Joe Kerns
Whatever the size of your organisation, setting a good company culture is essential if you want to continue growing and finding success.
Of course, generating the right company culture is also one of the trickiest things to get right. But don’t despair, in this blog we’ll take your through organisational culture, explaining what it is and why it’s so important, before giving you some real-life examples of company culture done well and how it’s impacted each organisation.
What is organisational culture?
Organisational culture, or company culture, is the shared beliefs and ways of working that shapes how a company behaves and what it feels like to work within it. You could think of it as the ‘personality’ of an organisation, and how it presents itself both externally and internally.
The difference between company culture and company values
Company culture and company values may influence one another, but they are two separate entities.
Company values are a defined set of principles that guide the company in their journey to success. These are usually strong attributes a company will aspire to, such as ‘honesty’ or ‘environmentally conscious’.
Company culture is more to do with the everyday environment of the organisation. How people work with one another, behave in the office and approach their work.
As we mentioned, one can influence the other. If you define one of your company values as ‘hard working’, it will probably result in a more energetic company culture.
Why is company culture important?
Getting your company culture right is important for two key reasons.
Firstly, it will influence how your employees behave while at work. This means it will shape how they interact with their colleagues, how they approach their responsibilities and ultimately will have a huge impact on how happy they are in your organisation. It’s worth remembering that you can offer healthy salaries or a wide range of benefits, but if your organisational culture is lacking, you’re likely to see office morale suffer.
Secondly, your company culture will often affect the ‘face’ of your organisation that is seen by your customers and clients. A good example here would be the tech giant Apple. They are well known for their culture of innovation and creativity, which has impacted their work so widely that even their customers are aware of their organisational culture.
How do you define your own company culture?
As we mentioned earlier, your company culture might be a little harder to define when compared to your company values.
By its nature, your company culture can’t really be defined, it’s more likely to be ‘felt’ by your staff and customers. Of course, that doesn’t mean you don’t need to put some effort into creating a strong company culture.
There are a few ways to go about this, but we always suggest identifying your company’s ‘North Star’. This is a focus point in the future that your organisation is working towards. By identifying this and keeping it in mind when developing your culture, you can keep a focused plan and ensure any organisational culture you foster has purpose behind it.
You can read more about developing and improving company culture, along with a fail-safe set of tips, in our How to improve company culture blog.
What makes a good company culture?
There is no such thing as one single ‘good’ company culture. All companies are different, with different goals and made up of different people, so it follows that cultures which work for one organisation might not work for another.
Having said that, there are a few common themes that regularly turn up in the cultures of successful companies.
Companies that nurture a culture of openness and honesty often report their staff feeling empowered and well-informed.
If this is combined with a culture of innovation and testing, then staff will have the confidence to try new ways of working or experiment with products while safe in the knowledge that they will be supported in an environment that values openness.
Similarly, a casual company culture is becoming more accepted in many industries today. This goes beyond just wearing jeans to the office. A casual culture cuts down on formalities that might be considered outdated or of no use, encouraging people to bring their personalities to work, rather than a polished ‘corporate’ version of themselves.
This culture is often sought after by organisations as it creates a relaxed and friendly environment in the workplace, making people feel more connected to their colleagues and more grounded when approaching their work.
7 examples of some of the best company cultures
Here we’ll take you through some company culture examples of some organisations you’re probably already familiar with.
Patagonia
Patagonia were one of the first outdoor activity companies to fully adopt an eco-friendly company culture. This appears in everything they do, from their environmental policies to their desire to hire staff with active lifestyles.
This has led to a company full of outdoor enthusiasts who understand their customer perfectly and work hard to ensure no environmentally-harmful practices are associated with the brand.
Zoom
Professional video calling exploded during the pandemic, and Zoom made sure they took full advantage of this new way of working. However, part of their success in the last few years can also be attributed to a robust organisational culture.
Known for their extensive onboarding process that immediately makes new employees feel connected to the company, as well as it’s flexible working environment, Zoom’s positive company culture has led to them being flooded with positive employee reviews on sites like Glassdoor.
Reward Gateway | Edenred
Here at Reward Gateway | Edenred we focus on creating an inclusive company culture where everyone feels like they belong and, importantly, each member of the team knowns exactly how their work contributes to the company’s success.
It’s led to a strong cohesive environment, where people liken the connection with their colleagues to that of a sports team; employees can rely on one another, support one another, provide (and receive) feedback with grace and celebrate one other’s success through reward and recognition.
Creating this ‘team spirit’ company culture was no accident though, and we put in the effort to maintain and improve it with regular town hall meetings, company updates and team connection events.
We make great use of our employee recognition platform which lets staff show their gratitude to their colleagues, creating a culture of continuous recognition and appreciation across the organisation.
The working environment of the Google offices around the world has become the stuff of legend. Free restaurants and coffee shops, ping pong tables and bean bag chairs, even onsite gyms and sports facilities are all waiting for anyone who joins the tech giant.
However this is only part of what makes their company culture so effective. Google strives to create an organisational culture that promotes personal growth. By creating a comfortable working environment that is structured more like a university campus than an office, they give their staff room to develop into the best versions of themselves, bringing innovation and a progressive mindset into everything they do.
Squarespace
Website building company Squarespace have created a strong company culture due to their unique organisational structure.
Their ‘flat’ structure has stripped away many levels of management, freeing staff from requiring dozens of different signs offs before a job can be completed. This has created a culture where each team member feels a high level of ownership over their work, being able to push new ideas through and take personal projects forward, while having easy access to decision makers.
This is a fine demonstration of the concept that company culture isn’t only created by quirky offices and friendly coworkers, but also by the organisation’s structure itself.
Netflix
Netflix started out as a service that posted DVDs to users, who would watch them before posting them back. Sounds ancient, right? Their transformation into a streaming giant and globally-recognised brand proves the value of being fluid and altering plans when necessary. This is exactly what their company culture has been set up to promote.
Staff at Netflix are regularly reminded that they have the freedom to make their own decisions. In many cases managers will offer guidance and provide context, but the final decision-making authority lies with the staff.
This empowers their employees to plan out their own work and take ownership of projects, seeing them through to completion.
Slack
It’s a business messaging tool used by countless workers around the world, having become essential since the advent of home working. So you might be surprised to hear about the company culture in the Slack offices.
The organisational culture at Slack is heavily influenced by clear lines between work and homelife. Ironically, employees are forbidden from using messenger services (including Slack itself!) after 6pm.
This creates a company culture which places a premium on downtime and ‘switching off’, allowing employees to clock in each morning refreshed and ready to work. It also demonstrates to their team that as a company Slack takes issues like overwork and burnout seriously, creating an organisational culture in which staff feel respected and cared for.
Company culture FAQs
What are the ‘’three C’s of company culture? 
You have probably come across mention of the ‘three C’s’ of company culture. These are: communication, collaboration and community.
It’s worth considering each of these while thinking of developing your own company culture.
Be sure to communicate with your team members, work in collaboration with the wider business, and think of your colleagues as a community who will be experiencing this shared organisational culture.
How should I describe my company culture?
Even though your company culture is non-tangible aspect of your organisation, you should still be able to put it into words, especially when describing your organisation to potential employees.
The key thing here is to use simple language that gets straight to the point and outlines your company culture clearly. Do you think of your business as ‘a thriving hub of unique aspirations and grounded collectivism’? Try ‘a culture that values personal development and teamwork’ instead.
What is a toxic workplace culture?
This is a term you need to watch out for, especially if being used by people in your own organisation. A company culture can sometimes take on a negative edge, which can quickly spread to other parts of your business, impacting employees’ happiness and work ethic.
Toxic workplace cultures can include things like bullying, gossiping or nepotism. If you think there is any aspect of your own company culture that could be consider toxic or negative in any way, it should be your top priority to try and reverse or replace it with a more positive culture that aligns with your company values.
Thousands of companies have improved their company culture by using the employee experience platform from Reward Gateway | Edenred. Our platform helps improve employee engagement by simplifying benefits, communications and reward and recognition. Book a free demo today and see how it could boost your company culture.
