of Very Healthy Cultures" which are:
  • More flexible work arrangements
  • A learning mindset
  • Boards care about culture
  • Leaders lead by example
  • Leaders held accountable for employee outcomes
  • Leaders regularly communicate values
  • Poor behavior is addressed immediately
• The study also found that organizations that have workforces that are currently mostly remote are more likely to report having:
  • A healthier culture
  • Culture improvement since before the pandemic
  • Increased employee well-being
• A key finding is that leaders are the linchpin: very healthy cultures have leaders who:
  • Lead by example
  • Are held accountable for employee outcomes
  • Regularly communicate values
  • Address poor behavior immediately

Links to resources shared on the call:

• Upcoming i4cp virtual events
• Infographic on The Toxic 9 culture traits
• i4cp Employee Listening Strategy white paper
• i4cp's Guidebook: Talent Mobility and Internal Talent Marketplaces (members only)
• i4cp's Toolkit: Holding Leaders Accountable for Employee Outcomes (members only)
• Culture Renovation