Workplace culture can make or break an organisation. It can be the difference between an engaged and an actively disengaged employee.
A great business leader knows that, ultimately, a company’s success depends on its employees. These are the people who work hard every day to push the business forward. Without them, no business would be able to compete or achieve its organisational objectives. Our company vision and our products and services are important — but they are ultimately useless without an engaged team.
This is why forward-thinking companies work hard to create an engaging organisational culture. Your workplace culture shapes the employee experience. It emerges from the company’s values, goals, mission and expectations. When you have the right culture and you provide the means for your employees to thrive and grow, the world is your oyster. Voluntary turnover will drop, engagement levels will increase and you’ll be more likely to receive glowing Glassdoor reviews, which will aid future recruitment efforts.
Of course, as with many things in life and business, hardly anything is as straightforward as we would like. There is no clear cut definition of company culture, nor is there a recipe book for us to follow to create our ideal workplace culture. But we do have motivating culture quotes and examples of company culture to help guide our efforts. Below, we’ve shared 12 of our favourite workplace culture quotes for you to read and enjoy.
This is a great insight from Larry Senn, a pioneer in the field of corporate culture. With this quote, Larry discusses the fact that changes in company culture are often perceived as a long and arduous undertaking. Larry’s response is that culture in itself is not an “initiative”. It facilitates current and future initiatives. Once you get company culture right, decisions flow faster. Ideas flow better. You make future change more likely and easier. Working towards the right company culture might not be an easy task, but it is certainly one that will pay off.
With this quote, Tracy Streckenbach highlights that human beings are naturally tribal. We enjoy a sense of belonging and a sense of purpose. We enjoy being part of something bigger than ourselves.
In large part, company culture is about helping employees feel good about the work they do and understand how their efforts move the organisation forward. Companies with a supportive, positive culture are usually successful in this area. With your company culture, you need to focus on your team. You need to get everyone on the same page and get them united behind a common goal.
Customers are going to be attracted to a great product. Talented employees are going to be attracted to a great culture. This is something we need to keep in mind as the war for talent continues. Top talent has a choice and candidates are ultimately going to jump on board with a company that takes its culture seriously. This doesn’t mean you have to offer lavish perks. Your company just needs a real sense of self and to show employees that they are appreciated and valued. This concept is so important that it has made it into HubSpot’s Culture Code.
This quote by Brian Chesky attempts to summarise company culture and what it’s all about. Although we can’t possibly reduce company culture down to one soundbite, Brian might have a point in that at its heart, culture is about collaboration and united passion. To build a great company culture, you need to have a host of motivated and enthusiastic performers to support it. No man is an island — the best company cultures bring everyone together and give them something real to care about.
With this quote, Brian Kritofek hints at all the benefits that come with a great company culture — increased employee engagement, an improved employee experience, more passion and enthusiasm from your teammates. A great company culture can attract the best and brightest and it can improve retention rates. When people love where they work, great things follow — for everyone involved.
This is perhaps one of our most favourite culture quotes. Tony Hsieh is someone who understands the importance of company values and the necessity to hire based on cultural fit. You can hire the most impressive, best-qualified candidates available, but if their values fly in the face of everything your company believes in, they aren’t going to be an asset. In fact, they might send your company down a road it isn’t comfortable with.
Values are a central part of company culture and an element that needs to be well-communicated and respected. Leaders need to exemplify values — they need to be on display and you need to feel confident hiring and firing, based on these well-considered values.
As David Cummings says, so much about business is unpredictable. You never really know what your profits and losses are going to look like. You can’t accurately predict what the market will look like even a year from now. But what you can control is your company culture. You can look after your culture and your people and, ultimately, you will reap the benefits.
Company culture can’t be copied and pasted from organisation to organisation. As Simon Sinek says, your company culture needs to be individual and meaningful. It needs to be identifiable and unique. And although, of course, success in terms of services and goods is important, what’s truly crucial is the culture behind it that is driving its success.
Neil deGrasse Tyson emphasises here the importance of innovation to any organisation. Innovation as a company value can help your organisation thrive, advance and remain competitive. Companies with innovative cultures are more likely to be creative and come up with out-of-the-box solutions to complicated problems. They are also more likely to accept change and advancement in its many forms.
As the president of an internationally successful animated studio, Ed Catmull knows a lot about creativity. Companies with creative cultures open themselves to new ideas and ways of doing things. They are companies that are able to assess existing systems and procedures and overhaul them if they don’t match the organisation’s standards. To be truly creative, however, employees need to be emboldened to speak up. If they are shot down every time they have a suggestion for change, or if these changes are simply paid lip service to and never enacted, creative employees will learn that there is no sense in speaking up.
This quote really highlights the connection between passion and excellence in the workplace. When individuals are passionate about what they do, they are more motivated, creative and committed to delivering high-quality results. A culture that nurtures passion leads to higher job satisfaction, better teamwork and increased retention, ultimately driving the company’s success.
Gary Vaynerchuk’s quote highlights that a strong company culture is essential for attracting and retaining top talent, which significantly impacts a company’s success. In a workplace where employees feel valued and aligned with the organisation’s goals, they are more motivated and committed. This helps to reduce turnover and fosters teamwork and productivity. When employees are engaged and connected to the company’s values, they tend to contribute more meaningfully, leading to better overall business performance and long-term results.
These company culture quotes are great material to inspire and motivate. We should spend time creating a company culture our employees love – one they don’t want to leave. It’s our responsibility to ensure our employees feel heard, respected and valued. And because nothing is static, your company culture will shift with time. Just remember to keep true to your values and to bring everything back to your employees and you’ll have a strong company, able to tackle any struggles it may face.
Here at People Insight, we help companies revitalise their employee experience and work towards the company culture they really want. Get in touch today to organise an employee survey.
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