The organizational culture of companies is a set of beliefs, values, attitudes, behaviors, philosophy, experiences and other elements that are defined, adopted and established to give their own unique identity to the companies and employees that are part of the organization. . The latter exalt and strengthen it when they feel identified with it and promote it in their daily lives. Today, the organizational culture of companies is being challenged more than ever due to the changes that have occurred as a result of the pandemic, and how people’s behaviors have modified the traditional ways in which employees relate to their employer.
Today, months after the movement of people has normalized and the return to the offices seems to have no impediment for it to take place, there are schools of thought that ensure that remote work should remain because employees value it in the highest scales of benefits, but there is also the belief that remote work affects the organizational culture because it does not promote face-to-face interaction that strengthens ties and personal relationships. Both positions can have points for and against, which is leading many organizations to use a hybrid scheme. The most important thing is that the organizational culture is always at the center of decisions and is not weakened, but rather, strengthened, being the element that employees proudly adopt and become promoters, because this does influence positively or negatively the customer loyalty to the brand (https://www.merca20.com/cultura-organizacional-lealtad/).
So can remote work influence customer brand loyalty?
A report published by McKinsey in June 2022 shows very interesting data on the preferences of surveyed American employees (25,000 surveys). When people have the opportunity to select the way they work, 87% select remote work. On the other hand, a publication made by Forbes in May 2022 indicates that, according to a survey of 12,500 people from different regions of the world, the possibility of working remotely increases employee happiness by up to 20%. Happiness is reduced when commuting time to the office increases. In short, happiness at work is strongly correlated with people’s lives in general. Another interesting fact: a study conducted by MIT indicates that remote work increases employee satisfaction with the company, which can positively influence a better e-NPS.
With the above information and data, it can be inferred that remote work, a scheme which is preferred by a greater percentage of people, positively influences employee satisfaction, making them more productive, happy and with stronger ties to the organization. which can have a strong correlation with customer loyalty towards that organization and the brands it represents. Of the top brands with the highest loyalty, Apple, Amazon, Google and Disney have already adopted hybrid schemes, making their employees return to the office on certain days; On the other hand, brands like Nike and Patagonia offer freedom of decision in the work scheme. It turns out that the eNPS of these brands range from 13 to 35 according to the comparably.com page (Amazon 13, Disney 17, Apple 19, Nike 25 and Patagonia 35). The eNPS scale goes from -100 to +100 with acceptable ranges from +10 to 30. The general average is 14.
When employees give themselves completely to the organization where they work, they become more productive, happier, more committed to the values and to the culture, becoming natural promoters of the brand. This feeling and behavior permeates from employees to customers. It is felt because it is transmitted in the interactions, whether in a physical point of sale or in the digital experience. The NPS of these brands are aligned with all of the above: Amazon 51%, Disney 38%, Apple 72%, Nike 50% and Patagonia 61%.