Employees recognize the tangible impact of workplace culture, according to a survey by Eagle Hill Consulting, with 63 percent say it directly impacts their organization's success. More specifically, the majority of U.S. workers believe culture influences much of their job performance – doing their best work (77%), their productivity and efficiency (76%) and their ability to best serve customers (74%). 

A critical takeaway of the new survey, however, is that there is a major gap between employees' recognition of the importance of culture and how they experience it daily at work. And despite the fact that culture has a profound impact on the workforce and business success, organizations find culture to be nebulous, and they struggle to assess and manage it. 

"Organizational culture is the unsung hero of long-term organizational success. Gone are the days when a strong culture is a 'nice-to-have.' Today, leadership must understand and invest in their workplace culture to achieve their business goals," says Melissa Jezior, Eagle Hill's president and chief executive officer.

"Companies that don't manage and measure their culture are at a major disadvantage, especially in a tight labor market when it's incredibly difficult to find and keep top talent. And to realize the lasting return on the culture investment, leaders must constantly maintain a pulse on their culture and course correct regularly. Otherwise, culture can quickly become a liability, instead of the competitive asset that it should be," Jezior explained.