Why is Company Culture Important?

Culture is the heartbeat of every organization. Whether you’re searching for your next role or building a high-performing team, understanding the value and importance of culture can make all the difference in success, satisfaction, and long-term growth with an organization.

Let’s walk through more details about company culture, its impact, and how it yields a thriving workforce.

What is Company Culture?

At its core, company culture is the shared values and behaviors that shape how people interact, collaborate, and achieve results in the workplace. It’s the written and unwritten code that guides everything from making decisions to conflict resolution.

Brindy Pickett, Vice President of Consultant Engagement at Insight Global, said, “A defined culture is not a nice-to-have. We’ve found it’s a foundational driver of engagement retention, and performance. If you’re intentional about the culture you want, it breeds success.”

When culture is intentional and well-defined, it becomes a powerful driver of performance and satisfaction. For example, a key sign of strong company culture is an environment where employees feel connected to their purpose and the company’s mission.

DOWNLOAD: How to Hire Employees: Insight Global’s Complete Guie to Hiring

The Growing Importance of Company Culture

Recent data from our Employee Sentiment Survey revealed that only 35% of workers feel engaged or essential at work. But those who report being apart of a strong workplace culture are eight times more likely to feel engaged than those who don’t.

These stats shed light on the tangible impact culture has on engagement and reveal some of the root causes of high attrition. Our data also found that highly engaged organizations are seeing 23% higher profitability, while disengaged employees are annually costing U.S. companies $1.9 trillion in lost productivity. This shows that culture can have a powerful impact on retention and productivity, but its true influence goes deeper. The real impact of company culture comes from how it’s explored, communicated, and embodied every day, shaping not just outcomes but the experience of work itself.

During the interview process, culture should be a conversation and not a mystery. Candidates asking thoughtful questions about team dynamics, leadership styles, and values can reveal whether the environment aligns with what matters most to them. On the other side, hiring managers should be prepared to speak candidly about the culture and how it sets clear expectations for productivity. Once inside the organization, culture becomes a shared responsibility, and those who lead have a unique opportunity and obligation to model the values they want others to live out.

Why Culture Drives Retention and Growth

Employees who feel valued, supported, and connected are more likely to grow within their roles and contribute meaningfully. According to our survey, employees are 5x more likely to stay when they receive consistent feedback with 67% not always feeling appreciated for their contributions.

Creating space for professional development, recognition, and honest conversations builds trust (which also builds better teams).

The Effect of Onboarding and First Impressions

Company culture is felt before the first day on the job. Onboarding is a critical moment to clarify expectations, build rapport, and connect new hires to their team and its purpose. Looking through an administrative lens, the paperwork and orientation are vital to setting the new hire up for success, but culturally, every interaction will set the tone for how they will experience their role, their team, and the organization.

Our survey found:

80% of workers say better onboarding would make them stay longer.
22% have left a job within the first 90 days, with 60% citing poor training.
It takes 6-7 months, on average, to feel “settled” in a new role.

When onboarding is thoughtful and culture-driven, it sets the tone for long-term success.

Building and Maintaining a Strong Company Culture

A thriving culture doesn’t happen by chance. It’s built through intentional actions and consistent reinforcement. Perks and slogans are great for building a strong culture but how people are treated and how success is defined matter just as much.

“Culture is the most powerful force of an organization, but often very misunderstood,” says Tim Kuppler, Director of Culture Solutions at Insight Global. To build a strong culture, clarity is key. What does success look like? What behaviors are valued? How do teams function together? These questions should be answered at every angle—from onboarding to feedback loops to leadership behaviors.

Maintaining a culture means evolving it! As organizations grow and goals shift, culture must be revisited and refined. This can look like:

Regular check-ins
Transparent communication
Opportunities for feedback
Career roadmapping

Culture is a living element in your company. When nurtured intentionally, it becomes a competitive advantage, one that drives performance, attracts top talent, and creates workplaces where people genuinely want to stay and grow.

Daily Displays of Culture

Culture isn’t one-size-fits-all so it can take on different forms within the workplace. It can show up in:

How meetings are run
How feedback is given
The tone of an email
The rhythm of collaboration
The celebration of successes

But can also show up in:

How people respond to challenges
How leadership communicates expectations and change
How recognition is shared
How teams handle conflict
How new ideas are welcomed (or dismissed)

These moments are so frequent that they may seem small, but they shape how people show up and feel about their work. When culture is lived out consistently, it becomes a source of pride and productivity.

Keeping Culture At the Forefront

Culture isn’t static, so when it’s nurtured with care, it becomes the foundation for everything else. It evolves with every new hire, every win, and every challenge. The key is to stay curious, stay intentional, and keep the conversation going. Whether evaluating a new opportunity, welcoming someone to the team, or shaping the future of a department, culture should be front and center.