62, How do we build organisation culture and use it to build my organisation
Organisational culture is one of the most powerful forces shaping how employees behave, perform, and experience work. Whether an organisation progresses, stagnates, or declines is deeply influenced by the kind of culture it creates and sustains.
Why Culture Matters More Than We Admit
Culture determines whether an organisation moves forward or backward. It influences whether an organisation becomes one of the most preferred employers or merely survives from day to day. Terms such as toxic behaviour, hostile environments, or bad culture are often used, but they all point to the same underlying issue—how people experience the workplace.
A productive and conducive culture allows employees to bring their best selves to work, while a poor culture suppresses potential and performance.
Diagnosing the Current Culture
The first step in working with culture is diagnosis. Organisations must understand the culture they currently have before attempting to change it. Culture diagnosis involves observing symptoms, behaviours, decision‑making patterns, and employee experiences.
There are multiple tools and approaches available for diagnosing culture. Some are sophisticated and expensive, while others are simpler and experience‑based. What matters is having the capability—internal or external—to accurately interpret what the culture represents.
Defining the Culture You Want
Once the current culture is understood, the next step is to define the desired culture. Culture is not a list of bullet points or slogans. It must be articulated as a narrative—a paragraph that describes how the organisation behaves, decides, and treats people.
Just as a country’s culture cannot be explained in a few lines, organisational culture also requires depth and context to be meaningfully defined.
Building Culture Through Systems and Behaviour
Culture is built through systems, processes, and consistent behaviours. If integrity is a core cultural pillar, then promotion decisions, performance evaluations, and rewards must reflect fairness and transparency.
For example, if promotions are consistently seen as unbiased and process‑driven, employees begin to trust the organisation. Over time, this trust becomes embedded in the culture.
Addressing Toxic and Unproductive Behaviour
Many organisations struggle with behaviours that lack respect, professionalism, or authenticity. Addressing such issues requires more than statements—it requires changing how systems operate and how leaders behave.
Culture change happens when behaviours are reinforced through action, not just communication.
Bridging the Gap Between Current and Desired Culture
After documenting both the current culture and the desired culture, the organisation’s task is to bridge the gap between the two. This requires deliberate interventions, often guided by experienced HR practitioners or culture specialists.
Culture development is a long‑term effort, but when done well, it unlocks both individual and organisational potential.
Culture as a Driver of Performance
Culture determines how much of an organisation’s potential is actually realised. An organisation may have strong strategy, talent, and resources, but without the right culture, performance remains limited.
When culture aligns with values and business objectives, it becomes one of the strongest drivers of sustained success.
Related Podcast Episode
This article is based on the transcript of the original podcast of the same name featured in India HR Guide.
The transcript has been translated into this article with the support of AI and a human‑in‑the‑loop process.
