Kate Ithell
It’s easy to talk about culture. It’s harder to build one that actually works. Great coffee and a punchy mission statement might sound great, but they won’t fix a team that feels disconnected.
And an astonishing 88% of job seekers consider a healthy work culture vital for success. So if you’re thinking about how to improve organisational culture, you’ve come to the right place.
How to build a positive company culture
Forget free snacks and ping-pong tables. Learning how to improve company culture starts with creating an environment where people feel valued, supported and inspired to do their best work. Improving culture isn’t a one-off task. But with purpose, consistency and appreciation of your employees, it becomes something they’ll feel every day.
Defining your company culture
Defining your company culture starts with understanding what your business truly values. It’s the shared attitudes, behaviours and beliefs that shape how your team works together.
Establishing this culture requires buy-in from your leadership and people teams, but it only comes to life when it’s truly embedded – from your physical workspace to digital communications, policies and benefits.
Improving your company culture: 7 tips
1. Create clear values
Involve your team in shaping company values that reflect how you work and what you stand for. Then, embed these values into everyday practice.
If collaboration is one of your values, encourage cross-team projects and recognise teamwork in meetings. If you value growth, make time (and budget) for personal development. Use your values to guide everything you do, including hiring, feedback and decision-making
2. Encourage open communication and feedback
When employees know their voices are heard and their input matters, it creates a culture of trust, inclusion and shared purpose.
Encourage managers to hold regular one-on-ones with team members to ask how things are going, what's working and where support is needed. Anonymous Google Forms and employee survey tools give employees a safe space to share thoughts they might not want to raise directly.
3. Recognise, reward, retain
People need more than just a paycheck to feel truly valued. Recognising milestones, project completions and sending personalised thank you notes for everyday efforts shows your team that their hard work matters.
Show your employees you care by using a reward and recognition platform, like Reward Gateway | Edenred. Tools like this allow everyone to acknowledge great work instantly, as well as offer rewards like gift cards, time off, charitable donations or free holidays.
4. Prioritise wellbeing and worklife balance
53% of organisations now have a wellbeing strategy, so if you don’t, it’s time to catch up. Why not create a digital wellbeing hub where employees can easily access mental health resources, fitness perks and support services in one place?
Work-life balance is another key ingredient. Clear policies – like encouraging teams to switch off after hours or stating that emails don’t require an evening response – signal that personal time is protected. You could also offer flexible hours or mental health days, to help employees manage their responsibilities outside of work without guilt.
5. Foster inclusivity and diversity
Being truly diverse goes beyond simply turning your logo rainbow-coloured during Pride Month. It’s about creating a workplace where everyone feels respected, valued and able to succeed.
Start by reviewing hiring practices to reduce bias, offering inclusive leadership training and setting up employee resource groups (ERGs) that give underrepresented voices a platform. Celebrating cultural events, making sure your leadership team is diverse and regularly assessing equity in pay all signal that inclusion is baked into your business.
6. Make time to socialise
Our research found that 1 in 3 workers experience loneliness. One way that business leaders can change this is by making a conscious effort to encourage social interaction.
Team socials are a great starting point, and they don’t have to revolve around the pub! Think inclusive activities like cooking classes, quiz nights or volunteering days. Even virtual setups can boost collaboration, like Slack channels for non-work chat.
7. Trust people to get the job done
Try to create an environment where people own their actions – both the wins and the mistakes. When things go wrong, don’t sweep it under the rug. Instead, hold a post-mortem as a team, talking openly about what happened and focus on solutions.
Likewise, keeping employees in the dark about challenges or changes in the business breeds uncertainty. Trust takes time to build, but when your team knows they can rely on each other and the business to be accountable, you create a culture where people feel secure and motivated.
Here’s how Reward Gateway | Edenred can help you improve company culture
Our Employee Experience Platform brings appreciation, communication and engagement into one place. From peer-to-peer recognition walls to real-time reward systems, the platform gives everyone the power to celebrate great work. Discover how our Employee Experience Platform can help improve your workplace culture.
We can also help you take the guesswork out of how to improve organisational culture with built-in employee surveys. Give leaders real-time insights into how people are feeling, what’s working and where there’s room to grow. Learn how to use our company surveys.
FAQs
How to fix a bad company culture?
It starts with honesty and accountability. Use surveys or feedback tools to uncover what’s really going on beneath the surface. From there, focus on rebuilding trust through clear communication, consistent values and leadership that models the behaviour you want to see. Genuine care goes a long way when you're figuring out how to change workplace culture for the better.
How to increase employee morale?
To boost morale, focus on what makes people feel seen, supported and part of something meaningful. A simple thank you or peer-to-peer shoutout goes further than you think. Also consider how you can improve company culture with better communication, more flexible working options and opportunities for growth.
What are the five major steps of changing organisational culture?
- Assess where your culture stands today using employee feedback.
- Define the values and behaviours you want to see more of.
- Communicate your vision clearly and consistently.
- Model this culture from the top down.
- Reinforce the shift through recognition and regular check-ins.
How to improve company culture remotely
If you’re wondering how to improve workplace culture from a distance, use tools like virtual town halls, employee recognition platforms or pulse surveys to keep people engaged and heard. Sharing wins and encouraging social interaction (even online) helps to improve culture at work, no matter where that work is happening.
Companies who successfully implement employee engagement solutions see a 5-7% increase in performance, so what are you waiting for?
To find out how you can build a positive work culture through the power of appreciation, speak to one of our team today.
