For me, company culture becomes useful when you can recognize it in everyday work. It is more than the values on a website. It shows up when work gets busy, a colleague needs help or a decision becomes difficult.
Company culture is the shared habits, expectations and beliefs that shape how people work together. One organization can have several subcultures: a production shift and a sales team may experience the same business differently.
Values are a starting point. Behavior makes them visible.
“We collaborate” tells me little until it describes something concrete. Can people flag a problem early? Is there time to help a colleague? Is knowledge shared, or are only individual results rewarded? I would ask these questions before calling a culture good or bad.
Three hypothetical examples:
- A mistake before a deadline. The team discusses how to fix it, or first looks for someone to blame.
- A new idea. An employee can run a small experiment, or needs several layers of approval.
- A busy week. Colleagues redistribute the work, or focus only on their individual numbers.
No single situation explains the whole culture. Ask for recent examples and listen to people in different roles.
What are the four culture types?
The Competing Values Framework offers four perspectives: clan culture and collaboration, adhocracy and innovation, market culture and performance, and hierarchy and structure. It provides language for discussing differences. Organizations combine characteristics; there is no universally best distribution.
Culture is not the same as satisfaction
An employee can be happy with their pay and colleagues while feeling they have little say in decisions. Culture assessments and satisfaction surveys answer different questions. Consider both when trying to understand what is happening.
How can you explore your culture?
Start with your own experience. The free culture test uses Werkvolk's own workplace scenarios based on the CVF. Your personal result is a perspective, not a verdict on the whole company. A team assessment needs several participants.
My guide to measuring company culture explains how to choose your scope, questionnaire and discussion. To move from understanding to action, start with one concrete culture change.
Culture Suite
Assess culture with your team
Compare several perspectives and follow culture over time with Culture Suite. A standalone product, with no vacancy required.