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As you know, culture = core values + behaviors. It’s what people do when no one is looking. It’s how we do things around here.
And… you get the culture that you design or the one you allow.
Wouldn’t you prefer to have the culture you desire? the one you design? I’m sure you would. But you’ve got to plan it. You’ve actually got to design it. That’s where a Culture Plan comes into play.
What is a Culture Plan?
A Culture Plan is a strategic document that’s designed to shape, foster, maintain, and sustain your desired organization culture. It outlines the values, behaviors, and practices that are to be encouraged in order to create a strong and positive workplace, aligning employees’ attitudes and actions with the company’s mission, vision, and goals.
A Culture Plan typically includes:
- Vision and values: A clear articulation of your company’s vision and core values that drive all behaviors and decisions.
- Objectives: Specific goals related to the culture, such as putting people first, improving collaboration, or fostering innovation.
- Acceptable and unacceptable behaviors: Define expected behaviors for employees and leaders that reflect the company’s culture, including communication styles, teamwork, leadership approaches, and ethical standards.
- Roadmap: Practical steps and initiatives to promote and embed the desired culture, such as training programs, team-building activities, and reward systems, i.e., how to socialize and operationalize the core values and build, maintain, and sustain the culture you desire.
- Leadership: Defining the role of leadership in setting the tone for the culture and leading by example.
- Measurement and accountability: Metrics to assess culture health, such as employee engagement surveys, retention rates, and performance evaluations.
- Assess and iterate: Regular reviews and updates to the culture strategy, ensuring it evolves with the company and external market dynamics.
A Culture Plan helps ensure that the organizational culture is intentional and aligned with long-term business objectives, enhancing employee satisfaction, productivity, and overall company success.
Why Do You Need a Culture Plan?
As noted above, a Culture Plan helps you get the culture you desire, and it ensures that not only the culture but employees, as well, are aligned with business goals and outcomes. Specifically, the Culture Plan…
Aligns Employees with the Company’s Mission, Vision, and Values
It ensures that every employee understands and aligns with the company’s broader mission and goals. It provides a clear roadmap of expected behaviors, attitudes, and ways of working, thereby creating a unified direction for everyone. When employees are aligned with the company’s values, they are more likely to feel a sense of purpose and fulfillment, which improves overall job satisfaction.
Guides Building, Maintain, and Sustaining a Positive Work Environment
A clearly-defined and well-executed Culture Plan contributes to a positive and supportive work environment, the kind of atmosphere that helps reduce stress, conflict, and burnout, thus improving employee well-being. Employees are more likely to thrive when they feel that their workplace is supportive, ethical, and fair.
Enhances Employee Engagement and Retention
Employees who feel connected to a company’s culture are more engaged and motivated. A strong, positive culture fosters a sense of belonging and helps employees feel valued. Engaged employees are more likely to stay with the company, reducing turnover rates. High retention also saves costs associated with recruitment, onboarding, and training.
Drives Organizational Performance and Success
A strong culture directly influences business outcomes. Companies with a clear and positive culture see increased productivity, innovation, and financial performance. Employees are more likely to go above and beyond their job descriptions when they are personally aligned with the company’s mission and values. Culture is a competitive advantage. It attracts top talent, increases customer and employee retention, and improves the employer and brand reputation.
Improves Collaboration and Teamwork
A Culture Plan sets clear expectations for how employees should interact and collaborate. It promotes teamwork by encouraging trust, respect, and open communication. This collaborative environment allows teams to work more efficiently, leading to better problem-solving, innovation, and overall performance.
Strengthens Customer Relationships
A strong and healthy culture positively affects the customer experience. Employees who are engaged, aligned with your core values, and satisfied in their work deliver better customer service and create more meaningful relationships with customers. A consistent company culture, especially one that prioritizes the customer, leads to greater customer satisfaction and loyalty.
Provides Clarity During Growth or Change
When businesses grow, merge, or face significant change, a Culture Plan provides a stable foundation. It ensures that despite changes in scale or structure, the core values and guiding principles of the company remain intact. It guides decision-making, policy and process development, and behavior during these transitions, making the change process smoother and more cohesive.
A Culture Plan that emphasizes adaptability and continuous improvement enables an organization to respond more effectively to change. Whether it’s industry disruptions, technological advancements, or internal shifts, a strong culture helps the organization pivot and remain resilient.
Employees in organizations with clearly-defined and designed cultures are more likely to embrace change, rather than resist it, because they understand how the changes align with the company’s values and long-term objectives.
Fosters Innovation
Cultures that encourage creativity, collaboration, and risk-taking promote innovation. When employees feel safe to share ideas and challenge the status quo, new solutions and improvements can emerge. A Culture Plan should outline how to create an environment where experimentation is encouraged and failure is seen as part of the learning process.
Increases Accountability
As noted earlier, a Culture Plan outlines the expected behaviors linked to the core values, making it clear what is acceptable and unacceptable within the organization. This creates accountability at all levels, from entry-level employees to senior leadership.
Employees know what they’re responsible for, and managers have a framework for addressing behavior that doesn’t align with the organization’s values. For leaders, it defines how they must model the values they want their teams to adopt. Leaders who consistently reinforce the culture through their actions inspire trust and accountability, leading to stronger, more effective teams.
In Closing
A Culture Plan is an important strategy document in your organization, the compass that guides an organization toward its true north. A well-crafted Culture Plan orchestrates the collective behaviors, values, and rituals that define an organization’s identity. It’s more than a document; it’s a living narrative that weaves together purpose, people, and performance.
A Culture Plan shapes the way employees work, how teams interact, and how the company performs. It aligns the entire organization toward common goals, fosters engagement, and builds an environment where innovation, adaptability, and accountability thrive.
It isn’t a check-the-box exercise; it’s a commitment to nurturing an ecosystem where people thrive, ideas flourish, and success becomes inevitable. A well-implemented Culture Plan contributes to both short-term efficiency and long-term business success.
I’ll provide more details about Culture Plans in upcoming posts that will include how to create a Plan and who is involved; implementing a Culture Plan and challenges around implementation; and how to measure success.
The only thing of real importance that leaders do is to create and manage culture. ~ Edgar Schein
Related: Debunking Common Misconceptions About Customer Experience