Company culture: what shapes it and how does it develop?

When a new colleague asks how a decision is really made, the answer is often different from what the organisational chart suggests. Perhaps an approval process officially applies, but in practice an experienced person is consulted first. These unwritten rules provide guidance. They can make collaboration easier or create unnecessary dependencies.

Company culture emerges from many repeated experiences. What receives recognition? What happens when someone disagrees? Which commitments can people rely on? The answers come from observable behaviour, not just a mission statement. Even a company without written values therefore has a culture.

Different parts of the business can develop their own habits. A customer service department under time pressure works differently from a development team. Differences are not automatically a problem. What matters is whether shared expectations for handovers, responsibility and respectful interaction still work.

A pleasant week is not yet evidence of a sound company culture. Conversely, mood may be tense before a difficult project deadline even when the team treats one another fairly. Mood describes a current experience; culture runs deeper and usually does not change from week to week.

The CIPD evidence review on culture and organisational climate distinguishes culture, which is difficult to pin down, from more tangibly experienced working practices. When making changes, it therefore makes sense to look closely at specific behaviours and conditions. A single mood figure does not fully capture these relationships.

For your work, this means observing both the immediate experience and the rules behind it. If employees constantly report conflicting priorities, do not just review their satisfaction. Check who assigns work, who decides when conflicts arise and whether people can say no to additional work. The article on workplace climate explores this everyday perspective in more depth.

The following examples are fictional. They show how the same value can be put into practice differently in everyday work. Use them as a basis for discussion, not as a template for judging individual employees.

On small screens, you can swipe the table sideways if needed to see all columns.

A single bad situation does not yet establish a cultural principle. Look for recurring patterns and counterexamples. If collaboration works well at one interface, you may be able to identify a helpful rule there. Work on culture does not necessarily have to start with a shortcoming.

Unclear decisions, conflicting goals and poor handovers can consume time and attention. To assess the business implications, you need to describe these relationships concretely in your own organisation. A general cultural problem cannot credibly be assigned a flat euro amount.

A fictional example: sales and delivery regularly clarify the same customer requirements again. Senior management sees rework, while the teams experience a lack of coordination. A shared handover format could address both. Check whether it helps by looking at actual follow-up questions and the experiences of those involved.

Also record the effort an action requires: preparation, meetings and training where necessary. Compare it with the problem you want to solve. A more satisfied team matters, but the improvement must not automatically be presented as cost savings or a proven increase in revenue.

Start with a manageable business question. For example: how do we handle conflicting priorities? Collect typical situations from different perspectives. Conversations, observations and existing processes complement one another. A survey can show whether employees experience a situation in a similar way.

Pay attention to whose perspective is missing. Are shift teams heard? Can part-time staff participate? Do new employees have a chance to speak? The loudest voices do not automatically represent the most common experiences. At the same time, nobody should be pressured to disclose personal conflicts in front of the group.

Record observations and interpretations separately: “Tasks arrive through several channels” is initially a description. “Nobody takes responsibility” is already an interpretation. Only once you understand the process can you choose an appropriate change. For question selection and analysis, the next step is measuring company culture.

Describe the desired behaviour so that it is recognisable in everyday work. For example, “We communicate openly” becomes: when assigning new tasks, we state the goal, the person responsible and the task that will be set aside to make room for it. This creates a shared expectation to guide you.

Then check whether rules and incentives support it. Calling for collaboration while rewarding only individual departmental results sends conflicting signals. If you want people to take responsibility, you must also allow decisions that differ from your own preferred solution.

• Choose a specific behaviour that addresses a relevant problem.
• Change the associated process or scope for decision-making.
• Agree on responsibility and a date for a joint review.
• Collect feedback and adjust the action if necessary.

These steps are a practical suggestion, not a universal model of culture. If several departments are involved, coordinated management is needed. The article on culture change describes how individual initiatives can become a coherent change process.

Senior management decides on the direction and conditions: which habits should change, which should deliberately be retained and what resources are available? Its own decisions must be consistent with this. A new expectation of teams loses credibility if it clearly does not apply to company leadership.

HR and organisational development can bring perspectives together, organise participation and support analysis. Managers translate the initiative into specific processes with their teams. Employees contribute experience and practical solutions. Responsibility cannot be handed over entirely to a workshop or an external consultancy.

Also clarify who needs to respond to feedback. If employees repeatedly identify the same obstacle but nobody is responsible, participation has no consequences. You can find further guidance on introducing this across several teams on the page for HR.

A new guiding statement alone does not change a workflow. Nor can extras such as fruit baskets or occasional team events replace an appropriate company culture. Such offers may be welcome; they do not automatically resolve recurring conflicts over time, responsibility or decisions.

Also avoid the idea that everyone needs to think alike. Different experiences can improve your decisions. Describe the collaboration you want in a way that still allows professional disagreement. “Does not fit our culture” must not become a convenient response to uncomfortable but legitimate feedback.

If trust has been damaged, do not expect open answers immediately. First explain how feedback will be used, who will see it and what follows from it. We explain the limits of feedback without names under confidentiality. Repeatedly verifiable commitments are more helpful than a grand promise.

EngageBeat Team helps you make mood and motivation visible regularly and derive targeted actions from them. EngageBeat Fokus adds custom questions about a specific initiative. This allows you to track whether changed working conditions are also experienced differently by the team.

The checks do not replace a comprehensive culture analysis or prove a cause. They provide recurring indications for decisions and help you keep track of initiatives. You can view the analysis in the demo; “Set up for free” starts the intended trial process.