How to Know if Your Company Actually Has a Good Culture

April 16, 2023

Go to nearly any corporation’s website and you will find a page all about their “amazing” culture. You’ll likely see photos of employees playing ping pong and enjoying a beer on Fridays. Just about every organization claims it has a wonderful culture. 

But a ping pong table isn’t good company culture. 

Imagine spending the time and money to find and acquire the best seeds for your garden. You carefully plant them expecting a great harvest, but then become busy focusing on other things and do little else to maintain the garden and nurture the seeds. Weeds spring up, the sun scorches and the soil dries out. Most of the seeds fail to sprout. Some die out and those that do survive never truly thrive. 

Contrast that with the habits of a skilled gardener. She selects the best seeds and plants them in rich soil. She regularly waters the seeds, ensures they get the right amount of sunlight and removes any weeds that spring up. She is constantly monitoring the quality of the soil to ensure the seeds have the right environment. The seeds grow, flourish and produce. 

Company culture isn’t an event. It’s not a single benefit. It’s much deeper than that. 

What is Company Culture?

Company culture is the sum of the values, leadership and interactions of your workplace, shaping the overall daily experience for the team. 

Truly good culture is something that permeates every minute and every second of every workday. This positive work environment can be felt, whether in a physical office or remote and manifests itself in positive occurrences each and every day. A great culture can be felt. It’s almost like energy in the air. 

How do I Know If My Company Truly has Good Culture?

You can tell your organization's culture is good when team members appreciate one another, are productive and leave work feeling positive each day. Specifically, here are 16 signs of a strong company culture: 

• Team members praise each other. 
• Managers regularly ask how their team members are, then actively listen. 
• No one worries about someone taking away their credit.
• Departments are not in opposition with one another.
• Laughter is regularly heard in the office, over calls or during meetings.  
• Compliments are common. 
• There are regular opportunities for personal growth and development.
• Team members spend time with each other outside of work.
• Nearly everyone attends optional company hangouts, parties and events.
• Company leadership offers regular encouragement, direction and support.
• People are happy on Mondays. 
• Gossip is rare. 
• You leave work feeling positive. 
• You’re not constantly working evenings, nights or weekends. 
• Your coworkers feel like family. 
• Retention of your team members is strong. 

Are these regular occurrences in your work environment? If so, fantastic! You’re already moving in the right direction. If not, you’re not alone. Most organizations experience a few of these but lack the majority. In fact, most professionals find it a little unbelievable that all of these could actually be regular occurrences in an organization. But they can!

The Five Keys of Incredible Company Culture can help slowly insert these occurrences into your company until they are commonplace. Learn about these Five Keys in the book: RETAIN.