Myth: My business isn’t big enough to prioritize work culture.
1. Fact: You Already Have a Work Culture, whether you prioritize it or not.
Yep, even if you’ve never thought about it, your business already has a work culture. It’s the vibe your employees feel when they show up to work, how they interact, and what they believe is expected of them. Whether it’s intentional or accidental, your company culture exists—and it’s shaping your business every day.
2. What Is Work Culture, Really?
Work culture is the personality of your company. It’s a mix of your values, traditions, behaviors, and how your team works together. It’s “The way we do things here.”
Note that your culture is not the way you SAY you do things here…. it’s the way you ACTUALLY do things here.
Comfy clothes culture, grab a beer after work culture, competitive culture, lots of meetings culture, prioritize the bottom line culture, wing it culture, we’ll try anything once culture, run it by the boss first culture, stay in your lane culture, ask for help culture, meet the deadline culture, it is what it is culture, nobody follows the rules culture, good enough isn’t good enough culture, don’t disagree with the boss culture, nobody gets fired culture, never accept no for an answer culture…. Work cultures are so varied, interesting, and impactful! And they’re changing all the time.
3. Why It’s Important for Small Business Owners
As a small business owner, your work culture can be your secret weapon—or your biggest headache. A positive work culture can help you:
Attract and retain great employees: People want to work where they feel valued and supported.
Boost productivity: Happy employees tend to be more engaged and efficient.
Build a strong brand: Your reputation as an employer matters when recruiting talent and attracting customers.
Ignore your culture, and you might find yourself dealing with high turnover, low morale, and compliance or reputation problems. Unhappy, poorly trained employees who don’t understand what is expected are much more likely to cause and/or file lawsuits.
4. How to Improve Work Culture Without Spending a Fortune
Good news: You don’t need a huge budget to create a thriving work culture. Here are a few practical tips:
Acknowledge Your Culture: Take an honest look at the culture you already have. What do you reward? What do you punish? What do you put in writing? How do you train employees? How do you communicate? How do you all treat each other, and how do you treat your customers? How do you solve problems? Why do people stay? Why do people leave? How do you resolve conflict? …
Actively Pursue Your Ideal Culture: Spend some time figuring out what you want your culture to look like, plan how you will get there. Your plan doesn’t have to be perfect. Just start.
Show Appreciation: A simple “thank you” or shout-out during team meetings goes a long way.
Communicate Clearly: Keep employees in the loop. Transparency builds trust.
Set Expectations: Create clear policies and procedures so everyone knows what’s expected. And then actually follow them!
Encourage Development: Support learning through low-cost training or mentorship.
Celebrate Wins: Celebrate achievements, big or small, to keep motivation high.
Prioritize Diversity: Diverse backgrounds, thoughts, and perspectives will improve your culture and performance.
Balancing Culture, Compliance, and Brand
Here’s the balancing act: Culture, compliance, and brand work hand-in-hand. You can’t have a fun, relaxed culture if you’re ignoring compliance—it’ll backfire eventually. Likewise, a strong employer brand won’t mean much if your internal culture doesn’t match what you’re promoting.
Creating a great workplace doesn’t have to be complicated—or expensive. Start small, be intentional, and watch how a strong, positive work culture can transform your business.
Rachelle Elliott, MS SPHR