Company culture has become a key competitive advantage in attracting and retaining top talent. With skilled employees in high demand, creating an engaging and inspiring workplace enables organizations to stand out.
Define Your Cultural Values and Priorities
Before looking externally, company leaders need to identify what cultural values and behaviors they want to cultivate internally. What guiding principles and mindsets will fuel business strategy and growth? Key areas to define include:
- Workplace attitudes (e.g. transparency, collaboration, accountability)
- Values in action (e.g. customer-centricity, diversity, sustainability)
- Employee experience priorities (e.g. growth, work/life balance, belonging)
Rather than lofty but empty mission statements, these cultural foundations should shape real behaviors and inform all talent processes. Leadership modeling is crucial — these priorities must be consistently reflected in executive communications and decisions.
Architect Employee Experiences Holistically
With cultural values set, companies can then architect integrated employee experiences purposefully designed to bring those values to life. Every workplace touchpoint offers an opportunity to enrich company culture. Areas to address include:
- Work Environments – Purposeful workspace design, remote-hybrid policies, informal spaces that spark social connections
- Technologies – Intuitive, frictionless tools that facilitate productivity and collaboration
- Learning – Robust L&D opportunities that promote growth, transparency and internal mobility
- Leadership – Inspirational leaders who role model desired behaviors and mindsets
- Recognition – Meaningful rewards and incentives aligned to cultural values/priorities
- Communications – Candid, compassionate executive communications convey genuine care for employees as humans
While initially daunting, thoughtfully addressing each area above allows an immersive cultural experience versus one-off perks or platitudes.
Match Personality and Values
With aspirational culture established, hiring and personnel decisions can align. Rather than skills alone, emphasize identifying candidates whose innate values, mindsets and working styles fit cultural vision and priorities above.
This applies equally to internal hiring and promotions. Elevating those exhibiting desired behavioral traits reinforces culture from the bottom up.
Broaden Diversity and Inclusion
Despite stated intentions, many organizations still default to homogenous talent patterns biased along gender, racial and socioeconomic lines.
Prioritizing diversity, equity and inclusion is not just a moral imperative regarding representation and opportunity. Cultivating a breadth of perspectives and life experiences leads directly to richer mindsets, expanded innovation and better solutions to attract top talent.
So examine existing policies and requirements through a lens of intentional inclusion. Rethink existing practices with fair access and representation squarely in mind to manifest a culture that derives strength from embracing full diversity.
Listen, Learn and Iterate
With the above steps, organizations can make major headway evolving company culture. But the work never truly ends. Employing continuous listening tools like engagement surveys and exit interviews allows companies to monitor cultural health, quickly respond to new needs arising and address issues early before they become problematic.
This might include changing programs that are not working, introducing new benefits or training to address gaps or bringing more employee voices into decision making.
By continually taking the pulse of the current culture versus intended state, organizations build the trust, accountability and inclusivity that today’s talent seeks in a remarkable company culture able to attract those at the very top of their fields.
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