Culture and Connection: The Driving Force Behind People Performance

You have thought through your strategy well, but the return seems to be lagging. Often, the cause lies not in your KPI dashboard, but in the environment in which teams collaborate: the culture and their connection to one another. In this blog post, I will explore how Culture and Connection can be made measurable so that they become the driving force behind People Performance. Get inspired by insights from the Mploy whitepaper and the latest research.

Why this topic is so important right now

Organizations today face various challenges: a tight labor market, increasing performance pressure, and changing expectations from employees. Our whitepaper shows that engaged teams perform as much as 20% better and have a 87% lower chance of leaving the company. This has direct consequences for the business: less staff turnover and higher output.

A study from the University of Oxford shows that happy employees are on average 13% more productive. This affects turnaround times, the number of mistakes, and customer ratings. It thus seems clear: good culture and strong connection are crucial for success.

What do we mean by Culture & Connection?

At Mploy, we analyze this phenomenon from three interrelated perspectives, which together form the People Power Engine:

1. Ambition: identifying clear goals and the visible contributions of each team.
2. Culture: this revolves around psychological safety, role modeling, and visible values.
3. Structure: this concerns roles, processes, and tools that promote collaboration rather than hinder it.

These three elements together determine whether teams gain energy or experience stagnation.

Why are culture and connection so important?

Google's Project Aristotle has shown that psychological safety is the key to effective teams. Teams that dare to discuss mistakes, ask questions, and test ideas perform demonstrably better. Google identifies five crucial team dynamics: psychological safety, dependence, structure and clarity, meaning, and impact.

Deloitte points out three key elements that contribute to the feeling of “belonging”: feeling comfortable, connection with your team, and contributing to meaningful goals. No less than 79% of organizations consider a sense of belonging to be a top priority, with 93% recognizing its direct impact on performance.

McKinsey’s Organisational Health Index shows that healthy organizations deliver three times the total shareholder return in the long term compared to unhealthy ones. Culture is thus not a ‘soft’ condition; it is a predictor of solid results.

From feeling to steering information: how do you measure culture and connection?

A powerful way to measure culture and connection is with our People Impact Index: Performance = Potential - Interference.

Interference concerns anything that hampers performance, such as unclear roles, slow decision-making, and a weak feedback culture. Our scan provides insights for each team on where potential is underutilized, which obstacles weigh the heaviest, and which interventions have the greatest impact.

What does this approach concretely yield you?

• Scores for each team on Culture and Connection, alongside Flow and Direction.

• A top three of hindering factors with an analysis of the underlying causes.

• An action plan with quick wins and clear ownership for each measure.

• A link to the employee lifecycle: from attracting and onboarding to performing, developing, connecting, and offboarding, so that you can intervene at the right moment.

It is important to emphasize that many studies have shown a strong correlation between engagement and performance. But we must continue to focus on the quality of the evidence. Measuring and targeted experimenting is therefore essential.

Three signals and solutions that help optimize your performance

1. People do not address each other:
   Signal: Problems are not resolved, ideas do not come to life.
   Action: Train leaders in psychological safety, so they can discuss mistakes without employees feeling guilty.

2. Teams know the KPIs, but not the ‘why’: Signal: Short-term actions and initiatives dominate the team.
   Action: Together with each team, create a one-page document with concrete goals, contributions, and indicators, and discuss this monthly.

3. Good intentions, but slow execution: Signal: People wait for decisions, and there is double work.
   Action: Ensure clear roles and decision-making. For example, define a maximum of two priorities per period. This reduces interference and provides more calm.

KPIs that matter

For both management and HR, these are the main KPIs:
Team psychological safety (measured with a short pulse questionnaire of 3-5 items) and the rhythm of feedback moments.
Belonging drivers: comfort, connection, and contribution as quarterly pulses.
Links to business results such as turnaround time, first-time-right metrics, customer ratings (NPS), turnover rate, and absenteeism costs.

Use these trends alongside your People Impact Index.

Change in 90 days, but how?

1. Start with a quick baseline measurement with the People Performance Scan. Then identify 2-3 culture lever points for each team.

2. Organize team rituals, for example: weekly startup, monthly reviews, and ‘Office Day’ to share successes and lessons learned. This strengthens the meaning and connection within the team.

3. Make leaders visible through short 1-on-1 check-ins, focused on goals, obstacles, and development. This has positive effects on both engagement and performance.

4. Document decisions: who is responsible, based on what, and what is the timeline? Less noise means less interference.

5. Celebrate contributions, not just results: link appreciation to the behaviors that support your culture.

In conclusion

Culture and Connection are not 'soft' themes; they are the silent engines behind your strategy. Make them visible, connect them to your objectives, and manage them. The Mploy People Performance Scan provides the tools to make this step quickly and practically, with clear scores, a priority matrix, and an action plan.

Curious where the greatest gains lie for your organization?
Request a sample report or schedule an introductory meeting. We will show you precisely how Culture and Connection can lead to greater results.