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Businesses are increasingly recognizing that a great employee experience (EX) is a critical driver of productivity, engagement, and retention; however, designing a great employee experience doesn’t begin with tools, perks, or policies (as is often the case or understanding) – it starts with culture.
Culture serves as the foundation upon which every aspect of the employee experience is built. Without a strong, intentional culture, efforts to enhance employee experience can feel disjointed, superficial, or even inauthentic.
Let’s take a look at why culture is a necessary precursor for designing and delivering a great employee experience and how businesses can align the two for lasting success.
What is Employee Experience?
Employee experience encompasses every interaction an employee has with their organization – from employment application through hiring and onboarding to daily work routines, career development, and more – through their exit. It’s the sum of how employees feel about their work environment, their sense of purpose, and the support they receive. A great employee experience leaves employees feeling valued, empowered, and motivated to contribute to organizational goals.
I’ve defined it previously as:
… the sum of all interactions that an employee has with her employer during the duration of her employment relationship. It includes any way the employee “touches” or interacts with the company and vice versa in the course of doing her job. And it includes the actions and capabilities that enable her to do her job. And, importantly, it includes her feelings, emotions, and perceptions of those interactions and capabilities.
While benefits like flexible work hours, competitive pay, and wellness programs are important components of EX, they alone cannot sustain long-term satisfaction or engagement. These elements must be rooted in something deeper: a culture that defines the organization’s identity and shapes how employees perceive their role within it.
Culture: The FOUNDATION of Employee Experience
Culture is the shared set of values, beliefs, and behaviors that define how an organization operates. To simplify, as I’ve noted before, culture = core values + behavior. It’s the invisible thread that ties together every policy, decision, and interaction. When culture is strong and purposeful, it creates an environment where employees can thrive. When it’s weak or misaligned, even the most well-intentioned EX initiatives fall flat.
Consider this: offering a generous parental leave policy is a tangible benefit, but if the underlying culture frowns upon taking time off or prioritizes output over well-being, employees may hesitate to use it – or feel guilty when they do. Culture dictates whether the tools and programs designed to enhance EX are embraced or undermined.
Here’s why culture is not only the foundation but also the necessary starting point.
Culture Sets the Tone for Trust
Trust is the bedrock of any great employee experience. Employees need to trust that their leaders care about their well-being, that their contributions matter, and that the organization operates with integrity. A culture rooted in transparency, accountability, and empathy fosters this trust naturally.
For example, a company that values open communication will encourage employees to voice concerns without fear of retaliation, which is an essential ingredient for a positive experience. Without a trusting culture, no amount of perks can bridge the gap between employees and leadership.
Culture Aligns Purpose and Belonging
Employees crave more than a paycheck; they want to feel connected to a larger purpose and a community. A strong culture provides this sense of belonging by articulating what the organization stands for and how each individual contributes to that mission.
Patagonia is a great example of this, as are companies like REI, Tom’s, Hilton, Unilever, and others. Patagonia is focused on sustainability, and it’s culture of sustainability isn’t just a tagline; it’s woven into hiring practices, product development, and employee initiatives like paid time off for environmental activism. This alignment creates an experience where employees feel they’re part of something meaningful, not just cogs in a machine. And they can bring their whole selves to work.
Culture Shapes Consistency
A great employee experience isn’t a one-off event; it’s a consistent reality across all departments and business units. Culture ensures that the values an organization espouses during onboarding are the same ones reflected in performance reviews, team dynamics, and crisis management. Critical to this, as I’ve written about in Built to Win, is that there must be leadership commitment and alignment. That alignment ensures there are no inconsistencies across the organization.
Inconsistent experiences, e.g., a company that preaches collaboration but rewards cutthroat competition, erode trust and engagement. Culture acts as the glue that holds the employee experience framework together, ensuring employees encounter the same principles whether they’re in the office, working remotely, or interacting with a manager or a co-worker.
Culture Drives Authenticity
Employees can spot inauthenticity a mile away. If an organization rolls out an EX initiative that clashes with its deliberately designed and lived culture, it risks coming across as performative. A culture that genuinely prioritizes employee well-being, for instance, will naturally inspire initiatives that feel authentic and impactful. Without that cultural grounding, employee experience efforts can feel like hollow gestures, leading to skepticism rather than satisfaction.
Designing EX with Culture as the Blueprint
To deliver a great employee experience, organizations must first define and nurture their culture. This isn’t about slapping buzzwords like “innovation” or “teamwork” on a website; it’s about identifying what truly matters to the organization and embedding those values into every process. At a high level (with more details via the linked content), use this approach.
- Assess and Define the Culture: Start by understanding the current culture. Do a culture audit: conduct surveys, hold focus groups, and observe behaviors to pinpoint what’s working and what’s not. Then, articulate a clear culture vision that reflects the organization’s mission and values and resonates with employees. Next up, build out your culture plan.
- Align Leadership: Culture starts at the top. Leaders must embody the values they want to see, whether it’s people first, curiosity, or resilience, and model them consistently. Their actions set the tone for how employees experience the organization. They must all – across the organization – be committed to this deliberately designed culture.
- Integrate Culture into EX Design: How? First and foremost, the core values and associated behaviors must be defined. Then they must be socialized and operationalized such that every process, policy, and decision is made through the lens of the core values. Every employee touchpoint must reflect the culture. If collaboration is a core value, invest in tools and spaces that facilitate teamwork. If growth is a priority, build learning opportunities into career paths. The goal is to create a seamless link between what the organization believes and how employees experience it.
- Measure and Iterate: Use employee feedback, engagement metrics, and turnover rates to gauge whether the culture is supporting a great employee experience. Be willing to adapt as needs evolve; culture isn’t totally static (for a variety of reasons, not all good), and neither is employee experience. Remember that while it’s shaped by leadership, values, and strategies from the top, culture is brought to life and influenced daily by what employees at all levels think, say, and do. So there must be a deliberate effort to stay the course but also to evolve as needs arise.
The Payoff
When culture serves as the precursor to the employee experience, the results are transformative. Employees become more engaged because they feel aligned with the organization’s values and purpose. Productivity rises as trust and collaboration flourish. Retention improves because people stay where they feel valued, trusted, and understood. And ultimately, a great employee experience fueled by a strong culture becomes a competitive advantage, attracting top talent in a crowded market.
IN CLOSING
Designing and delivering a great employee experience is a worthy goal, but it’s not a standalone endeavor. Culture is the soil in which the employee experience takes root; without it, efforts to improve the employee experience risk wilting under the weight of inconsistency or inauthenticity. By prioritizing culture as the foundation, organizations can create an employee experience that’s not just good, but great – one where employees don’t just work but thrive. In the end, culture isn’t just a precursor; it’s the heartbeat of a truly great employee experience.
Create the kind of workplace and company culture that will attract great talent. If you hire brilliant people, they will make work feel more like play. ~ Richard Branson