Culturedation: What exactly is Company Culture? (layperson-friendly definition)

The increasing prioritisation and emphasis on Company Culture is apparent, especially in creating a great workplace for your employees as well as providing excellent service for your customers.

However, a recurring challenge would be the broadness of the commonly used buzzword of "Company Culture".

What does "Company Culture" actually mean?

The common words attributed to defining Company Culture would be the shared (written and unwritten) in the company:

  • Values
  • Behaviours
  • Beliefs
  • Norms

In other words, your company's 'character' and 'personality', your unique personal touch that makes you stand out, especially among your competitors who are providing similar products and services to you.

Culturedation's ACT model framework in defining Company Culture

As part of Culturedation's efforts in making Company Culture easy to understand, we define it simply as: "How people ACT in your company".

The ACT model framework is broken down into 3 main elements:

  • Actions
  • Connect
  • Thinking

1. Actions

This focuses on your people's actions in your company, what your people do (and actually do) in your company. This is important in really understanding what actually happens in practice within your company.

A common example would be the practice of flexibility in some companies regarding their staff's working hours on when they clock in/out, relaxing strict adherence to their official working hours whereas some companies may adopt a stricter approach to this.

2. Connect

This highlights how your people connect as part of their interaction, collaboration and communication not just within your own people internally, but also external parties (e.g. customers, suppliers etc).

Common areas include:

  • What types of channels used to connect (e.g. verbal, email, messaging tools, social media etc)
  • How you connect within the company's layers of hierarchy (e.g. flat practice vs tiered practice)
  • Your approach when connecting with others (e.g. subtle vs straightforward choice of words)

3. Thinking

This refers to the thinking behind the decisions/actions made in your company, the thought process and 'Why' behind them. Ranging from the menial to the major ones.

This doesn't just refer to the thinking of the people who made the decisions/actions, but also the thinking of others who are affected by them, how it is being perceived with the direct and indirect messages communicated by the actions/decisions which is important (if not more) as well.

For example, relating this to management of company's resources as an illustration. It is not just important to know why the resources are managed by the company in a specific way, but to also be aware of how this is perceived by others in the company to address any misunderstandings alongside seeking constructive feedback.

Concluding remarks

With the ACT model framework above, you are now able to better understand what Company Culture actually is, in an easy and layperson-friendly manner.

In fact, it is one of the model frameworks Culturedation uses in supporting your Company Culture journey.

With a better understanding of what Company Culture is, you are now better prepared in navigating your Company Culture journey ahead.

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Culturedation specialises in Company Culture Advisory and Workshops, helping you align your Company Culture with your Business.

Feel free to browse our Guides section for more useful company culture resources.

Keen to discover how you can unlock your sales and people's potential with your company culture?

Connect with us now:

  • Email: yoursuccess(at)culturedation.com
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And let's start your journey together.