Company culture is the set of shared values, beliefs, and behaviors that characterize a company. It’s what makes a company unique and what influences how its employees interact with each other, with customers, and beyond. Many businesses invest a lot of time and effort into creating the company culture they feel is most beneficial. Whether or not you’ve done the work consciously, you already have a culture. 

A strong company culture is essential for attracting and retaining top talent, boosting employee engagement, and driving business success. In fact, a study by Glassdoor found that companies with a strong culture are more likely to have higher employee satisfaction, productivity, and profitability.

But how do you measure company culture? It can be a tricky thing to quantify, but there are a number of methods you can use to get a better understanding of your company’s culture and how it is perceived by employees.

Here are five ways to measure company culture:

Employee surveys

Employee surveys are one of the most common ways to measure company culture, and are used to collect feedback on a variety of topics, such as employee engagement, job satisfaction, and company values.

You can use a variety of tools and resources, such as SurveyMonkey or Typeform to build your survey. Be sure to include questions that are specific and relevant to your company culture and that will give you actionable insights, such as asking for feedback on your latest initiatives.

Here are some examples of employee survey questions:

• How satisfied are you with your job?
• How engaged are you in your work?
• Do you feel valued by your manager and your company?
• Do you have the resources and support you need to be successful?
• Do you feel comfortable sharing your ideas and feedback?

It’s important to keep surveys anonymous if you want real insights into the pulse of your organization, as you’ll get more honest responses. 

Exit interviews 

Exit interviews are another great way to get feedback on your company culture. When employees leave your company, ask them to participate in an exit interview to share their thoughts and experiences. This is the best time to get honest feedback, as there is no fear from exiting employees of consequences to their comments. 

Exit interviews help you identify areas where your company culture is strong and areas where it needs improvement. They also help you understand why employees are leaving and what you can do to improve employee retention.

Here are some examples of exit interview questions:

• What did you like most about working at our company?
• What did you like least about working at our company?
• Can you suggest changes to our company culture?
• Why are you leaving our company?
• What advice would you give to new employees?
• What advice would you give to management / leadership?

Focus groups 

Employee focus groups take a cross-section of employees and ask for in-depth feedback on your company culture.

To conduct a focus group, select a group of employees from different departments and levels of seniority. Ask them to participate in a discussion about your company culture and to share their thoughts and experiences.

Here are some examples of focus group questions:

• Describe what company culture means to you
• What are the positive aspects of our company culture?
• List any negative aspects of our company culture?
• How can we improve our company culture?

Unlike surveys and exit interviews, a focus group encourages more open dialogue, and results in interesting discussion, often generating new and exciting ideas for businesses to explore. 

Performance reviews

Performance reviews should be conducted regularly, and can be used to measure company culture as well as individual performance; ask employees how they feel about the company culture and what they would like to see changed.

This feedback can help you identify areas where your company culture is supporting employee performance and areas where it needs to be improved.

Here are some examples of performance review questions:

• How well do you feel our company culture supports your success?
• What are some ways we can improve our company culture to support employee performance?
• Give some specific examples of how our company culture has helped you to be successful, or challenges it has presented to your success?

People analytics

People analytics is the use of data to understand and improve the workforce. These can be used to collect and analyze data on a variety of topics, such as employee turnover, engagement, and performance.

This data can be used to identify trends and patterns in your company culture. For example, if you see a high turnover rate among employees in a particular department, this could be a sign that there is a problem with the company culture in that department.

People analytics tools can also be used to measure the impact of changes to your company culture. For example, if you implement a new employee engagement program, people analytics tools can track the impact of that program on employee engagement levels.

According to a recent survey by the Society for Human Resource Management, the top three factors that employees value in a company culture are:

1. Work-life balance (88%)
2. Respectful treatment of employees (88%)
3. Opportunities for professional development (86%)

The survey also found that employees are more likely to be engaged and satisfied with their jobs if they feel that their company culture is aligned with their personal values.

Measuring company culture is essential for creating a workplace where employees feel valued, engaged, and motivated to succeed. By using the methods described above, you can get started quickly and start seeing meaningful improvements in employee engagement right away. 

Learn more about how coaching supports a strong and high-performing culture.