Is your company culture helping employees feel engaged and motivated—or is it holding them back? According to Gallup, only 34% of U.S. employees felt engaged at work in 2023, while 16% were actively disengaged. That’s a big problem because disengagement doesn’t just lower morale—it impacts productivity, increases turnover, and ultimately hurts your bottom line.
Company culture is more than just office perks or mission statements. It’s the everyday interactions, values, and behaviors that shape how your team works together. A strong, positive culture fosters an environment in which people feel respected, heard, and driven to perform their best.
If your corporate culture isn’t what it should be, don’t stress—there is a solution. Taking a methodical approach allows you to identify problem areas and implement real adjustments that improve engagement and performance.
Let’s dive into seven practical steps to assess and enhance company culture so you can build a workplace where employees thrive.
What is Company Culture?
Company culture is what defines your workplace—it’s the shared values, beliefs, and everyday behaviors that shape how things get done. It’s reflected in how employees interact, make decisions, and contribute to the organization. Whether it’s strong and engaging or unclear and inconsistent, culture is always influencing the employee experience.
When culture is consistent with your company’s mission and vision, employees are more motivated, collaborate more effectively, and are more likely to stay for the long run.
However, when culture is weak or toxic, the consequences are difficult to ignore. Miscommunication, low morale, and high turnover have become the norm. Employees may feel detached, unsure of expectations, or just reluctant to contribute beyond the basic minimum. Over time, disengagement can lead to burnout and poor performance.
In today’s times, companies with strong, well-defined cultures attract top talent, boost productivity, and create workplaces where people thrive. If you’re not sure what company culture means, it’s time to take a closer look. Let’s walk through how to improve your company culture and build a stronger, more engaged team.
How to Improve Company Culture
Company culture isn’t just a set of values framed on the wall—it’s how people feel, work, and interact every day. A strong culture of a company attracts top talent, keeps employees engaged, and creates an environment where people want to do their best. However, before you initiate the process to enhance company culture, you must assess where you are and then take specific actions. Here are seven steps you can take to align company culture with company vision and mission.
Step 1: Define What a Healthy Company Culture Looks Like
Before fixing any issues, ask yourself: What is the company culture definition as per your organization? What kind of culture do you want to create? Every company is different, but a thriving culture aligns with your mission, values, and vision—not just in theory but in daily practice.
Some organizations thrive on collaboration and transparency, while others focus on innovation and agility. What does that look like in action? Think about the behaviors, communication styles, and leadership approaches that reinforce your values.
AdvantageClub.ai’s employee engagement solutions emphasize “people obsession” as a pillar of their culture. This focus guides employee behavior and decision-making at all levels, allowing the organization to dominate the global marketplace.
When leadership and employees share a clear understanding of company culture, it creates alignment, motivation, and a sense of belonging.
Step 2: Conduct a Culture Audit
You can’t improve what you don’t measure. A culture audit helps you get a real sense of how employees experience the workplace and what needs attention.
Use a mix of feedback methods to get an honest picture:
- Carry out anonymous employee surveys to gather insights on morale, engagement, and job satisfaction.
- Conduct focus groups and one-on-one conversations with employees of all levels to gather firsthand feedback. Use AdvantageClub.ai solution, Advantage Pulse , to get employee engagement surveys, focus groups, and one-on-one interviews and collect qualitative and quantitative data.
- Get performance and retention data. High turnover, absenteeism, or low productivity can indicate underlying cultural concerns.
It’s also important to compare leadership’s perception of culture with employees’ actual experiences. For example, leadership might believe employees feel valued, but if surveys reveal that people don’t feel recognized for their contributions, there’s a clear disconnect.
According to Glassdoor, 77% of employees say company culture matters more than salary when choosing a job . If culture isn’t a priority at the organization, top talent will look elsewhere.
Step 3: Identify Core Problem Areas
Once you have the data, it’s time to pinpoint what’s holding your culture back. Some of the most common roadblocks include:
- Communication Silos: Remote teams, different departments, or hierarchical structures can lead to fragmented communication. If employees feel out of the loop, engagement and trust suffer.
- Lack of Inclusivity: DEI (Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion) efforts must go beyond policies and training. If underrepresented employees don’t feel heard or valued, they may disengage or leave.
- Values Misalignment: If a company claims to promote innovation but punishes failure, employees may feel hesitant to take risks. When leadership’s actions don’t match company values, trust erodes.
Look at turnover trends and exit interview data. Are certain teams seeing higher attrition? Are employees citing culture as a reason for leaving? These insights will help you focus on the most urgent cultural challenges.
Step 4: Engage Leadership to Drive Change
Culture change begins at the top. Even the most successful cultural programs will fail if leaders do not represent the principles they advocate. Employees rely on leadership for guidance, and when there is a disconnect between words and deeds, trust erodes. Leadership must communicate transparently, be accountable, and take tangible steps to build credibility. It’s not enough to promote fundamental principles in emails or meetings; you also need to set a good example.
Empathy, cooperation, and innovation are the top priorities for successful leaders when establishing company culture. Leaders must make culture-building personal. Rather than depending on rules, they could share genuine stories, such as acknowledging an employee who took a risk or admitting to a past failure and what they learnt from it.
Actionable Steps for Leaders:
- Hold regular town halls or AMAs (Ask Me Anything sessions) for open dialogue.
- Participate in mentorship programs to connect with employees.
- Publicly recognize behaviors that align with company culture.
- Seek feedback on leadership effectiveness—and act on it.
When leaders genuinely embody company values, employees feel more connected to the mission and are more likely to embrace it.
Step 5: Involve Employees at Every Level
Culture transformation is not a top-down decree. It is a collaborative effort. Employees should feel empowered to change the culture they encounter on a regular basis. When people have a voice, they are more engaged and dedicated to making great changes.
Create Channels for Bottom-Up Feedback
Encouraging employees to actively participate in culture-building fosters ownership and inclusivity. Effective ways include:
- Employee-led culture committees, which identify pain points and provide solutions.
- Anonymous feedback tools provide honest feedback without fear of punishment. Features such as Advantage Pulse enable employees to express their concerns without fear of repercussions.
- Diversity councils: Promoting diversity and representation improves workplace culture.
- Conduct culture workshops where employees help define company values.
- Implement peer-to-peer recognition initiatives to promote positive behavior.
- Facilitate listening sessions where people discuss their workplace experiences.
When employees play an active role in building culture, they develop a sense of belonging and ownership. Employee involvement makes changes more meaningful and durable.
Step 6: Use Technology to Strengthen Culture
In today’s hybrid and global workplace, technology plays an important role in reinforcing corporate culture. The appropriate tools guarantee that engagement, recognition, and communication are seamless and effective, regardless of where employees are.
Making Recognition and Engagement Easier
Technology helps streamline culture-building efforts through:
- Real-time recognition: Allows managers and peers to applaud accomplishments immediately.
- Customizable incentive programs cater to various employee demands across geographies.
- Data-driven insights include identifying trends and evaluating engagement levels.
A multinational technology corporation used digital engagement platform AdvantageClub.ai, to bridge cultural divides among global offices. Within six months, employee satisfaction climbed by 40%, and turnover decreased by 25%.
The key isn’t just using new tools—it’s integrating them into everyday work routines. Embedding recognition programs into systems makes appreciation a daily habit rather than an occasional event.
Bottom line? Technology should enhance—not replace—human connection. Use it to reinforce the culture you want to build.
Step 7: Continuously Monitor and Adapt
Culture does not remain static; it changes in response to labor needs, industry developments, and company growth. Organizations that regularly analyze and improve their culture maintain competitiveness and attract top people.
Strategies to Sustain a Strong Culture:
- Carry out quarterly pulse surveys as regular check-ins reveal rising cultural trends.
- Conduct exit interviews to determine reasons for employee departure and identify areas for improvement.
- Perform leadership Check-Ins to regularly examine how teams exemplify cultural values that hold leaders accountable.
A robust, engaged workforce improves productivity, retention, and overall business performance. Organizations must stay agile by refining policies based on employee feedback, updating recognition programs to keep employees engaged, and evolving leadership training to match cultural priorities.
Culture Is a Living, Breathing Force
Companies cannot enhance company culture overnight, and it does not remain the same forever. The finest organizations commit to a cycle of listening, taking action, and developing, ensuring that people feel heard, respected, and inspired throughout their journey.
The Bottom Line
A company’s culture is how its employees feel, engage, and contribute on a daily basis. A good culture increases engagement, stimulates creativity, and ensures that your firm succeeds.
Recognizing hard work is the first step toward improving the workplace culture. It requires inclusivity, creating an environment in which varied opinions are valued and everyone has the opportunity to advance. Culture transformation doesn’t happen overnight, but every effort brings you closer to a more connected, engaged, and successful workplace. Start today—assess where you stand, take action, and commit to lasting change.
