What are the best ways to identify an organization's culture?

The importance an organisation places on the environment it creates for its teams speaks loudly about the culture. I used to work in a building in Canary Wharf where the support functions sat on floors with grey walls, strip lights and huge dark grey photos, and it reflected the culture of that organisation.

No organisation has a single monolithic culture. Any articulation of a company’s culture is like a line of best fit on a scatter plot. And things that look and feel like culture may be more transient - policy or leadership style or preferences. The true culture is perhaps best described as those elements that do not change, or that an organisation continually returns to. The significance of physical space has polarised since the pandemic. Some organisations invest more, either to entice workers back to the office, or to better support face-to-face collaboration. Others have come to see real estate as pure cost. Choices about physical space are, more often than not, leadership decisions, and may not actually reflect prevailing culture.

Estudiar el entorno físico y como las personas se relacionan con el nos puede hablar de la cultura. Los espacios cerrados pueden ser una señal de poca colaboración y transparencia; y los espacios más abiertos y claros nos indican apertura y experimentación. Incluso cuando en los espacios físicos se incluyen elementos como plantas, luces tenues, cuadros, puede ser señal de bienestar. Todos estos elementos son importante reconocer y al mismo tiempo, como se relacionan con ellos. He estado en empresas con oficinas hermosas y culturas cerradas y tradicionales. Aunque el espacio físico es una señal diría que lo importante es como las personas pueden relacionarse con el y que oportunidades tienen para hacerlo.

The easiest way is to observe how the leadership team behave in all aspects. The culture is set at the top and then copied. A lot of cultures are not aligned with leaders' behaviours and are more of a box-ticking exercise. Therefore, do the leaders ask questions or only give instructions? Do they solicit feedback and act or just carry-on regardless? Observation is the most important part of learning.

More than observing the environment, watch how people behave within it. Are they silently working all the time, how much movement is going on, are they collaborating or not?

Totalmente de acuerdo, el lenguaje y las historias son un indicador de la cultura. Mas allá de la historia que esta escrita es la historia que viven. Explorar como se vive cuando se quiere crear algo nuevo, que pasaría si tienes un nuevo reto, con cuanta frecuencia revisan los objetivos, que haces cuando tienes una situación retadora. Justo en esta ultima pregunta me sentí tentada a escribir personal o profesional y creo que incluso en esa diferenciación puede haber mucha información de la cultura y los valores de la empresa. Dejar que cuenten cuales son los valores y como los viven tambien es una gran herramienta. Los valores justamente son esas cosas que eliges hacer sobre otras.

Stories and language are hugely important. They are also key to understanding the multiplicity of company culture. Subcultures exist that align to varying degrees with the preferred target state. For example, a global digital transformation will bring out the optimistic drivers of change as well as the ‘execution sceptics’ who believe, and repeat, ‘we’re not good at this’. Language and stories are also levers that a leadership team can pull to shift collective self-perception, or to align teams and departments behind a strategy.

Look also for the communication that isn't happening. Are people complaining about a lack of communication? Is there active participation in for example meetings? Are errors made as a result of not communicating?

Similar in this space, look at the messages and symbols of the organization and leadership. Do they align with the written values of the organization or do they conflict? As an example, does the organization say they value the employees first yet have parking spots up front for execs only. Or, in a positive light, again they say employees first and the CEO takes a pay cut and is serving the food at the Christmas lunch. Our actions, messages and symbols, speak volumes more than the “words” we say.

If you know someone already working there, great. Talk to them. If you’re looking at glassdoor reviews, take it with a pinch of salt. These are usually extreme - either too good or the worst.

Observe the process, it’s not what they say. But what they do. What kind of behaviours get praised? What kind of people get hired or promoted? That’s the real culture. Not what’s written in the employee handbook that says “we work hard and play hard” (red flag by the way 🚩)

Policies are a hidden mine of insight into what an org cares about and how it does things. Terms and conditions attached to contracts (employee or customer) also shine a light. I once did a plain language translation of a client's T+C and found a bunch of things that were not only out of sync with what they talked about, but also didn't reflect how they did things day-to-day.

Surveys are over-rated. Most contain leading questions that project the desired answer. Add to that unhappy people are more likely to complete them and you get a skewed picture. Which in turn results in over-reaction. You're already collecting plenty of data across your systems. Start there.

By paying close attention to the everyday behavior of people within an organization, we can gain valuable insights into its underlying culture. From the way people interact with each other to the words and phrases that are commonly used, everything reflects the values and norms of the culture. Even the rituals, ceremonies, and events that the organization holds can tell us a lot about what is truly valued and celebrated within the organization.

Most organisations already have this data available to them. You don't need a new survey. Look at the annual company survey and do an analysis of the behaviours that are mentioned and showing up. There are lots of tools that can help you do that. Also look at glassdoor reviews!

Talk to the employees in groups and 1-on-1. You get the best understanding from them and take them to confidence to make a SWOT .

Culture is energy. If you want people to try new things you need to find some energy from somewhere otherwise it won't happen. Check out White's Law of Culture ... pure gold.

This may not be a popular answer, but it’s a true one. Look at where money is devoted in the budget. If you look at the budget and can’t specifically identify line items devoted to connecting people to work in the right ways (self, others, role, organization), it’ll be more challenging to build a healthy culture with higher voluntary turnover.

Observing behaviors, interactions and the way the teams achieve their goals. In what extent they are aligned to the company’s values, purpose and conduct code. While the latter set the course, the actions reflects the culture.

Where the most senior people spend their time and the organisation's money. That is what is most important within that particular culture. This is neither good or bad. Very effective cultures eg customer focussed see leaders spend significant time with customers and they invest in customers too.

I firmly believe in values + behavior = culture. Values are the core beliefs of the founders and decide the Organization's culture. This is not only displayed but fortified in the behaviors exhibited by the employees. The display of behaviors results in the culture of an organization. According to Edgar Schein, 'the Artifacts' - the physical layout, dress code, symbols and the terminologies used reveals the underlying cultural norms. Similarly the 'Espoused Beliefs and Values': the mission, vision statements and the policies reflect the values of the organisation. Lastly the underlying Assumptions like the decision making process provides insight on the culture. All the above practically helps in understanding Organization's Culture.

It's a slightly cynical approach, but valid nonetheless - Culture is the worst behaviours we tolerate. All the other things listed in this article act as enablers to that.