MIAMI—A recent article in Forbes magazine insists culture is the hottest topic in business today. On top of that Merriam-Webster said “culture” was the most popular word of the year in 2014.

Culture engagement and employee retention are officially the top talent challenges facing business leaders today, according to new Deloitte research. That study shows over half of business leaders rate the “culture” issue urgent. That's up from about 20 percent in 2014.

Corporate culture matters in the commercial real estate industry. Earlier this week, we caught up with Darius Mirshahzadeh, CEO of Endeavor America Loan services, to talk about why corporate culture matters so much. Now, Pike Rowley, Avison Young managing director, Florida, is chiming in on the topic.

“As you know, corporate culture has made a quick, yet significant, impact on the commercial real estate industry, and clients as well as employees are reaping huge benefits,” Rowley tells GlobeSt.com. “There is a large variety of organizational cultures that materialize in different environments—some occur naturally and some are implemented by the higher-ups in the company.”

Regardless, Rowley says, in order for the culture to be effective, it must be authentic and benefit everything the enterprise touches. So how does Avison approach the corporate culture challenge?

“At Avison Young, corporate culture has been the driving factor in its meteoric growth, as its principal-led platform focuses on how best to serve and positively impact clients, the industry and the regional economy overall,” Rowley says. “As background, Avison Young opened its first Florida office in Fort Lauderdale in October of 2012 with 30 employees and has grown to 150 employees today in Miami, Fort Lauderdale, Boca Raton, West Palm Beach, Tampa and Orlando.”