When I was first charged with solving HR issues decades ago, one of the initial lessons I learned was that, if you want people to stay in their jobs and be productive, you had to build an awesome culture.
I also discovered quickly that many organizations are “activity heavy” in their attempts to improve the culture. They spend a lot of time and money on activities that mean little to nothing to employees.
Instead, employees want ongoing assurances that the following principles are upheld by their employer:
- Shared goals and values
- Integrity
- Respect
- Communication
- Transparency
- Opportunity for growth
- Positive environment
I know of no studies or anecdotal information that shows a large number of employees who are demanding ping pong tables, bring your dog to work days, or taco trucks. In my experience, all these activities were born because of the unwillingness of management to deal with the more complex principles above and to recognize the requisites of their greatest asset — their people.
When you have a case in which you’ve attempted numerous times to effectuate culture change, but the desired results have never arrived, all the side activities are a misdirection calculated to take employees eyes off of the ball. When companies focus on activities versus principles, they’re showing that they aren’t willing to build a culture based on organizational principles in consideration of their employees.
As employees, how should you react when you see an activity-focused culture? I think you know.
I have a problem with the use of the word “build” when talking about organizational culture. I prefer the word “exist.” If you embed the employee-driven principles and confirm that everyone is living by them, then your culture is going to exist and be awesome. People will run to it and engage, and you’ll see all the desired results.
At the same time that these provide your guiding principles, values, and philosophy of who you are, understand that you must also address two other major pieces to making your culture work. Each is directly related to the business side of the organization.
The first involves who you are as a business — what is your employer brand? Why would someone want to work for you versus all the other employers in your area?
Once defined, this gives you a way to provide potential candidates the opportunity to know whether or not they’re a good fit. During the interview process, provide candidates with the following information:
- Describe your mission
- Outline where your business is going
- Convey information about your product or service and who is your targeted customer
- Share how you reward stellar employees
- Explain what kind of people fit into your organization
Once you’ve offered your description of who you are as a business, candidates will be better able to judge whether they can see themselves fitting in.
The second piece represents the other side of the equation: Why do your employees work for you? If you don’t know, one exercise I use is to ask employees to tell me the five reasons why they work here. (Five isn’t a magic number but seems to elicit a manageable response.)
I’ve never had an issue with employees not giving me a straight answer. What you’re looking for is the one word — or possibly two — that keeps surfacing throughout the employee base. Be open to learning and try not to be judgmental. You may not agree, but it’s their unfiltered opinion.
Here are a few examples I’ve encountered over the years:
- The owner/CEO won’t lie to me; he’ll tell me the truth even when it’s bad.
- This organization is all about my community.
- This company makes me feel like I’m connected.
- Deep down I’m a mechanic and I get to do that all day.
The above responses speak to employees feeling valued or connected. They authentically describe their organizations’ respectful approach to their people — their number one asset.
The brutal truth is that employees are looking for something that costs little to nothing in affecting organizational culture, yet is heavy on substance. Embedding the employee-preferred principles is the answer. Yes, hard conversations and decisions will have to be made. But in the long run those conversations will have a ROI that is incalculable.
Over the years I’ve seen many instances in which organizations refuse to make the needed changes and continue along their trajectory to failure. Conversely, organizations that meet the issue head on and make changes see a whole different reality. Their revenues, profits, engagement, employee retention, and productivity move to a level they never imagined.
How much is the issue you’re not willing to confront worth to you?
Link: https://ceoworld.biz/2026/04/04/organizational-cultures-that-work-focus-on-their-greatest-asset-people
Written by Clark Ingram.
