5 Proven Strategies Top Companies Use to Build Culture

Most companies talk about culture. Very few actually build it.

The difference is not intention. It is execution. Companies with exceptional cultures do not rely on mission statements or annual retreats. They follow repeatable practices that embed culture into daily decisions, behaviors, and systems.

In 2024, the global percentage of engaged employees fell from 23% to 21%. The right culture can reverse declining employee engagement, driving higher productivity and measurable impact on the bottom line.

Learn how top companies build strong, scalable cultures with five proven strategies that turn culture into a measurable business asset, not an afterthought.

1. They Define Culture in Clear, Practical Terms

Many organizations adopt values like “integrity,” “collaboration,” or “agility.” But unless those words map to specific behaviors and choices, they remain empty slogans.

For example, one team might launch fast to meet a customer deadline. Another might delay to ensure quality. Both believe they are putting the customer first, but act differently because the value is not clearly defined.

The fix: Choose three to five core values. For each, define the specific behaviors and decisions it should guide. Use real scenarios your teams face, not abstract ideals. 

Amazon's Leadership Principles demonstrate how this works in practice. Every single role at Amazon and everything they do starts with 'Customer Obsession.' They make the principle concrete by defining who the customer is for different roles: "A customer doesn't always mean someone who shops on Amazon. For our sales employees, a customer can be a business that uses Amazon Web Services; for a software development engineer, a customer can be an internal team at Amazon." This clarity helps employees across functions apply the same value to different contexts.

Similarly, consider how a company might clarify "move fast." At a tech company this could mean reducing time to feedback, not shipping untested code. That clarity would shape consistent choices across teams without creating confusion about quality standards.

When values are grounded in real scenarios, employees do not need constant direction. They know how to act because they understand the logic behind the culture.

2. They Lead by Example 

Culture is not defined by what is written. It is defined by what is tolerated.

When senior leaders consistently demonstrate accountability, respect, and integrity, those behaviors cascade. But if a high-performing manager dismisses others or breaks norms without consequence, the true message becomes clear: results matter more than values.

The fix: Define a small set of non-negotiable behaviors that reflect your culture. Make them visible, specific, and consistently enforced.

Netflix is a well-known example. Their “no brilliant jerks” policy meant that even top performers who harmed team culture were let go. The message was simple: no one is above the culture. That consistency builds trust.

When leaders take action that aligns with values, share those stories. These examples become the way employees explain what your culture really stands for.

3. They Listen at Every Stage, Not Just in Crisis

Annual employee engagement surveys are not enough. They often miss context and fail to reflect how quickly workplace expectations evolve.

Exceptional cultures build listening into the flow of work. They create consistent feedback loops across the employee journey and take visible action based on what they hear.

The fix: Focus on these four high-impact feedback points:

• Onboarding feedback: Within the first 30 to 60 days, ask new hires about their initial experience. Create a short, well-crafted survey that captures how expectations are shifting, especially for Gen Z talent.

• Pulse checks: Short, monthly or quarterly surveys (under five questions) to monitor how employees feel about workload, meetings, priorities, and more.

• Skip-level conversations: Quarterly, senior leaders meet with employees two levels down, without their direct managers, to surface insights surveys often miss.

• Exit interviews with analysis: Aggregate feedback by team or role to detect patterns. Do not treat departures as isolated. Look for consistent signals.

  
  

Atlassian’s “Team Health Monitor” is a standout model. Teams assess themselves quarterly across eight areas, separate from performance reviews. It creates safety to surface challenges early and track improvements over time.

Most importantly, always close the loop. Share what changed because of employee feedback. When people see the impact of their input, they are more likely to share honest insights in the future.

4. They Treat Culture as a Core Business Strategy

In high-performing companies, culture is not a side initiative. It is a strategic lever that drives retention, innovation, and execution.

Microsoft offers a powerful example of how leading companies embed culture into their core business strategy. CEO Satya Nadella has said that the “C” in CEO stands for culture, underscoring that building and sustaining the right culture is his most important responsibility. At Microsoft, culture sits at the root of every decision and drives the company’s ability to innovate, execute, and stay competitive. Nadella emphasizes that long-term success isn’t about a single hit product but about nurturing a culture that continuously enables new ideas, adaptation, and the next breakthrough.

The fix: Bring culture into core business conversations. Measure it, fund it, and hold leaders accountable for results.

Select culture-related metrics to monitor:

• High-performer retention 

• Time-to-productivity for new hires

• Employee engagement score

• Internal mobility rate

• Manager effectiveness

  
  

Track these alongside business KPIs in leadership reviews. Assign ownership to executive leaders, not just HR.

Invest in infrastructure that makes culture measurable and scalable. Today’s employee experience platforms bring together multiple functions including onboarding, communities, mentoring, recognition, and internal communication.

When culture is embedded in how you operate, it becomes sustainable and measurable, not dependent on individual leaders.

5. They Empower Culture to Spread, Not Stay Contained

Culture does not scale through memos or policies. It spreads when employees take ownership and influence each other. In companies that demonstrate strong cultures, everyone plays a role in keeping the momentum alive.

When culture is siloed or controlled too tightly, people disengage. When it is allowed to grow through people and relationships, it becomes embedded.

The fix: Let culture grow through peer leadership.

• Peer-led communities: Employee Resource Groups (ERGs) and interest-based networks help people connect, lead, and create shared meaning. These groups are not just about identity, they are platforms for connection.

• Mentorship networks: Pairing newer employees with experienced ones helps transfer values, norms, and practices through everyday conversations. It makes culture feel personal, not abstract.

  
  

Accenture partnered with Teleskope to operationalize culture at scale. With more than 10,000 events curated annually across 57 locations in North America, averaging 200 events each week, the platform centralizes how communities and cultural initiatives are managed. In just one year, hundreds of new chapters have launched, giving Accenture employees a unified space to build networks of connection, belonging, and shared purpose.

The result is a measurable, technology-enabled approach to cultural growth and engagement. When culture becomes a shared responsibility, it gains staying power and grows stronger with scale.

Scale Culture with Structure

Building a strong culture in one office is manageable. Scaling it across regions, time zones, and thousands of employees requires systems that make culture visible, repeatable, and consistent.

Platforms like Teleskope provide that structure. By unifying onboarding, employee groups, mentoring, recognition, and communication, Teleskope helps organizations turn culture from a concept into an experience employees live every day.

That is how you scale culture without losing its authenticity. 

Book a demo today and see how Teleskope can help you operationalize culture with measurable impact.

FAQs on Building Company Culture

How long does it take to build company culture?

Cultural transformation is a long-term commitment. According to Gallup research on organizational culture, "organizations that work on changing company culture typically see the strongest gains in three to five years." While you may see initial improvements within months through focused projects, sustainable cultural change requires consistent leadership alignment, ongoing reinforcement, and systems that embed new behaviors into daily operations.

What is the most common mistake leaders make with culture?

Treating culture as communication rather than behavior. The real drivers of culture are what gets rewarded, what gets measured, and what gets addressed when values are violated. Leaders often focus on messaging when they should focus on decisions, enforcement, and creating systems that support desired behaviors.

Who owns company culture in an organization?

Everyone plays a role. Executives define the tone and model values. HR builds structure and measurement systems. Managers reinforce standards daily through their decisions and coaching. Employees sustain and spread culture through peer influence. Shared ownership across all levels is what makes culture resilient and sustainable at scale.