Employee Communications ~ 13 min

The 5 best company culture examples for inspiring and strengthening your workforce

HR Team, People Experts, Sociabble
HR Team People Experts

For those on the lookout for company culture examples, look no further. In this article, we’ll explain the different kinds, and show how you can duplicate that success at your own company.

It’s essentially common knowledge that having a strong company culture is important. But what does a “strong” company culture look like? What form can it take, and how can you help encourage it to grow? The fact of the matter is, every company is different, and each organization is going to have its own homegrown culture. But that doesn’t mean there aren’t patterns and common forms that company cultures can take.

In this post, we’ll explore the different kinds of company culture examples out there, and share ways that you can select and grow the right culture for your business.

What does company culture mean?

There are parts of a company’s identity that can be written down—its mission statement, its core values, its taglines. But company culture—also known as corporate culture or organizational culture—is different. No word, phrase, or paragraph can completely capture it. You can try to describe it, but it’s fundamentally experiential. And it influences every aspect of an organization, from new hires to how profits are used.

It’s a direct reflection of the company’s values, habits, goals, and behaviors; it is demonstrated in how employees are treated, how clients are treated, and how the company projects itself to the public at large.

Company culture develops organically. It permeates every aspect of an organization, and can be influenced by even seemingly minor things, like how employees dress, the level of formality in communications, and how the office is laid out. But it is also expressed and reinforced by much larger aspects of company life, like how the company’s hierarchy is structured, or what other companies it takes on as clients.

In effect, company culture is hard to describe because it basically includes everything—it’s always there, reflected in everything a company does.

Organizational culture for better business

The next obvious question—what are the tangible benefits that a strong organizational culture or company culture can bring? How will it change business for the better?

Of course, there are many ways of answering this, with numerous benefits. But there are three main categories that the beneficial changes will fit into.

company culture infographic

1. Employee Engagement

When a company culture is strong, employees feel informed, appreciated, and in control of their own careers. They feel like what they do matters for the overall good of the company, and for themselves, and they understand specifically why.

As a result, they improve employee engagement at work. They are aware of the marketplace and how the company is performing within it; they feel connected to their colleagues and have a vested interest in how the company performs. In short: they want to be involved and perform at their best.

2. Productivity

And what is the result of having more engaged and committed employees? Productivity increases. Because they are taking an active interest in their role within the company, and because they are engaged with company and industry news, they are able to achieve peak performance and produce more and better-quality work.

This, naturally, will increase productivity. Better results, in shorter amounts of time, with fewer mistakes—the effects will ripple across the entire organization, bringing in greater output and higher profits.

3. Employee Retention

When a company culture is strong, employees feel satisfied with their role and their future within an organization. They fit in, and they can see themselves growing, evolving, and staying for the long-term. Naturally, this level of cohesion and purpose decreases employee turnover and increase employee motivation. Workers feel appreciated, and they want to continue to grow and prosper.

Also, as word spreads of a strong and positive company culture, it will help attract new hires. When prospective employees learn that an organization is a fantastic place to work at, that its workforce is respected and treated well and given opportunities to advance, obviously they will want to seek out opportunities there.

How is company culture defined?

1. Core values

The shared values and subsequent mission of a company brings the workforce together and unites them in a common purpose and way of interacting with the public and competitors. It creates a common identity and sense of team spirit, and can also include goals that transcend simple business objectives, like social responsibility and environmental causes.

2. Interactions between leadership and the workforce

Different companies take different approaches to this. Some are more hierarchical and old-fashioned, others believe in more open, united communications. Some even have banished such distinctions all-together. But regardless, the way management and employees interact plays a large part in determining the overall nature of company culture.

3. Professional growth

Investing time and resources into the growth of employees can help to determine company culture, and it can pay huge dividends in the end. Innovation and creativity are often spurred on by giving employees the time, space, and resources they need to explore new ground and grow new skillsets. Some businesses even facilitate personal development as part of the general well-being of their employees, encouraging them to expand their knowledge base, and thus, their possibilities for achievement.

4. Rewards & acknowledgment

How are workers compensated for a job well done? What kind of recognition will they receive? Are raises built-in, or are they earned through achievement? These kinds of questions will also determine the evolution of company culture. Employees generally want to have their hard work and accomplishments recognized and rewarded; they need to feel like they are appreciated. A strong company culture will take this into consideration.

5. Aesthetics

Not necessarily the most critical factor, but definitely the most visible, the aesthetics of a company—how it looks, how the office is laid out, how people dress, what recreation is provided, how marketing materials appear—are a very important part of how a company culture is expressed and perceived. Granted, a seemingly hip and lively company can actually be quite straight-laced, and an apparently strict and buttoned-up office can actually be wild and innovative—it’s never good to judge a book by its cover. But that being said, visuals are quite telling when it comes to how a company sees itself, and how it is seen by others.

employees building the company culture

What are the 5 examples of a corporate company culture?

We’ve covered the nature and benefits of company culture. But what are some examples of what these organizational cultures might look like? What are the common shapes they can take within a corporate environment? Here are the five most relevant company culture examples, ones that illustrate the cultures most frequently seen in the business landscape.

Of course, there are exceptions and variations, and no two at any given business are exactly the same. But almost all company cultures can be filed under one of the following categories. Strong cultures often fit into one category, but it is possible for an organization to straddle two or more.

1. Team-First Company Culture

Team-first corporate cultures emphasize the importance of people. They hire people for what they are, for their values and their ability to fit the workplace culture, and then also for their skills. They organize events to facilitate team exchanges and informal moments, and they encourage feedback and upward communications.

In these kinds of companies, an Employee Communication platform like Sociabble can be a powerful company culture accelerator, thanks to its ability to host live broadcasts, share multi-media presentations, and facilitate chat sessions.

And, of course, there is its survey capabilities. Surveys can be easily set up by managers to provide tactical questions, to get instant feedback on a specific topic, or to collect ideas, all of which can enhance team-building within the office.

example of a tool that help company culture

2. Elite Company Culture

Companies with an “Elite” culture want to innovate and change the world in a way nobody has done before. They take risks and thrive in uncharted waters, striving to push things forward and lead the way. They hire only top talent—that is to say experienced and competitive candidates—who make work their top priority.

Sociabble can be useful for these kinds of companies in various ways, one of which is its peer-to-peer recognition feature, which recognizes and rewards top performers. As employees always want to go further, recognition is a key component of celebrating achievements and success.

Also, as these companies are always looking for excellence and efficiency, it is critical that employees receive the right and relevant information, without being distracted by useless details.

Sociabble’s employee newsletter engine can help, as it allows admins to target a specific audience, create dynamic newsletters, targeted to a specific, relevant audience.

And with automated content curation features, you can make sure you’re keeping employees up to speed on the latest industry trends and competitive news.

employee newsletter tool to spread company culture

3. Horizontal Company Culture

This kind of corporate culture is quite common in startups, where the concept of a rigid hierarchy is much less prevalent. In a horizontal company culture, executives work side by side with all employees—even junior staff.

Titles do not mean much, and collaboration and exchanges are encouraged. Indeed, collaboration, mentorship, and open lines of communication are essential ingredients.

Sociabble perfectly fits this kind of company culture, thanks to its many collaborative and sharing functions. For example, Sociabble also comes with a native chat function, to encourage instant and secure conversations, whether one-on-one or between groups of employees.

example of internal communication app that that reinforce company culture

This culture is often customer oriented as well; they are very much customer-success focused. And culture that is driven by customers often has a mission that relates to product quality, customer service, and satisfaction.

Chat, User Generated Content sharing functions, and surveys can be a powerful means of sharing feedback from clients, suggestions for product improvement, best practices, and more.

4. Conventional Company Culture

Conventional corporate culture is the traditional hierarchical culture, and includes companies where there are strict guidelines, specific dress codes, concrete chains of command, etc. Even though they may seem old-fashioned, many such companies have evolved significantly in the past few years.

The pandemic coupled with the Digital Age have brought transformations and introduced new forms of communication through social media and software as a service (SaaS).

Today, traditional companies still have clearly defined hierarchies, but they are learning to communicate through entirely new mediums.

One major need for this kind of company is to engage frontline workers, who are often disconnected from the corporate headquarters where decisions are made. These employees, working remotely, need to still be connected and included in the corporate culture.

Sociabble is perfect for this scenario because it’s designed to be mobile-first, with a native mobile app that puts the full power of the platform into employees’ hands, even when they’re away from the office or don’t have a corporate email.

Push notifications and pinnable content, as well as read-receipts, allows admins to be sure that critical information is getting through.

Another important objective for hierarchical companies is to ensure that silos don’t form and prohibit the sharing of information. Thanks to its global/local admin controls, Sociabble allows groups to be set up based on region, country, office, department etc., cutting across office divisions and ensuring that everyone receives relevant information, without having their feed cluttered with unnecessary updates.

global company culture management

5. Transitional Company Culture

This kind of company culture has uncertainty as its defining characteristic, as is often the case when mergers and acquisitions take place—but also in times of turbulence in the market, or with the arrival of strong competition.

In this kind of company culture, transparency is key. People need to feel confident that they can express their point of view, and they need to trust the leadership/management. People will be much more comfortable sharing ideas and points of view if those setting the example do the same. This is a culture of transparency, open conversations, and upward communication.

Sociabble can be useful thanks to its many upward communication options. Within Sociabble, there are numerous features that allow managers and employees to stay closely connected. Managerial communication becomes simpler and clearer as the platform allows managers to transmit breaking news and critical information via chat, to collect feedback from employees thanks to surveys, and to set up fun, informal moments, even remotely, thanks to the “Live” broadcast functionality.

To summarize :

What are examples of a corporate company culture?

Here are five examples of a company culture :

  • Team-First Company Culture
  • Elite Company Culture
  • Horizontal Company Culture
  • Conventional Company Culture
  • Transitional Company Culture

The Tata Realty Merger: Building a Unique Company Culture Together with Sociabble

Tata Realty is one of the fastest-growing real estate companies in India today, with a specialty in the development of commercial, residential, and retail properties. And to accomplish this feat, they have close to 700 employees all working together as one seamless unit.

But this wasn’t always quite the case. Their current workforce was born from the merger of three separate corporate entities, which brought employees from different countries and cultures together, and in a position where they needed to form a common identity and communication channel quickly.

How did they accomplish this? By teaming up with Sociabble and developing a new, mobile-friendly centralized communication platform that served as the hub for all information streams.

By incorporating user generated content, targeted updates, and both upward and downward communication, they’ve been able to boost the engagement rate to over 90%, and get a whopping 99% percent of employees registered (if you’d like to learn more, you can read the full story here). In addition, they were able to meet the social responsibility demands of their workforce by using the Sociabble Trees feature to plant 600 trees in just four weeks, boosting engagement while also making a difference.

Sociabble to help build your company culture

We’ve covered the five main company culture examples, and one thing is clear across the board: the foundation of a strong company culture is communication.

And a platform designed to enable the seamless flow of information to all employees, regardless of location, with the power to facilitate both upward and downward communication, content generation, and the targeting of relevant audiences, can make all the difference. The Sociabble platform is exactly that.

We’ve worked with hundreds of clients in over 180 countries, including industry leaders like L’Occitane, Renault Group, Primark, and Coca-Cola CCEP, helping their employees to stay informed and engaged, and encouraging their company culture to thrive.

To learn how Sociabble can help your company enhance its communication and strengthen its organizational culture, simply sign up for a free customized demo.

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