What Is

Company Culture?
(Plus 10 Expert Tips for Improvement)

In 2023, many employees are still healing from the collective

trauma of the pandemic—and it’s having a drastic impact on
Why Does Company
their work. Culture Matter?
Despite rising levels of employee engagement before 2020, Company culture is the foundation of every business.
just 1 in 5 workers say they’re engaged at work today, When employees’ needs and goals align with their company
according to Gallup’s State of the Global Workplace report. culture, they’re more likely to enjoy their work. This can make
employees feel like they’re at the coolest party in town:
Building a strong culture at work is one of many solutions HR they love where they are, they’re surrounded by great people
professionals will need to help reverse this downturn. If you who do interesting things and they don’t want to leave.
want to take your culture from good to great—or if you need A strong culture indicates that the people are the priority in
to fix a broken culture—we have ten simple tips to help get the company—not the output or revenue that it generates.
you there.
The potential business benefits of a strong culture don’t end
Wondering what employees really think about your company there. They also include:
culture? With accurate, reliable employee surveys in
BambooHR®, you’ll gain the insight you need to prevent • Higher engagement and productivity. When employees
burnout, improve morale, and stop premature turnover in are happy, they become more engaged with their work.
its tracks. Learn more with a free demo today! In a Gallup analysis, companies with high-level
engagement are 21% more productive than businesses
with lower-level engagement.

What Is Company Culture? • Greater creativity and innovation. Engaged and

productive employees feel inspired to bring innovative
Company culture is a shared set of workplace beliefs, values, ideas to the table. Companies centered on innovation
attitudes, standards, purposes and behaviors. It reflects both and creativity can have a competitive advantage in the
the written and unwritten rules that people in an organization industry with higher-quality services and products.
follow. Your organization’s culture is the sum of all that you
and your colleagues think, say, and do as you work together. • Improved morale. Happy employees who are part of a
strong company culture that supports and values them
To put it more conversationally, you might say that company feel more motivated to do their best work, even when they
culture is the personality of an organization. face challenges.

What Is Company Culture? (Plus 10 Expert Tips for Improvement) 1

• Greater ability to attract top talent. Company culture
plays a large role in attracting top talent. Candidates will
be excited to apply for a role at your organization if it has
a reputation for strong values and encouraging growth.
Get the Definitive Guide
to Company Culture
• Higher retention. When you show your employees
that you care about them, they’ll feel more valued and Want a vibrant workplace that supports
committed to your organization. Your people will want employees and helps your organization achieve
to stick around for the long run. After all, engaged its goals? Our guide offers a step-by-step plan
employees are 87% less likely to leave an organization. for leveling up your company culture.
This also means lower recruiting and training costs
associated with turnover.
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• Increase in revenue and profits. Engaged employees
are often more invested in providing excellent customer
service for clients, which can reel in higher returns.
According to the same Gallup findings above, companies
with high levels of engagement outperform lower-level
organizations in profitability by 22%.
1. Find People Who Fit
It’s widely acknowledged that culture can have an
enormous impact on business outcomes. In a recent According to the Society for Human Resource Management
culture survey conducted by BambooHR, an overwhelming (SHRM), the average cost-per-hire is $4,129, while the
94% of respondents agreed that culture is related to their average time it takes to fill a position is 42 days. Imagine
organization’s success. spending all that time and money only to find that your new
hire isn’t working out?

To help prevent this, hire people who not only have the
10 Ideas for Improving needed job skills but who also share your organization’s
Company Culture vision and values and will fortify them with fresh
perspectives. Help candidates get to know your company
To improve your company culture, first, you need to identify culture during the application process so both you and the
what it already is. Every firm develops a company culture applicants will have a better idea of whether they would be
whether they realize it or not. Even if you do nothing, culture a good fit.
forms and evolves on its own.

The trouble is, an unguided, unstructured culture may do more 2. Integrate Your Values Into
harm than good. There may be a serious disconnect between
Everyday Activities
your organization’s mission, values and vision, and what its
employees and leaders actually do. That’s a telltale sign of a Ideally, your culture should be the showcase where your
dysfunctional company culture. values come to life and prove their worth. But BambooHR co-
founder and co-chairman Ben Peterson puts it more frankly,
That’s why it’s so important to work toward building culture at
saying, “The values you define for your organization will mean
work in positive ways that align your organization’s ideals and
nothing if you don’t intertwine them into everyday work.”
goals with everyone’s behaviors.
Ways to integrate your values can be found almost
everywhere in your organization. You can, for instance:

• Teach your values and their significance to each new

“The values you define for your employee during onboarding

organization will mean nothing • Stress the importance of your values during company
if you don’t intertwine them meetings and in company communications

into everyday work.” • Make sure your external messaging (marketing,

Ben Peterson | Co-Founder | BambooHR social media, etc.) reflects the same values so your
branding is consistent

What Is Company Culture? (Plus 10 Expert Tips for Improvement) 2

• Make values-based decisions when choosing
company initiatives

• Use your values to guide performance management

and help underperforming employees improve

3. Foster More Feedback

Both your employees and your organization can benefit from a
company culture that encourages better feedback.

Many organizations still primarily rely on annual performance

reviews that aren’t very accurate, timely or helpful. The right
performance management software replaces this with a
constant channel of communication that’s more meaningful
and simpler to administer. 5. Learn How To Change Broken
Company Culture
Plus, many organizations don’t know what their employees
really think of them, leaving leaders in the dark as they make Despite best efforts, just about every organization will face
decisions about cultural initiatives. Simple email surveys can times when something about their culture isn’t working.
reveal what employees like and don’t like so you can shape Don’t think of these issues as failures, but as opportunities
your culture in ways that increase employee satisfaction and to improve. Harvard Business Review tells how to change
reduce turnover. company culture using four key practices:

• Articulate the aspiration. Analyze the issues in your

4. Keep Up With Changes current culture and define the kind of culture you want.

The business world changes at dizzying speeds. New • Select and develop leaders who align with the target
industries rise. New processes disrupt traditional ways culture. Their support, strategizing skills and ability to
of doing things. New generations of employees and implement changes will be critical to success.
customers bring different expectations to the workplace and
• Use organizational conversations about culture to
marketplace. No organization is exempt from the effects of
underscore the importance of change. Just as culture
change, so in order to keep up, your company culture must
is everywhere in an organization, frequent and open
change too.
dialogue about cultural changes must be too.
The best way to prepare your culture to adapt to changes is by
• Reinforce the desired change through organizational
basing it on timeless best principles, instead of locking it into
design. Align your organization’s structures, systems,
rigid best practices that often become obsolete. In another
and processes to support the improved culture
article by BambooHR’s Ben Peterson, he dives deeper into the
why and how of evolving your organization and improving its you’re developing.

office culture to keep up with the times.

6. Reward Your Employees

For A Job Well Done
“Where do you see yourself in five years?” is a classic
Performance Management interview question. The usual answer to this question
Made Easy is something like, “I see myself developing skills at your
company, which is the best one on earth and the company of
Inspire, motivate and develop your employees all my hopes and dreams.”
with BambooHR®. Our modern, flexible software
is easy to use, providing a research-backed The honest answer is, more likely, “I hope your job improves
foundation you can customize for any team. my capacity to live, with an environment I can stand most days
and compensation that keeps up with my standard of living.”

Setting up a fair compensation package is a big hurdle to clear

Try It Free
when building culture at work. Few things drag on employees’
performance quite like financial stress and additional non-

What Is Company Culture? (Plus 10 Expert Tips for Improvement) 3

monetary rewards may not go very far when your employees
are worried about making ends meet.

But money is only the first step. If they’re motivated, your Compensation doesn’t have
employees will find the money they feel they need, whether to be complicated.
with you or with another company. When you find the right
balance between an employee’s needs and the company’s From tax deductions to direct deposit,
ability to provide them, you’re setting the stage for the BambooHR® Payroll makes it easy to manage
additional steps needed when creating a company culture, your team’s total compensation in a single,
rather than a collection of employees collecting paychecks. centralized system.

7. Recognize Individual Contributions Learn More Today

Every employee you hire has a hierarchy of needs. After

meeting the basic needs of food, shelter and a secure
environment, your employee will look to fulfill emotional
needs. At work, that means earning recognition for their
contribution to your company. When looking for ideas to
appropriate) in the moment. Combining company-wide
improve company culture, adequate recognition is as good a
incentives (like paid vacation) with regular feedback from
place to start as any.
managers helps send a powerful message: no matter who you
Your employees want to enjoy the time they spend at work. are, we value you and we want you to improve.
In a recent survey, we found that 94% of employees who
received positive recognition for their contributions at work
on a daily basis are very satisfied with their jobs. These are 8. Retain Your Talent
the kind of employees who go beyond their jobs and end up
Let’s ask the question again from the other side: where do you
improving office culture for everyone.
see your company in five years? How you answer this question
Effective recognition strategies strike a fine balance between provides insight into your company values and can help you
incentivizing individual success and praising teamwork. visualize how to improve your workplace culture. Developing
Different positions have different levels of visibility, and and communicating these values helps your employees
it might not be possible to give everyone company-wide envision their future with your company, no matter what
recognition for a job well done. For example, awarding the comes down the road.
Employee of the Month award (and accompanying cash prize)
BambooHR practices this in one of our core values: Be Open.
to a marketing manager for a record-breaking email piece may
When you’re upfront with your employees about what matters
make the writers, editors and designers who crafted the email
to them, from the company’s successes to its upcoming
feel ignored or undervalued.
challenges, you encourage your employees to open up to their
Rather than rewarding a single employee on an arbitrary teams and their managers. Then when challenges or issues
timeline, apply recognition (and financial rewards, where come up, your employees know that they have more options
than voting with their feet.

9. Champion Teamwork And Collaboration

Having a welcoming and collaborative work environment is
vital for building company culture. While this is important
when working in teams or on certain projects, consider
making this ethos prominent in all aspects of the workplace.

From offering spaces in the office for brainstorming and

conversation to encouraging extra-curricular teambuilding
activities – even something as simple as a weekly team lunch
or grabbing a drink after work.

In many cases, building relationships can equate to building

a positive culture at work – the easier you make it for your
employees to do this, the happier your company will be.

What Is Company Culture? (Plus 10 Expert Tips for Improvement) 4

10. Embrace Flexibility Beyond these ten tips, there is much more to know about
how to improve company culture. That’s why we created
Flexible working is becoming more and more popular, The Definitive Guide to Company Culture.
especially since the pandemic. Trusting your employees with
more flexibility in their schedules is a great way to foster As you read, you’ll learn:
loyalty and satisfaction among your workforce, improving
• How culture can help you achieve your
office culture immensely.
business goals
Whether you begin with a hybrid model between working
• More tips and techniques to strengthen your culture
remotely and in the office, allow your employees to choose
their own hours or introduce unlimited vacation time, all these • What type of company culture you have
perks help create a company culture that employees can be
proud of. Not only will they value the helping hand in finding • Important findings from the BambooHR
their optimum work-life balance, but they’ll feel trusted, culture survey
valued and respected.
…and more!

Next Steps: Never Stop Improving

Your Company Culture
It’s natural for your company culture to evolve over time—
which is why you’ll never truly perfect it. Instead, it’s important
to stay in a growth mindset. Even the world’s best companies
still have room to improve over time.

Download the Definitive Guide

to Company Culture
A vibrant company culture that supports and nurtures our employees is the key to business success.
Our research reveals the best ways to build a thriving company culture.

Get Your Free Download

What Is Company Culture? (Plus 10 Expert Tips for Improvement) 5