If you’re reading this, you’re probably standing in the middle of an impossible tug-of-war.
Leadership wants data. Employees want meaning. And somehow, you’re supposed to turn feelings, trust, and respect into metrics that fit on a slide deck.
But here’s the truth: culture doesn’t “just happen.” It’s built intentionally through organizational behavior, individual behavior, and leadership team behavior. And when it’s ignored, it shows up everywhere: turnover reports, exit interviews, and Sunday-night dread.
As an HR leader, you’re tired of being asked to “prove” the ROI of something everyone can feel when it’s missing. You’ve watched great employees walk away, seen toxicity take root, and felt the sting of being told to “focus on engagement” with no budget, no plan, and no buy-in.
You’re the one who knows that culture drives results but can’t always get the room to see it.
The Reality of the Pain
The global research from SHRM shows that only 56% of employees rate their organization’s culture as “good or excellent,” while 8% say it’s downright “poor or terrible.”
When culture is rated poorly, the cost is immediate and real: 57% of employees in poor cultures say they’re actively job hunting or plan to be soon. And it’s not just turnover. About 30% of employees worldwide report feeling burned out, disengaged, or ready to quit.
This paints a clear picture: when culture isn’t a priority, the costs pile up. Turnover rises, productivity drops, engagement fades, and incivility quietly spreads through the organization, eroding everything you’ve worked to build.
Why Culture Is a Strategic Asset
Your executive leadership may view culture work as a discretionary cost. But in reality, culture is the fuel that drives the engine of performance.
According to SHRM, employees in organizations with strong cultures are almost four times more likely to stay with their employer.
And consulting research shows that intentional investments in culture yield significant returns: for example, one case cited by Enculture estimated a return of 548% over 18 months from culture and engagement work, including reductions in turnover and absenteeism and improvements in productivity.
Furthermore, you can link culture metrics (engagement, turnover, referrals) to business outcomes and thus build a credible ROI story.
Constructing a Business Case for Culture Work
Here’s how you create a business case that resonates with the C-suite.
1. Define the critical problems keeping your leaders awake at night
What causes your CEO and leaders to stress these days? Rising prices for goods? Reduced sales due to the economy? Increased pay demands from the workforce? Shrinking customer loyalty due to competition?
Determine what problems you need to be focused on solving, so that you can present your ideas as a solution.
2. Map the company culture to the problem and solution
If prices of goods and services are rising, and sales are sinking, your leaders are focused on profitability. That means they’re focused on reducing costs for the things and people your company needs to function so the sales dollars can go farther and last longer.
Turnover reduces profitability because it increases the cost of people. If turnover is caused by toxic behavior it makes addressing culture a way to increase profitability. If you can link turnover to culture, and a better culture to reduced turnover and therefore increased profitability, you may have a suggestion here that your leaders care about.
3. Estimate the cost of inaction
Demonstrate the risk of not acting. For example, what is the cost of turnover in your organization? There are many stats out there to help you obtain that answer in a dollar figure.
You can also calculate that figure in our Culture Calculator. You just need to input your organization’s data, and you’ll see the results right away—real numbers that make the business impact of culture work impossible to ignore. You’ll also need exit interview data citing culture and other such problems, Glassdoor comments, and whatever else you can find to tie turnover to the culture issues.
4. Estimate the investment and forecast the return
Now that you have the cost of culture, or all that turnover, now you can present a plan showing Return On Investment (ROI). You might say:
- Turnover has cost us $500,000 in the last 12 months due to X number of exits and this calculation.
- Exit interviews indicate that people leave because of a toxic work culture.
- I propose spending $80,000 on addressing the culture problems identified in the exit interviews so that we reduce turnover and our workforce becomes much more profitable. I’ll be able to prove ROI after six months as I am confident turnover will be reduced by a minimum of 25% during that initial time period, reducing workforce costs by $125,000. Within the next set of 6 months I anticipate cutting turnover by a total of 50%, or workforce costs by a total of $250,000.
5. Define leading indicators and a measurement plan
Executives want proof that culture work is working, not just good stories.
Choose a few key indicators you can measure regularly – signs that your culture work is moving in the right direction. For example, you might track how many managers complete civility or leadership training, how often employees speak up in surveys, or how team-level culture scores change over time. Ultimately, you’ll track the reduced turnover.
Don’t just measure how people feel about culture. Measure what’s actually changing in behavior and performance. That’s how you show ROI in a language your executives understand.
6. Legitimize risk mitigation of workplace bullying and incivility
It’s time to move the conversation about bullying and incivility out of the “HR problem” category and into “business risk.” When leaders understand that culture problems are also risk management problems, they start paying attention. Frame your argument this way: addressing bullying and incivility is about protecting the organization from financial, legal, and brand harm. Creating a civil, respectful culture is both a moral and strategic imperative.
The Opportunity
Right now is the moment. Talent, hybrid work models, and the growing demand for well-being and inclusion have made workplace culture impossible to ignore. If your organization doesn’t invest intentionally, it risks falling behind losing talent, losing reputation, and ultimately, losing performance.
You and I know the work: diagnosing culture, rebuilding behavior norms, integrating civility and psychological safety, and aligning leadership with values that drive results. But the C-suite needs more than passion. They need a plan. They need a business case that explains why now, what will change, how it will be measured, and what the return will be.
Also check out our free resource, Obtaining Leadership Buy-In, for more practical tools, conversation strategies, and data-backed talking points to secure executive support for culture work.
And when you’re ready to move beyond the business case, to do real culture work with real experts, contact us at Civility Partners. We’ll help you build a culture that retains great people, protects your organization from risk, and powers lasting performance.
