Critical steps to enhance company culture

Published: May 31, 2024 | by Victoria Kelleher, Lead Survey Specialist at Brightmine

A company’s culture can be difficult to define. Beyond what is stated in your company’s mission, culture takes shape through the norms and values that shape day-to-day practices among employees. Although a set of defined values might help employees understand what is expected of them, a company’s culture is determined by more than just what is formally documented.

Culture can have ripple effects on a business, from employee engagement to performance targets. For example, a Gallup survey found that employees who feel connected to their company’s culture are 3.7 times more likely to feel engaged at work and 55% less likely to be actively looking for another job.

Although leaders often know what their ideal company culture would look like, many struggle to translate this from paper to practice. According to a recent survey from Brightmine, formerly XpertHR, most HR representatives think there is at least some room for improvement when it comes to the alignment of day-to-day operations with company values.

Define the ideal culture

An intentional strategy can go a long way toward improving a company’s culture. However, for this to be effective, employers should first define the ideal values they would like to see reflected in the company’s culture and assess where the company currently stands in relation to them.

Companies in different industries might have different priorities for ideal cultural values. For example, a company in the highly competitive tech industry might want to emphasize the importance of creativity and innovation, whereas a healthcare company might prioritize adherence to protocol and emotional intelligence. However, some goals will provide an effective boost to performance in any organization, serving as pillars for a company to thrive. According to the Brightmine survey, HR professionals tend to rank values like employee well-being, work/life balance and inclusivity or respect as highly important for a healthy corporate culture.

Once an employer decides on the most important values to be prioritized within an organization, they should assess how effectively day-to-day operations and decisions at the organization are aligned with those values. Employers should collect feedback from employees about how well people within the organization are honoring the company’s ideal values. The constructive criticism in employee feedback can identify which values are out of alignment and why, which may inform a strategy to intervene and correct cultural issues.

Set the stage for culture in hiring

Although written guidance for a company’s culture may help clarify expectations, the transition from vision to reality depends on whether the people at your company are willing to align their conduct with these values.

Employees will often reliably do this without any need for intervention if a company’s values are aligned with their personal values. For example, an employee who is already inclined to be compassionate and honest is less likely to undermine similar company values by being callous or dishonest at work.

Because of this, there is enormous potential to influence outcomes in a company’s culture through the hiring process. When companies train hiring managers to consider a candidate’s alignment with company values, these managers are more likely to select candidates that are already inclined to follow those values. This simple step can ensure that new team members reinforce the ideal values of the culture, rather than conflict with them.

Testifying to the value of this practice, 87% of HR representatives from companies that consider a candidate’s alignment with company values report that their organizations have a generally healthy culture, compared with only 41% of representatives from companies that don’t.

Chart 1: The effect of screening the values of job candidates on corporate culture

Companies can also set new hires up for success by ensuring that the onboarding process formally sets the tone for the values they are expected to follow in their work.

Lead by example

Leaders play a key role in setting expectations for a company’s culture. It is important for leaders to not only prescribe expectations for the values employees must follow, but to reflect these values in their decisions. Companies with leaders that do not live up to core values tend to have worse culture scores.

Despite this, not every company is effective at reflecting ideal values through leadership decisions; the Brightmine survey found that about one in four organizations do not regularly honor company values in decision making. To avoid cultivating leadership that will fall out of alignment with the ideal company culture, employers should ensure that the leadership development strategy at their company prioritizes leadership skills that align with company values. Selecting leaders predisposed to these values or actively seeking to develop them will keep the company on track.

Takeaway

To help a company cultivate and preserve the culture it needs to succeed, employers should be intentional with taking measures that set a company’s culture up for success. Some of these steps include:

• Defining the ideal characteristics of culture for the company’s industry.
• Soliciting employee feedback to judge the company’s alignment with its ideal culture.
• Training managers to consider the alignment of candidates with company values in the hiring process.
• Emphasizing how company values should guide decision-making in the leadership development process.