How to create a positive workplace culture in 9 steps

Knowing how to create a positive workplace culture starts with a simple idea: culture is what people do and feel at work every day, not what the values poster says. A positive workplace culture is one where people trust their leaders, know what is expected, get recognized, can grow and feel safe to speak up. HR teams build it on purpose, through hiring, onboarding, managers and the habits they reward.

TL;DR:

• To create a positive workplace culture, find out how people experience work today, turn your values into clear behaviors, hire and onboard for them, train managers to lead them, recognize good work and measure progress every quarter.
• Engagement is low almost everywhere: Gallup found only 20% of employees worldwide were engaged in 2025, the lowest level since 2020.
• Managers carry most of the weight. Gallup puts managers behind at least 70% of the variance in team engagement, so manager training comes before perks.
• Recognition is the cheapest lever. Only 22% of employees get the right amount, and well-recognized employees are 45% less likely to leave within two years.
• Culture starts before day one: hire for values and skills (culture add, not sameness), then onboard people into how the team works.
• Track six signals: engagement score, eNPS, voluntary turnover, 90-day attrition, internal moves and recognition reach.

What is a positive workplace culture?

A positive workplace culture is a shared way of working where people feel respected, supported and clear on their goals, so they do their best work and want to stay. Culture is shaped by a company's mission, values, policies and daily practices, but most of all by how leaders and managers behave when it matters.

In a positive culture, communication is open, feedback flows both ways, good work is noticed and mistakes are treated as lessons. Team members collaborate instead of competing for credit, and everyone can see how their work connects to the company's purpose. Free snacks and table tennis can sit on top of that, but they never replace it.

Culture also differs by country and company. If your teams span regions, read how American workplace culture compares, and adapt practices instead of copying them.

Why does a positive workplace culture matter?

A positive workplace culture matters because it drives engagement, retention and productivity, and weak culture is expensive. Gallup's State of the Global Workplace report found global engagement fell to 20% in 2025 and that low engagement costs the world economy about $10 trillion in lost productivity, roughly 9% of global GDP.

The picture in the US is only a little better. Gallup's engagement tracker reports that as of May 2026, 31% of US employees are engaged and 17% are actively disengaged. That leaves about half of the workforce simply showing up.

For HR and TA leaders, culture shows up in the numbers you already track:

• Retention: People who feel valued and see a future stay longer, which cuts the cost of backfilling roles.
• Productivity: Clear goals and good collaboration mean less rework and fewer stalled projects.
• Employer brand: Candidates read reviews and ask about culture in interviews. A strong culture makes every employee engagement effort and job ad easier to sell.
• Wellbeing: Stress and disengagement raise absence and burnout, while a supportive culture keeps people healthy and present.
• Purpose: Employees who see meaning in their work are more likely to take on leadership, grow professionally and stay with their employer.

A caring culture is also simply the right way to run a team, as covered in why a caring culture in the workplace is important.

What are the signs of a positive workplace culture?

The signs of a positive workplace culture are a clear purpose, open communication, regular feedback, real teamwork, diversity with shared values, frequent recognition and visible growth paths. A toxic culture shows the opposite: secrecy, blame, favoritism and people leaving early.

1. Clear business purpose: Leaders define meaningful, measurable and achievable goals, so employees understand the mission and their part in it.
2. Open communication: People hear how decisions are made and how they can contribute, through regular meetings and updates.
3. Feedback system: Constructive feedback helps employees see their strengths and gaps, which builds confidence and performance.
4. Team collaboration: Managers use check-ins, shared tools and continuous feedback to keep teams working together.
5. Diversity and shared values: Hiring people who share the company's values matters, and different backgrounds add ideas and resilience.
6. Engagement and recognition: Valuing people's work improves engagement, loyalty and productivity.
7. Growth opportunities: Formal and informal learning keeps people from leaving because their career has stalled.

If several items in the right column sound familiar, start with why toxic company culture drives attrition before you plan new perks.

How to create a positive workplace culture in 9 steps

To create a positive workplace culture, work through nine steps in three phases: diagnose and define, hire and lead, then reinforce and measure. Each step builds on the one before, so a team that skips the diagnosis or the managers usually ends up with values nobody follows.

1. Understand your current culture

Before you change anything, find out how people experience work today. Leaders often see the culture differently from the people they lead. Run an anonymous survey, hold small listening sessions across departments and levels, and read exit interview notes. If trust is low, an outside facilitator can get more honest answers. Write down three things to keep and three to fix.

2. Define your values and turn them into behaviors

Every company needs its own culture, so there is no single template. Pick four to six values that fit your vision, then describe what each one looks like on a normal Tuesday. "Ownership" becomes "flags a risk early instead of waiting for the deadline". Share the list with everyone, and build it into policies, job descriptions and review forms so it shapes real decisions.

3. Hire for values and skills

Culture changes one hire at a time. Assess the skills the role needs and the behaviors your values describe, and look for culture add rather than people who think like the current team. The difference is covered in culture fit vs skill fit. Structured interviews with the same questions for every candidate keep the process fair. Testlify's personality and culture tests (Big Five and DISC) and the integrity test help you check these traits on evidence, not gut feel.

4. Onboard people into the culture

The first weeks set expectations for years. Explain the values with real examples, introduce a buddy, set 30, 60 and 90 day goals and have the manager check in every week. A structured plan for onboarding new hires into company culture cuts early exits and helps people contribute sooner.

5. Train managers to lead the culture

Managers turn culture into daily reality. Gallup reports that managers account for at least 70% of the variance in team engagement, so give them training, time and support. Supportive managers listen, show empathy, give guidance and act in line with the company's values. They are honest even when the truth is hard, and they admit their own mistakes, which builds trust and accountability. Mentoring programs and public credit for supportive leadership help the style spread.

6. Communicate openly and set clear goals

Open, two-way communication is the base of trust. Share the company's goals, explain decisions and show each person how their work moves those goals. Use team meetings, written updates and chat channels, and practise active listening when people raise concerns. Then track progress and hold regular one-on-ones with constructive feedback, which keeps people aligned and improves the quality of work.

7. Recognize and reward good work

Recognition is the cheapest culture lever and the most underused. Gallup and Workhuman research from 2024 found only 22% of employees get the right amount of recognition, and well-recognized employees were 45% less likely to have left after two years. Make rewards and recognition timely, specific and genuine: a thank-you in the team channel, peer shout-outs, an employee of the month program, and bonuses, promotions or extra paid time off for bigger wins.

8. Invest in growth and learning

Helping people grow is one of the main jobs of a strong culture. Offer targeted training where reviews show gaps, a learning budget, mentoring, stretch projects and internal moves such as global mobility programs. Tie learning to career paths so people see where it leads. A culture of continuous learning keeps skills current and gives people a reason to stay.

9. Protect work-life balance and build team connection

People have lives outside work, and a culture that ignores that burns them out. Offer flexible hours or locations where the role allows, encourage people to take their vacation, and do not reward late-night messages. Practical ideas are in ideas to promote work-life balance. Make room for connection too: team lunches, a Friday social hour, cross-team projects, workshops and the occasional offsite. These do not need a big budget; participation and thoughtfulness matter more than cost.

Pro tip: Roll the steps out one team at a time. Pick a team with a willing manager, run the nine steps for a quarter, measure the change, then share what worked with the next team.

Which factors shape workplace culture?

Workplace culture is shaped by five factors: the company's mission and policies, everyday business practices, how managers behave, the work environment and the people practices behind hiring and promotion. When these point the same way, the culture feels consistent; when they clash, people trust what managers do over what the handbook says.

• Mission and policies: The mission and written policies should give employees room to do good work, not only list rules.
• Business practices: Goals should be clear, realistic and achievable, so people are not set up to fail.
• Managers: Managers guide others, so their actions must match the company's goals, values and expected behaviors.
• Work environment: The way work is organized, from office or remote setup to tools and meetings, shapes how inclusive and adaptable the workplace feels.
• People practices: Hiring, promotions and pay decisions should build a fair, supportive and collaborative system.

Understanding what employees need from each factor lets you turn these practices into support rather than barriers.

What gets in the way of a positive culture?

A positive culture is usually blocked by resistance to change, weak inclusion, inconsistency between levels and unchecked incivility. Each one is fixable, but only if leaders name it and act on it.

• Resistance to change: People and leaders comfortable with the status quo may push back on new ways of working. Explain why the change matters, involve employees in planning it and show early wins.
• Weak inclusion: Bias and stereotypes make some people feel they do not belong. Education and training raise awareness and give managers tools to manage bias.
• Inconsistency: Values only stick when they are upheld at every level. If senior leaders break the rules without consequence, nobody else follows them.
• Incivility: Rude or dismissive behavior spreads fast. The SHRM Civility Index for Q2 2025 found 53% of workers who saw or experienced workplace incivility in the past month said it hurt their mental health, and workers with little manager support afterwards were nearly 48% more likely to look for another job.

Leaders set the tone. Model the behavior you want, address problems quickly and protect people who speak up.

How to create a positive workplace culture in remote and hybrid teams?

A positive workplace culture in remote and hybrid teams depends on deliberate communication, because the hallway chats that spread culture in an office do not happen on their own. Write decisions down, keep meeting notes open to everyone and agree on response-time norms so nobody feels they must be online all day.

Give every remote employee the same access to recognition, learning and promotions as people in the office. Schedule regular video one-on-ones, run virtual social time that people actually enjoy, and bring teams together in person a few times a year for planning and connection. Measure engagement by work location, so you can spot a remote group drifting before people leave.

How do you know your culture is improving?

A culture is improving when engagement scores rise, fewer people leave in their first year, more roles are filled internally and recognition reaches most of the team. Check the same signals every quarter and compare teams, because a healthy company average can hide one struggling department.

Start with employee satisfaction surveys and a short pulse survey between them. Ask about trust in leaders, clarity of goals, recognition and growth, and leave room for comments. Insights from the comments show what is working and where change is needed.

Then track HR KPIs such as voluntary turnover, 90-day attrition, absence rates, internal mobility and 360-degree feedback results. For a full method, survey questions and scoring, see our guide to running a workplace culture assessment.

Key takeaway: Measure before and after every change. A culture program without numbers turns into a list of events nobody can prove helped.

Build a positive culture from the first hire

A positive workplace culture is easier to protect than to rebuild, and it starts with who you hire. Testlify helps hiring teams check skills and work behaviors before the offer, with 3,500+ tests including personality, culture and integrity assessments. Browse the Testlify test library or start a 7-day free trial, no credit card needed.

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