The elements of a corporate culture are strategic levers that help shape an organisation’s brand identity and ensure its growth and sustainability.
Well-structured, a corporate culture allows the organisation to stand out from competition. It fosters a sense of belonging to a strong history and values among employees.
Consequently, it strengthens team cohesion and their commitment to common goals. Discover in this article the 5 elements of a solid and effective corporate culture.
Corporate culture: what Is It?
The competitiveness and survival of a company can be influenced by various essential factors, including internal communication, product and service quality, customer satisfaction, HR management, team cohesion, and employee engagement.
In addition to these, there is a key pillar that, if developed effectively, can stimulate the others as well as the growth and sustainability of a company. This is the corporate culture.
Corporate culture – definition
Also known as organisational culture, corporate culture is the set of elements that give a company its unique personality. It is what distinguishes it from competitors and allows it to develop the employer brand and a sense of belonging.
Unique to each company, a strong corporate culture is a symbiosis of five fundamental components that must be incrementally arranged and progressively strengthened: history, vision, values, codes, and rituals.
These elements of corporate culture aim to forge an identity that unites all employees and partners around the same values and a shared objective – an identity that turns employees into ambassadors.
Furthermore, HR management plays a crucial role in establishing and maintaining a corporate culture. This department oversees interactions between employees, helps define the company’s values, and ensures they are upheld daily.
The importance of corporate culture
Corporate culture is an essential element for a company’s success. As mentioned earlier, it contributes to creating a unique identity, improving company performance, and enhancing employee well-being.
In addition to these benefits, having a strong corporate culture is important for many other reasons:
- Strengthening the company’s reputation;
- Attracting new talent;
- Improving internal communication;
- Enhancing the quality of customer relationships;
- Improving employee performance.
When developed well, this unique identity allows the company to engage and retain employees, reducing staff turnover and projecting a positive image.
The 5 elements of corporate culture
Inspired by leaders, corporate culture is based on five main and closely linked elements. Each of these components can play a crucial role in defining a company’s culture.
They encompass the company’s values, history, vision, codes, and rituals. The harmonious interaction of these elements shapes the unique cultural identity of a company.
1 – Values
Values are the most crucial element of corporate culture. They are the fundamental principles that govern company life and underpin employee collaboration.
Generally, these principles are moral (mutual aid, benevolence, collaboration) and ethical (promotion of gender equality, sustainable development).
Defined transparently, authentically, and in harmony with the company’s vision, values give meaning to the company’s goals and guide team work and behaviour.
It is imperative they are present at all levels, well understood and accepted by everyone. The best way to ensure this is to establish a values charter, accessible to all, to guide behaviour within the company.
The values for developing team spirit will guide employees on the correct way to work and collaborate with each other.
2 – History
History is an essential element of corporate culture. It can be based on a myth or the founders’ project, but it must answer the questions of how the company was founded and who its leaders are.
Even when the company was recently established, the history is an element of corporate culture that should not be neglected if the goal is to establish a strong culture within an organisation.
In this key element of corporate culture, it is important to include successes, failures, events that have left their mark, and figures who have made significant contributions.
The company’s history is its legend. Therefore, it should recount its creation, the launch of its flagship products, and its inspiring stories. The company can use storytelling to enrich it with emblematic cases or memories.
These unique details help create a relevant image and establish an original corporate culture.
3 – Vision
Vision is another important element of corporate culture. Just as essential as the previous component, it corresponds to the organisation’s main objective.
By definition, a company’s vision is the reason for its existence; it is the ideal towards which it strives. It can undergo constant evolution, but it must always remain aligned with its fundamental mission.
Whether short, medium, or long term, it allows the company to define effective strategies and guide teamwork to achieve its objectives.
The less clear and precise this element of corporate culture is, the more difficult it will be for the company to achieve its goals. Therefore, it is important to define its objectives as clearly and precisely as possible.
For the vision to make sense, it is essential that every employee understands their role within the company and collaborates actively with others to achieve the common goal.
This synergy partly relies on HR services, which must implement best recruitment practices to select the best talent and support the process.
4 – Codes
Also known as “rules of conduct,” codes are another element of corporate culture. Inspired by the company’s values, they dictate the behaviours to be adopted in interpersonal relationships.
In other words, they are the norms that define the expected reactions in terms of know-how and interpersonal skills at work. They concern aspects such as dress code, language, use of space, interactions, etc.
These powerful markers of belonging allow everyone within the company to adopt a common language that connects them to the tradition and history of the company.
5 – Rituals
In addition to the components presented above, rituals are also a key element of corporate culture. This component refers to all events, practices, or symbolic manifestations that have particular significance within the company.
Generally, rituals can take various forms, such as:
- Team building activities;
- Galas;
- Work routines;
- Ongoing training programmes;
- Annual meetings or seminars;
- Induction ceremonies, etc.
These events allow the practice of company values and establish communication among its members. They strengthen cultural identity, establish traditions, and create a sense of belonging.
The best tip for creating a strong corporate culture
As you may have noticed, each element of corporate culture significantly contributes to creating a strong organisational identity.
However, don’t be mistaken. It’s not enough to focus on just one or a few elements to create a strong and effective corporate culture.
On the contrary, the best strategy to achieve this is to master each element of corporate culture without exception and continuously develop them.
The development of each element of corporate culture is a long-term process that requires regular adjustments but ultimately provides significant benefits in terms of productivity and profitability.
