Is Your Company Missing a Culture Department?

While the title asks if you have a Culture Department, maybe the better question is to ask, do you need a Culture Department? If you don’t have one, read on to find out why it’s important and what to do if there are no plans to create one.

What is a Culture Department?

A Culture Department is a dedicated organizational unit responsible for fostering, maintaining, and evolving a company’s core values, work environment, and employee experience. Its primary focus is ensuring that the desired culture is consistently upheld across all levels of the organization through initiatives such as employee engagement, leadership alignment, recognition programs, and values-driven decision-making. A Culture Department is led by your Chief Culture Officer.

Why Do You Need a Culture Department?

Here’s why it’s important:

• Consistency in Values: A Culture Department ensures that core values are reinforced across all levels of the organization. This consistency helps to align employee behavior with the company’s mission, fostering a unified approach to decision-making and customer interactions.
• Employee Engagement and Retention: A strong and supportive culture contributes to higher job satisfaction, which can lead to better employee retention. Employees are more likely to stay at a company where they feel valued and see their beliefs reflected in workplace practices.
• Improved Productivity: When employees feel part of a cohesive culture that supports their well-being and values, they are more motivated and productive. This environment encourages collaboration and innovation, boosting overall organizational performance.
• Brand and Reputation Management: Companies known for strong, positive cultures are better positioned to attract top talent and gain customer trust. A well-defined Culture Department helps maintain and project the company’s values, impacting both internal and external perceptions.
• Adaptability and Change Management: A dedicated Culture Department helps guide organizations through transitions by ensuring that changes align with core values and cultural expectations. This support can make adaptation smoother and reduce resistance to change.

In essence, while many organizations integrate culture initiatives into various culture programs, having a department solely focused on culture helps maintain its importance as a strategic asset, driving both employee engagement and organizational success.

Why Aren’t These Departments the Norm?

The presence of dedicated Culture Departments focused on ensuring that core values are lived daily and maintaining a strong organizational culture is relatively rare among businesses. While many companies emphasize aspects of culture through Human Resources (HR) or broader Employee Experience (EX) departments or initiatives, formal culture-specific units are not the norm.

Why not?

Integration with Existing Departments

Many companies believe that cultural initiatives can be effectively managed within existing departments, such as Human Resources or Employee Experience. These departments often incorporate cultural responsibilities into their broader mandates, making a standalone Culture Department seem redundant.

(Note that this is also the case with Customer Experience, but having a Chief Customer Officer and a team of dedicated professionals doing the work to improve the customer experience is absolutely necessary. This note applies to several of the reasons cited here.)

Perception of Culture as a Shared Responsibility

Companies often view culture as a shared responsibility that should be upheld by all employees and leadership, not just a dedicated team. This belief stems from the idea that culture should be lived and reinforced at all levels, embedded into daily practices rather than overseen by a separate department. Leaders and managers across departments are expected to act as champions of the company’s values, integrating culture into their roles.

Resource Constraints

Creating a dedicated Culture Department may not be feasible for smaller organizations or those with limited resources. These companies might prioritize core operational functions and integrate culture-related tasks into existing roles rather than allocate funds and personnel to establish a new unit. Even larger organizations might see it as an unnecessary expense if they believe current structures suffice for maintaining their culture.

Lack of Awareness or Understanding

Some companies may not fully understand the potential benefits of a formal Culture Department. They may underestimate how dedicated culture initiatives can strengthen organizational cohesion, employee engagement, and overall business success. The impact of culture is sometimes intangible, making it harder to justify a specific department compared to departments with clearer, quantifiable outputs like sales or finance.

Challenges in Measuring Culture

Culture can be difficult to quantify, making it hard for companies to evaluate the success of a dedicated Culture Department. The subjective and dynamic nature of culture often leads businesses to incorporate cultural tasks into roles where outcomes are easier to track, such as HR or internal communications. (Check out Built to Win to learn about ways to measure culture.)

Focus on Short-Term Goals

Companies that focus heavily on short-term business objectives might de-prioritize the establishment of a Culture Department. Instead, they may invest more in roles that directly contribute to revenue or operational efficiency, viewing culture initiatives as secondary to immediate business needs. We know that culture is the foundation of the organization and that it’s got solid linkages to business outcomes.

Evolutionary Nature of Business Culture

Organizations often find that culture evolves organically through leadership practices, peer influence, and company policies. The belief that culture is naturally shaped through these channels can make a separate department seem unnecessary or redundant.

Conclusion

While dedicated Culture Departments could offer distinct benefits by maintaining focused oversight on culture-related initiatives, most companies prefer integrating these responsibilities within broader functions. This approach is often driven by perceived efficiencies, resource management, and the belief that culture is everyone’s responsibility. However, organizations that recognize the strategic importance of culture may reconsider and establish dedicated roles or units to maintain a cohesive and strong cultural environment.

What If You Don’t Have a Culture Department?

If there is no Culture Department in your organization and no plans to create one, you can still take steps to reinforce and sustain a strong organizational culture. Here’s how:

1. Lead by Example. Demonstrate the company’s core values in your daily actions, decision-making, and interactions. Encourage all leaders and managers to set the cultural tone by modeling desired behaviors.
2. Integrate Culture into Existing Roles. Encourage HR and Employee Experience teams to incorporate cultural initiatives into their responsibilities.
3. Strengthen Employee Engagement and Communication. Facilitate open discussions about company culture through town halls, team meetings, or internal newsletters.
4. Recognize and Reward Cultural Alignment. Encourage peer recognition programs that celebrate employees who embody company values. Advocate for leadership to integrate culture-based performance evaluations and rewards.
5. Promote Cross-Departmental Collaboration. Create opportunities for employees to connect beyond their teams through mentoring, networking events, or social initiatives. Encourage collaboration on projects that align with the company’s mission and values.
6. Gather and Act on Employee Feedback. Conduct culture-focused surveys and focus groups to assess alignment with company values. Share findings with leadership and propose improvements based on employee insights.
7. Advocate for Training and Development. Promote culture-driven training during onboarding and ongoing professional development. Encourage leaders to provide workshops on company values, inclusivity, and ethical decision-making.
8. Align Business Practices with Culture. Ensure that hiring, onboarding, and promotion practices reflect the desired company culture. Work with leadership to integrate cultural considerations into strategic planning and decision-making.
9. Establish a Culture Committee. Form a cross-functional culture task force to develop initiatives and provide recommendations to leadership. Identify “culture champions” across different departments who can help reinforce company values. Organize informal gatherings, celebrations, or traditions that strengthen cultural bonds.
10. Engage Leadership Support. Make the business case for prioritizing culture, linking it to employee performance, retention, and customer satisfaction. Provide leadership with real examples of how a strong culture drives business success.

Even without a dedicated Culture Department, these steps can help ensure that company values are lived and reinforced across the organization. The key is to embed cultural initiatives into existing structures and empower employees to take ownership of sustaining a strong, positive culture.

In Closing

In today’s dynamic business landscape, a strong organizational culture is not just a nice-to-have; it’s a critical driver of employee engagement, retention, and overall business success. While a dedicated Culture Department can provide the structure and accountability needed to uphold company values, not all organizations have one.

However, culture is not confined to a single department; it is the collective responsibility of leadership and employees alike. Whether through intentional leadership, cross-departmental collaboration, or grassroots initiatives, companies can still foster a thriving workplace culture.

Ultimately, the key is to embed cultural values into everyday practices, ensuring that employees feel connected, motivated, and aligned with the organization’s mission, regardless of whether a formal Culture Department exists.

If you’re thinking about creating a Culture Department in your organization, I’ll take a look at the ideal employees to be a part of that department.

This is not about fuzzy, holding hands around a campfire, kumbaya stuff. That’s not what values and culture and mission is about. This is about building an organization for success. This is about winning. This is about doing the tactical things to make sure your organization and your people are aligned around the same thing. ~ Justin Moore, CEO of Axcient

Related: Enhance Business Performance by Improving Organizational Culture