Company culture goes beyond the norms and rules defined by management and is reflected by the values, standards, and myths that all company members share and experience on a daily basis. In some cases, corporate culture can be represented by 2 separate visions: To ensure that your desired and perceived images are aligned, and...
Company culture goes beyond the norms and rules defined by management and is reflected by the values, standards, and myths that all company members share and experience on a daily basis.
In some cases, corporate culture can be represented by 2 separate visions:
- The desired image defined by management, that should reflect the brand’s positioning and the company’s values.
- The perceived image, as reflected internally (employees, interns, etc.) and also subconsciously conveyed externally (customers, suppliers, the media, etc.).
To ensure that your desired and perceived images are aligned, and to avoid any issues that may arise if they are not, it is important to analyse your company culture regularly, and to readjust it if necessary. But how can you find out about your internal perceived image? The easiest and fastest way it to ask your employees directly. And in order to obtain honest and open answers, we recommend using anonymous surveys.
Read on for examples of questions to ask your employees about your corporate culture. You’ll undoubtedly find out lots of things about your organisation and ways to make it more attractive.
How to Get to Know your Company Culture Better
What do your employees enjoy the most about working for your company? What do they rate the highest? How would your employees describe your/their company to others? More broadly, what do your employees think defines the company culture?
Answering these questions is key to improving your employees’ working conditions and wellbeing. If you are trying to get to know your company culture better, then you are most probably already working on this. Happy employees are productive employees. Companies should take care of their employees as they do their customers. This is expressed in the concept of symmetry of attention.
Better knowing your company culture can also feed into your internal and external communication.
The simplest and most effective way to find out how your employees perceive your company culture, is quite simply to send them a survey.
But what questions should you ask? Below you will find a selection of questions to help you build your survey and guide you.
5 Questions about Work Environment and Relationships
As well as strongly impacting your employees’ wellbeing, the work environment and relationships often reveal something about the company culture. How do your employees perceive this aspect of the company?
To find out, ask questions such as:
- How does the company reward its most efficient employees?
- How does the company celebrate employee success?
- How do managers re-motivate employees when objectives have not been achieved?
- Does the company offer flexible work arrangements?
- What leisure activities are offered to employees?
5 Questions about Employee Commitment and Support
This short series of questions assesses employee commitment and their level of support:
- What makes you proud to work for this company?
- How does the company support you in your professional growth?
- What training programmes are available?
- Does the company encourage risk-taking?
- What would you most like to change about the company?
5 Questions about Conflict Management
Company culture is also reflected by the way conflict is dealt with between employees or between employees and management.
Here are a few questions to measure this:
- What methods are used to resolve conflict in the company?
- Can you describe what the term “conflict” refers to in your organisation?
- How and on what occasions do employees provide each other with feedback?
- How are big company decisions taken?
- Who has the last word in the organisation?
These questions were written to help you build your survey. The nature of the questions you ask depends on your survey goals. Don’t be discouraged if the answers are not satisfactory. On the contrary! They will help you identify problems within your organisation and the areas to improve, in order to strengthen your company culture. Company culture is constructed over time and is improved day by day. Surveys are the perfect tools to help you with this process.
12 Bonus Questions to Analyse your Company Culture
Here are 12 bonus questions to give you some more ideas and enhance your survey:
- On a scale of 1 to 10, how would you rate your wellbeing at work?
- Would you recommend working for this company to another person?
- Are there any opportunities for you to progress within the company?
- How do you rate your work-life balance?
- If you decided to resign tomorrow, what would the reason be?
- Do you feel that you work is valued?
- Do you feel that your work is recognised?
- Last time you successfully completed a large project, did you receive any form of recognition?
- Do you think you can reach your full potential in this company?
- If you had the opportunity, would you apply for your current job again today?
- Do you see yourself still working for this company in one year?
- Do you think your management takes your feedback seriously?
