# What is company culture? Layers and how to build it What company culture is, which layers it has and where to start building it: a short guide for small companies, with how I apply it at KDIGI. A short guide to the values, behaviours and shared habits of an organisation, and how to build them out of daily work. ## In short Company culture is the values, beliefs and ways of behaving that the people in a company share and repeat every day. It shows most clearly when nobody is reminding anyone: how decisions get made, how mistakes are treated, how new people are welcomed. ## The three layers of culture Following Edgar Schein's model: you notice the outer layer first, but the inner layer is what drives behaviour. - Visible signs — Processes, the workspace, rituals, ways of communicating: what an outsider notices at once. - Stated values — The core values, mission and rules a company writes down and repeats to itself. - Underlying assumptions — What people take for granted and rarely say out loud. This is the hardest layer to change. ## Core values and rules The two get mixed up, yet they answer different questions. | Criterion | Core values | Rules | | --- | --- | --- | | Answers | How do we choose when both options are legitimate? | What must not be done? | | Form | A few sentences, with behavioural examples | A list of rules, with sanctions | | Used in | Hiring, review, recognition | Handling violations | ## Where to start building culture Five actions in order, starting with something small and concrete. 1. Choose few values and write them as behaviours — Each value comes with do and do-not examples that anyone can observe. 2. Leaders go first — People learn from what the person at the top does, not from what they say. 3. Wire values into the system — Put them into hiring, onboarding, review and recognition, so the words match the rewards. 4. Repeat through small rituals — A weekly meeting, a sharing session, the way people say thank you: small habits, repeated, grow a culture. 5. Review regularly — Ask people, watch meetings and look at who gets recognised, to see what the culture really is. ## Common mistakes - Values on the wall — Values painted on a wall but absent from hiring, reward and exit decisions. - Copied from another company — Values that do not come from how the company actually works convince nobody. - Confusing culture with perks — Team building and gifts support culture but do not replace daily behaviour. - Saying one thing, rewarding another — The behaviour that gets recognised is the real culture. ## How I apply it At KDIGI we value listening, sharing and cooperation, along with freedom, flexibility and meaning at work. For me the foundation of culture is integrity, fairness and ethics: understand yourself to improve yourself, understand others to help them. [See KDIGI](/du-an/kdigi/) ## Common questions ### What is company culture? It is the system of values, beliefs and ways of behaving that the people in a company share and repeat every day. Culture shows in how decisions are made, how mistakes are handled and how new people are welcomed. ### Which elements make up company culture? Following Edgar Schein, three layers: visible signs, stated values and underlying assumptions. In practice, culture is usually managed through core values, the example set by leaders, rituals and the recognition system. ### Does a small company need to build a culture? Yes, because culture forms whether you shape it or not. In a small company the founder's behaviour sets culture very quickly, so starting early lets you choose the direction instead of correcting later. ### How do core values differ from rules? Rules say what must not be done and usually carry sanctions. Core values say what a company wants to see in how it works, and help you choose when two options are both legitimate. ### How long does it take to change a culture? There is no general number. Culture changes when new behaviour is repeated and recognised for long enough, so it is usually measured in years, not weeks. ## Want to build the culture of your organisation? Tell me the context and what you want to change. We start with one conversation. [Consulting & speaking](/tu-van-dien-gia/) [Contact](/lien-he/) [What is OKR?](/blog/chuyen-muc/okr/) [What is performance management?](/blog/chuyen-muc/quan-tri-hieu-suat/) Source: