Organizational culture is the very core of a company. It refers to the practical and pervasive implementation of norms, best practices, ideals, and shared values within your company. Your culture defines and shapes your work environment. Ultimately, developing your organizational culture is about building people programs to help you achieve your business goals while remaining in-line with your company values.
Why is a strong organizational culture important?
Good culture drives employee engagement and increases retention, because your team feels supported and able to do their best work every day. With strong culture and values you can:
- Build team-oriented practices so your team can get their best work done.
- Reduce friction so team members can identify and execute high-impact projects.
- Ensure all team members feel welcome in your organization, regardless of gender, appearance, race, and identity.
- Connect everything back to your organization’s mission, so everyone understands why their work is a critical piece of the puzzle.
- Establish standards for teamwork, collaboration, and team building across your organization.
How to build a strong organizational structure
Build shared values
Building shared values—and living those values—is the bedrock of good corporate culture. An organization’s core values describe how group members should treat one another, how employees can expect to be treated, and what central values everyone at the company shares.
It’s important to note that you shouldn’t just create top-down values, but instead give your team an opportunity to co-create cultural values. Just like your company itself, your company’s values should be living, dynamic ideals that your team members believe in.
Invest in diversity, inclusion, and belonging programs
A key part of organizational culture is making sure your team members feel like they belong—and that starts with diversity, inclusion, and belonging. Building a diverse workforce isn’t just the right thing to do—it actually gives your team a competitive advantage. Research shows that companies with more diverse teams are more innovative, make better decisions, and are more effective at achieving their financial goals.
There are a few great ways to embed diversity into your current culture, including inclusive hiring and onboarding practices, Employee Resource Groups (ERGs), real talk events to make your team feel welcome and like they belong, inclusive spaces, etc.
Ground your culture in mutual trust
An inclusive culture must be centered on trust at its core. Employees have to feel safe to be themselves, experiment, take chances, fail, and ultimately, succeed as individuals and as teams. Part of building your organization’s culture is creating a space where employees, regardless of title, team, or tenure, feel welcome and encouraged to share ideas and thoughts.
Distribute responsibility where appropriate.
At the core of building trust is giving team members ownership over parts of the decision-making process. There are a variety of ways to do that, but one of the best ways is to distribute responsibility. Instead of your teammates feeling like cogs in a machine, they can feel like valued contributors.
Increase clarity to reduce silos
Clarity is key for a good working environment and, as a result, a good company culture. Too often, work is siloed between teams and tools, making it hard to find. Without a clear understanding of what you need to do—and why it matters—it can feel like you’re spinning your wheels without really going anywhere.
Build great hiring and onboarding processes
Organizational culture starts the moment someone interacts with your company—like seeing an ad, taking a recruiter call, showing up for an onsite interview, or arriving to work on their first day.
Make sure your team members feel welcome, clearly understand your hiring and onboarding processes, and have access to the information they need to succeed. This is critical to building a strong, inclusive organizational culture.
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Falana William is a passionate writer who has a keen interest in various topics. With expertise as a certified Google digital marketing expert, Falana William possesses the skills and knowledge to navigate the ever-evolving digital landscape. Combining a love for writing with proficiency in digital marketing, Falana William is equipped to create engaging and effective content that resonates with target audiences.
