Studies in organisations show a direct link between the working
climate and their productivity/ financial performance. Organisations
with better climates have higher engagement and retention,
less absenteeism and greater productivity. Organisations that
focus on lifting work climate have raised their financial performance
by an average of 28%.
There are two main influences on the work climate for an individual
in an organisation. Firstly, the climate set in the workgroup
or team that the person works in - the “workgroup climate”.
Secondly, the climate set by the organisation as a whole - the
“organisational culture”. Research shows us that the greater of
these two influences is the workgroup climate. The manager of
the workgroup sets the major influence on the individual.
Organisational aspects such as organisational culture, the
organisation’s history, the external environment, the
organisation’s leaders, corporate strategy and organisational
structure are not normally under the direct influence of the
workgroup manager. However aspects such as rewards, flexibility,
standards, responsibility, clarity and building team commitment
fall within the scope of each workgroup leader. These six aspects
form the “workgroup climate”. The workgroup climate assessment
gives both the workgroup and the manager’s perspective of
these six aspects. A sample climate report is given below.