34 01732 759725 How do you strengthen business performance and innovation in a time of rapid technological change, economic uncertainty and employee scepticism about the future? The answer, according to O.C. Tanner’s 2027 Global Culture Report, is to amplify the people and behaviours within your organisation that already create value. The ninth annual report from the leader in employee recognition and workplace culture solutions, based on data gathered from 25,000 workers in 23 countries, makes the point that workplace culture acts as an amplifier. While struggling cultures intensify uncertainty and burnout, thriving cultures magnify trust, connection, innovation, purpose and performance. Dr. Alexander Lovell, Vice President of the O.C. Tanner Institute, said: “Organisations are responding to relentless change by asking more of their people, often without strengthening the culture that makes those demands sustainable. We cannot keep extracting more from employees and expect their capacity to be limitless. Our research points to a better way. People want to contribute, grow and do work that matters to them and to the organisation. When organisations build cultures rooted in compassion, growth and trust, they amplify what their people are already capable of and create the conditions for greater innovation and performance.” Research findings The report highlights four ways organisations can amplify both employee and business performance, with a specific focus on ensuring frontline employees, who often don’t have the same flexibility and autonomy as their corporate counterparts, are included in these efforts. Embed compassion into how the organisation operates. Compassion turns into a performance driver when care is built into organisational systems and policies. When organisations have the three pillars of care – a foundation of care, capacity protection and clear guidelines and boundaries – they see 11x higher odds of organisational growth and innovation. A practice of care is especially critical for frontline employees, and when organisations demonstrate compassion, this employee cohort reports 88% lower odds of burnout. Build cultures of growth, not just cultures of learning. Employees increasingly view learning as transactional, and the report reveals that growth cultures create partnerships rather than a one-sided push for greater output. Growth cultures combine empathy, communication, community, support, opportunity and balance. When those six elements are present, organisations have 48x higher odds of demonstrating ‘cultural elasticity’, the ability to build skills and remain agile when new challenges arise. Frontline workers in particular benefit when their organisations invest in growth and see a 20x increase in their sense of opportunity and a 25x increase in their sense of success. The definition of trust at work is evolving. The report finds that trust in the modern workplace goes beyond individual relationships and must be treated as an active pursuit through behaviours and workplace practices. When teams and leaders practice the six elements of active trust – transparency, reliability, accountability, judgement, safety and care – the odds of company financial stability increase 12x and employees are 14x more likely to say their organisation cares about them. Frontline employees are less likely than their corporate counterparts to trust their leader, but when the six elements of active trust are present, their sense of belonging increases 19x and their odds of believing their leader supports them through periods of change increase 38x. Teams unlock innovation when they celebrate ideas, even when they don’t succeed. Innovation happens when employees have the autonomy to think creatively, the psychological safety to share ideas and the organisational support to act on innovative ideas. When employees are not recognised for trying new things, their odds of thinking creatively drop 93%. Conversely, employees recognised throughout each stage of innovation – thinking, sharing and acting – are 21x more likely to be innovative. Commenting on these findings, Mindi Cox, Chief People and Marketing Officer at O.C. Tanner, said: “The 2027 Global Culture Report makes it clear: organisations don’t have to choose between the wellbeing of their people and high performance; the most successful workplaces deliberately create the conditions for both. When employees feel trusted, supported in their growth and recognised for their contributions, they’re more likely to embrace change, innovate and bring their best to work every day. Organisations that intentionally amplify those experiences and recognise the people creating them are better positioned to thrive.” Robert Ordever, Managing Director Europe, O.C. Tanner, added: “European organisations have excelled on work-life balance and flexibility. But with economic uncertainty and AI-driven transformation, recognition is often falling by the wayside and, with it, the trust employees need when their career paths feel unstable. Organisations that build cultures of growth will strengthen trust, innovation and engagement.” https://www.octanner.com/ global-culture-report-executivesummary/2027 O.C. Tanner report finds compassion, employee growth and active trust create the conditions modern organisations need to thrive Accentuate the positive BUSINESS CULTURE Dr. Alexander Lovell Mindi Cox Robert Ordever
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