Most organizations understand that they need company values, and most have them on their company website or on display in a common area. But few companies go further to ensure their employees actually experience these values in their daily work. Even fewer integrate their values in their learning strategy, despite it being one of the most effective ways to embed and reinforce a company’s aspirational culture.
Addressing the Culture Disconnect
Many culture efforts fail due to a disconnect between what the company envisions and what employees actually experience. Many organizations focus on defining new values rather than bringing them to life. This discrepancy can lead to “cultural betrayal” — when employees are sold on the culture during the hiring process but experience something different in practice. This can lead to withdrawal, low morale and quiet quitting. It’s imperative that organizations work to close the gap between the culture they aspire to and the culture employees experience.
The Role of Culture Education in Learning Strategies
Employees learn about their organization’s culture over time through many different means, including interactions with team members, observing what gets rewarded and prioritized, and leadership behavior. Intentional culture education through onboarding and specific learning strategies for employees, managers and leaders is a way to formalize that learning. Everyone needs to fully grasp the company culture, why it matters, and how it has evolved over time.
Culture education helps align individual behaviors with the company’s strategic objectives. It helps create a consistent narrative and demonstrates how culture applies to every aspect of their work — from decision-making to customer interactions.
Implementing an Intentional Culture Education Model
The Intentional Culture Circle model outlines the steps organizations can take to bring their aspirational cultures to life. It’s important to make time and space for people to learn about the culture. Leaders often express frustration when people don’t do things or act in ways they’d hoped.
When this is the case, they should reflect on their process by asking themselves:
- Have these cultural expectations been clearly communicated?
- Have employees received training on these expectations?
- Are there structured opportunities to reinforce the culture?
That’s what the first three steps of the Intentional Culture Circle — vision, behaviors, and education — prompt organizational leaders to undertake. They set the stage in such a way that employees have what they need to help the culture come to life.
Characteristics of Effective Culture Education
In order for culture education to meaningfully contribute to creating intentional cultures, it needs to be strategic, accessible, consistent and ongoing.
1. Strategic
Company culture needs to strategically connect to business goals, and culture education efforts help establish that connection. For example, a company seeking to develop new innovation in their industry will need to make sure their culture is focusing on supporting employees who take risks and try new things, come up with new ideas and question the status quo. This strategic focus creates a workforce that’s deeply aligned, driving long-term success and sustainability.
2. Accessible
For the effort to meet people where they are, culture education should be embedded in daily experiences. A valuable way to make culture education accessible is through storytelling about the company’s origin and purpose, as well as the current and “aspire to” culture. It should also be available at various touchpoints, including meetings, training programs and external communications, so potential candidates, customers and partners understand the company’s values. Once candidates become employees, they should have easy access to more detail about the culture.
3. Consistent
Reinforcing culture requires consistency. While the shared culture vision and the behaviors in the Intentional Culture Circle create much of that consistency, training facilitators and leadership must align on messaging and approach. Inconsistent messaging—such as a lack of understanding behind company values—can undermine cultural alignment. Employees should hear a unified narrative about the organization’s culture.
4. Ongoing
Culture education shouldn’t stop at onboarding. Understanding company values — what they are, why they’re important, how people and practices shape culture — can be woven into existing development offerings as well as be standalone learning opportunities.
A long-term commitment to culture education ensures employees remain aligned with evolving company values.
The Two-Way Nature of Culture Education
Culture education isn’t just about training employees — it’s also about learning from employees. Encouraging feedback and discussions about company culture helps foster ownership and accountability while identifying areas where values may not be consistently applied.
When designed correctly, company values act as the thread connecting all learning and development efforts, creating a cohesive workforce that embodies those values daily.
