{"id":103,"date":"2018-08-09T18:40:23","date_gmt":"2018-08-09T18:40:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/danielvlopes238992071.wordpress.com\/2018\/08\/09\/how-do-you-measure-company-culture-you-cant-but-you-can-do-this-instead\/"},"modified":"2025-02-28T10:55:12","modified_gmt":"2025-02-28T18:55:12","slug":"how-do-you-measure-company-culture-you-cant-but-you-can-do-this-instead","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/canopy.is\/blog\/2018\/08\/09\/how-do-you-measure-company-culture-you-cant-but-you-can-do-this-instead\/","title":{"rendered":"How do you measure company culture? You can\u2019t. But you can do this instead."},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Culture isn\u2019t meant to be measured. Here\u2019s why, and what you should measure instead.<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
\"\"\/<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\n

\u201cHow do you measure company culture?\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Someone asked me this recently.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

My answer: You can\u2019t. And you don\u2019t want to.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Why? Because culture, technically defined<\/a>, is the artifacts, espoused values and beliefs, and basic underlying assumptions that people have. And that can\u2019t be measured quantitatively<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Nor is it the point of culture, to begin with.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Culture is an organization\u2019s compass for behavior. It\u2019s what people use to decide what actions are acceptable, and what are not. At one company, it guides people to publicly report a mistake. At another company, it nudges people to brush a similar mistake under the rug.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To say you want to measure culture is like saying you want to measure a compass. You could pick it up and say, \u201cHmm, let me rate the shininess of this compass, or weigh how heavy it is.\u201d But, really, what you care about is if the compass points you to where you want to go. Measuring the compass itself doesn\u2019t do you much good.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The distinction is important. Because if you don\u2019t see culture as a lever<\/em> that influences what you\u2019re trying to accomplish as a team, and instead as the thing itself you\u2019re trying to maintain, you lose sight of culture\u2019s power in the first place: Culture helps a group of people get what they want done, done.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As a result, what you can<\/em> measure are the outputs of culture.<\/strong> The observable behaviors and outcomes you want to see as the consequences of your culture.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Possibly the most important output to gauge is progress. Ask your team, \u201cDo you feel like you\u2019re making meaningful progress every day?\u201d Studies<\/a> show how progress, more than anything, influences employee motivation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This means defining what \u201cprogress\u201d looks like on a day-to-day basis. Is it the speed by which things are happening? Is it the quality of the work being produced? Is it the number of people you\u2019re helping because your work product exists?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It could also mean asking questions to your company about how helpful their manager is in supporting them to make progress, or how frequently they encounter frustrating obstacles in a given week.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In short: If you want to measure culture, start with clearly defining what the outputs of a successful, healthy culture looks like for you\u200a\u2014\u200aand get super specific. Then, figure out what questions you can ask employees on a regular basis to gauge for that.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Don\u2019t measure the compass, itself.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

Never miss a post \u2013 get our latest leadership insights, as they’re released…<\/h3>\n\n