Culture is both the secret sauce of successful organizations, and the achilles heel of those who are struggling.

Creating a culture that is both meaningful and impactful isn’t an easy task. In fact, Deloitte’s 2016 Global Human Capital Trends report uncovered that while 86% of respondents believe “corporate culture” is important to success, 28% have no clue what their organization’s culture actually is. In their 2017 report, Deloitte identifies culture and engagement one of the top trends for building the organization of the future.

But culture-building isn’t just a marketing campaign, or a selection of perks, and perhaps that’s where many organizations veer off course. Culture change is, first and foremost, behavior change that’s communicated and implemented across the organization (and not just from the top down). While HR plays a significant role in creating frameworks for change, a true transformation can’t happen without it being a team effort.

Defining Your Culture

Saying that you want to strive to build a good culture is one thing. But, how do you go about taking actionable steps do it?

Here’s a few tasks you can try out to help define your culture:

1. Your true culture should be a reflection of the core values and principles of your business and the work you set out to accomplish.
2. Make sure you get input from managers and your HR team, as their thoughts will be a valuable component in helping to establish your culture.
3. Get input from your employees, too. Listen and engage with them, across every aspect of your organization. You’ll be surprised at how they view your company and what they expect or want from its culture.

Why Culture? It Matters To Your Future Employees

Job candidates think a lot differently about where they want to work. Gone are the days of working for a single employer for a lifetime, before retiring and setting off to the golden years.

Today, employees are likely to bounce around from company to company, and a variety of factors helps them decide when to leave and where to go. Cultural influences, a company’s mission, and transparency are no small part of those decisions.

So, can you be the company your employees want you to be?

Absolutely. We think so.

It all starts with forming a culture and fostering an environment that people actually want to be part of.

According to research from the Duke Fuqua School of Business, more than 90 percent of executives surveyed said culture is important at their firms. Seventy percent said culture is among the top five things that make their companies valuable.

Increasingly, your future employees will be holding you to a higher standard when evaluating where they can begin or continue their career.

In today’s marketplace, many brands are elevating their presence through creative, purpose-driven, and conscious approaches. The latest Super Bowl advertisement that brings a tear to your eye, or makes you think about a cultural moment or even a political movement is equal measures an attempt to bring their mission forward into a new age as well as a recruitment tool.