Building a Company Culture that Goes Beyond the Boardroom

We’ve all seen it: organizational leaders who describe their company culture one way while employees experience something very different. An organization may praise its benefits and work-life balance, for example, while employees feel burned out, underpaid or underappreciated.

So how do organizational leaders implement the culture they believe their organization has or the one they aspire to have? How can they create a positive company culture?

Building a strong organizational culture means taking it beyond the boardroom and putting it into practice throughout the workplace.

What Is Organizational Culture?

The Society for Human Resource Management defines an organization’s culture as shared beliefs and values of leadership and employees. Those shared beliefs and values are reflected in everyday behaviors and the workplace environment, shaping how employees experience the organization.

Consider an organization that says collaboration is one of its core values. If employees are encouraged to share ideas, work across teams and contribute to decisions, their daily experience reinforces that value. If communication is limited and teams rarely interact, the stated value may not match the culture employees actually experience.

Why Organizational Culture Matters

A strong organizational culture can influence both the employee experience and the organization as a whole.

Companies who have a strong culture have good reputations within their communities, low turnover and increased productivity. A weak or ineffective culture can create disengaged employees, high turnover, poor customer relations and lower profits for the organization.

Culture can also affect:

• Employee satisfaction: Positive environments can help employees feel valued, supported and connected to their work, which can shape how they feel about their role and the organization overall
• Retention: Employees may be more likely to stay with an organization when they feel valued and supported with opportunities to grow
• Productivity and engagement: Employees who understand what’s expected of them and feel connected to their workplace may be more invested in the work they do
• Reputation: The way employees experience an organization can influence how customers, prospective employees and others view it

Creating this sense of culture can become more complicated in remote and hybrid workplaces, which don’t have the same opportunities for everyday in-person interaction as a traditional office. Leaders may need to be more intentional about communication, connection and recognition so employees have a consistent experience regardless of where they work.

Key Elements of Organizational Work Culture

Organizational work culture is shaped by the values, behaviors and experiences employees encounter every day. Leadership, communication, accountability and the overall employee experience all play a role in creating a strong, positive culture.

Leadership Behavior and Communication

Leaders play an important role in organizational culture. The way they communicate, make decisions and interact with employees can shape how people experience the workplace. Employees notice what leaders prioritize, but they also notice whether their actions match what they say.

That consistency can build trust and give employees a better understanding of the organization’s values and expectations. When leaders say one thing but do another, it can create confusion and make it harder for employees to connect with the culture.

Shared Values and Accountability

Workplace norms develop over time, but they don’t always match the values an organization says are important. Shared values mean more when employees see them reflected in how people work together and how decisions are made.

Accountability helps keep those values from becoming just words on a page. If an organization values collaboration, respect or transparency, employees should see those principles in everyday interactions across the workplace.

Inclusion, Recognition and Employee Experience

Employees want to know that they have a place within their organization and that their perspective matters. A strong culture values different backgrounds, experiences and ideas, giving employees a sense of belonging and a meaningful role in the workplace.

Recognition is another part of that experience. Employees should know that their contributions matter and that the work they do is valued. Employee well-being matters, too, and should be part of how an organization thinks about the overall workplace experience.

Types of Organizational Culture

Organizations have different priorities and ways of working, but four common types of organizational culture can help describe what a company values and how that shows up at work.

Clan Culture

Clan cultures are collaborative and people-focused, with an emphasis on teamwork, strong relationships and a sense of community. Employee growth is also important in this type of culture. Leaders often support and mentor their teams while giving employees opportunities to share ideas and have a voice in decisions.

Adhocracy Culture

Adhocracy cultures are built around innovation, creativity and a willingness to take calculated risks. Employees are often encouraged to experiment, explore new ideas and find different ways to solve problems. That flexibility can create an environment where trying something new is welcomed rather than avoided.

Market Culture

Market cultures are results-driven and competitive, with a strong focus on performance and reaching goals. Success is measured by what employees and the organization achieve. Productivity matters in this environment, and employees may be motivated by clear targets, measurable outcomes and the drive to perform well.

Hierarchy Culture

Hierarchy cultures value structure, established processes and clearly defined responsibilities. Policies and procedures help create consistency, and employees generally have a clear understanding of their roles, who makes decisions and how work gets done.

How to Build Culture Beyond the Boardroom

Culture isn’t created through a mission statement or leadership meeting alone. Employees need to see an organization’s values reflected in their daily work. A few practices can help leaders put those values into action:

• Communicate: A culture cannot be created if all employees are not aware of the organization’s values and beliefs. These need to be clearly communicated across the organization so everyone is on the same page. By communicating regularly and transparently with employees, leaders will be regarded with trust, and employees will more easily buy-in to the company’s values.
• Value diversity: Strong cultures value diversity within the organization. They welcome individuals from all backgrounds. These organizations encourage employees to share their stories and wisdom. They promote inclusive language, and many have specific committees to focus these efforts.
• Model the culture: Leaders set an example through their own behavior. If an organization values accountability, inclusion or open communication, leaders should demonstrate those qualities themselves. Employees should be able to see the organization’s values in action, not just hear about them.
• Assess: Norms are bound to be created throughout an organization. If those norms don’t line up with the organization’s values, they need to be addressed. Organizational leaders should regularly assess company norms and ask for feedback from employees across the organization, not just high-level leaders.
• Establish a positive environment: Give regular feedback and reward hard work. Employees will be more motivated to perform if they feel their work is being seen and recognized. But don’t just value hard work. Care for employees’ health and wellness as well. Stress will only create disengaged and apathetic employees.
• Train and develop: Organizations with strong cultures generally embody learning. They encourage their employees’ professional development and upward mobility by promoting from within.

Putting these practices into action helps move culture beyond the boardroom. Employees can see and experience the organization’s values in the way leaders communicate, recognize their work, support their growth and create an environment where they can contribute.

Common Challenges in Organizational Culture

Building organizational culture takes time, and even organizations with defined values can run into challenges.

Stated vs. Actual Culture

An organization might promote collaboration while rewarding individual competition or emphasize work-life balance while employees regularly feel pressure to work beyond reasonable expectations. Employees notice when their experience doesn’t match what the organization says it values.

Resistance to Change

Employees and leaders get used to certain routines, expectations and ways of working. Shifting those patterns takes time, especially when they’ve become a familiar part of the workplace.

Lack of Leadership Buy-In

Leaders need to be committed to the culture they want employees to embrace. If they expect certain behaviors from employees but don’t demonstrate those behaviors themselves, it can be difficult to build trust or create meaningful change.

Maintaining Culture During Growth

What works for a small team may become harder to maintain as an organization adds employees, departments or locations. As the organization grows, leaders need to maintain communication, recognition and shared values while allowing the culture to evolve.

Measuring and Improving Organizational Culture

Leaders can’t rely solely on their own perception of organizational culture. Looking at different sources of information can give them a clearer picture of how employees are experiencing the workplace.

Gather Employee Feedback

Employee surveys can help leaders understand how people feel about communication, leadership, inclusion and other parts of the workplace experience. Surveys conducted over time can also show whether employee perceptions are changing rather than providing only a snapshot of one moment.

Look at Workplace Trends

Engagement, retention, absenteeism and performance can add another layer to that picture. Instead of treating any one measure as proof of a strong or weak culture, leaders can look for changes and patterns that may point to areas worth closer attention.

Use What You Learn

Measuring culture only matters if organizations do something with what they learn. Leaders can use employee feedback and workplace trends to identify areas for improvement, make changes and continue monitoring how those changes affect the employee experience.

Every organization can have a positive culture. It can be tempting to wait to implement any changes until a new quarter, fiscal year or even change in leadership. But there is no time like the present to start making small changes that can make a big influence on company culture.

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