Culture
Culture development & employer branding: the brand as a living organism
Culture development is the deliberate process of shaping how people within an organisation collaborate, communicate and grow. Where brand purpose defines the why, culture development determines the how.
What is culture development?
A brand is not built by logos, campaigns, or office buildings. It is carried by people. Culture development is about shaping the behaviours, assumptions, and daily interactions that determine how work actually gets done.
To make culture tangible, we build on Edgar Schein's three layers of organisational culture: visible artefacts, espoused values, and underlying assumptions. Real culture change starts in that deepest layer, not at the surface.
What is employer branding?
Employer branding is the strategic process of defining and communicating your organisation's identity as an employer. It is the translation of internal culture to the outside world.
At the heart of every strong employer brand is the EVP, or Employer Value Proposition: the unique set of benefits and experiences employees receive in return for their skills and commitment. A compelling EVP is rooted in organisational culture, not invented by marketing.
Why is organisational culture your biggest competitive advantage?
Culture is the shared set of behaviours, beliefs, and unwritten rules that determine how work gets done. Strategy can be copied; a distinctive culture cannot. That is why culture is often the strongest long-term differentiator an organisation has.
This matters even more in a labour market where Gen Z and Millennials expect their employer to take meaningful positions on inclusion, sustainability, and integrity. When employees feel safe, seen, and inspired, innovation grows organically and employer branding becomes credible.
- A strong culture attracts better-fit talent and strengthens retention
- It creates consistency between the internal experience and the external promise
- It makes employee engagement, innovation, and ownership more likely
- It turns people into the living expression of the brand
Our approach: change that gives energy
Many change processes fail because they are imposed top-down. People do not hate changing; they hate being changed. We make change attractive by involving employees, clients, and experts in co-creative processes.
Using insights from the 23plusone method, we map collective drives and translate them into culture tools that people can actually use in daily practice. That can range from onboarding and leadership programmes to brand culture books and internal films.
- Brand Culture Books that capture how we do things here
- Onboarding programmes that let new talent feel the brand from day one
- Brand Movies that build pride internally and attract the right people externally
- Leadership programmes that guide through trust and purpose instead of control
Culture development examples: what good looks like
The strongest examples of culture development treat culture as a strategic asset rather than an afterthought. The culture is the brand, and that shows up in the way people work, decide, and lead.
- Patagonia: environmental activism is embedded in daily practice and talent retention
- Netflix: the Culture Deck codified freedom, responsibility, and radical candour
- Spotify: squads, tribes, and guilds made autonomy and alignment scalable
- Tony's Chocolonely: a purpose-driven culture attracts people who want their work to matter
Frequently asked questions
- What's the relationship between brand purpose and organisational culture?
- Purpose is the why: the destination. Culture is the how: the way people travel together. Without a strong culture, purpose stays a beautiful idea on paper.
- How do you measure the impact of culture development?
- Although culture seems soft, the results are hard. We look at indicators such as engagement, retention, absenteeism, quality of hires, and above all behaviour: are people making decisions in line with the desired culture?
- Can employer branding exist without a strong culture?
- Yes, but then it becomes employer branding marketing: a polished exterior with a hollow interior. The moment people join, the gap becomes visible.
- How do you get employees involved in culture change?
- By making them co-owners. We work with employees to define what values mean in daily work instead of pushing change through one-way presentations.
- What is the difference between employer branding and recruitment marketing?
- Recruitment marketing is tactical: job ads, career pages, and campaigns. Employer branding is the strategic foundation beneath it: the authentic story of who you are as an employer.
- What does Edgar Schein's culture model mean in practice?
- It shows why surface-level interventions rarely create lasting change. Real transformation starts at the deepest layer: the unspoken assumptions about how things really work here.
- How long does a culture development process take?
- Meaningful culture development typically takes six to eighteen months, depending on the size and complexity of the organisation. Early shifts in energy can appear within weeks; embedding them sustainably takes longer.
- How does culture affect employee retention?
- Profoundly. People stay when they feel belonging, meaning, and growth. Culture shapes all three and therefore has a direct impact on retention.
Related stories
Further reading
Related services
Defining brand purpose: vision, mission & values as a strategic foundation
Brand purpose is the fundamental answer to the question: why does your organisation exist? It is not about what you sell or how you do it, but about the unique contribution you make to society and the planet.
Brand culture playbooks: from strategy to daily behaviour
A brand culture playbook translates brand identity into concrete, daily behaviour. It bridges the gap between who you want to be as an organisation and what people actually do tomorrow.
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