Workplace Culture: Maker or breaker of teams everywhere

Is your workplace culture working for you, or against you?

Whether you're running a café with three staff members, a boutique consultancy, or a growing trade business, there's something happening in your workplace right now that's either working brilliantly for you... or quietly working against you.

It's your workplace culture, and before you roll your eyes and think "that's just corporates and nothing to do with me," know that your workplace already has a culture whether you’re aware of it or not.

According to O.C. Tanner and their 2024 Global Culture Report, there are six fundamental elements that determine your workplace culture and whether your team shows up energised and engaged, or whether you're constantly dealing with staff turnover, recruitment headaches, and spinning your wheels constantly training new staff.

They actually call these 6 elements “Talent Magnets”, because these powerful factors will determine the quality of the connections between your employees and their role within your team, and of course, the quality of their work.

Introducing: Our "Workplace Culture Check-in's"

A blog series focused on practical and actionable steps to check in on your workplace culture.

Across this series, we'll go deep on each of these culture makers (or breakers) and bring you budget-friendly actions you can take immediately to get intimate with the culture in your workplace. Because every. single. workplace. has. a. culture. and you can’t convince me otherwise.

Whether you’re a team of 2 or 20, there’s a vibe, undercurrent, or flavour if you will, that underpins your interactions, decisions, relationships and how you all do things. And whether you call it culture or not, it’s happening with or without you.

The good news is: great culture is free! You can have amazing workplace culture and an engaged workforce without spending anything extra (though if you can, you probably should!).

And it comes down to these 6 elements… and I’m going to show you how you can tweak each of them without spending a single cent.

Then you can sit back, relax, and watch your freshly optimised and engaged team smash your business goals for you…

Not really… great culture is dependent on continuous buy in at all levels of your business, but especially you as the leader. It takes consideration, but not necessarily effort (if you master the basics)

. Once you make prioritising your workplace culture part of your…. workplace culture… you’ll reap the rewards.

So, here’s the 6 key elements you want to be prioritising…

Purpose…

… is about your team understanding why your business exists beyond just turning a profit. When people know they're contributing to something meaningful – whether that's helping customers solve problems, creating beautiful spaces, or making life easier for families – their work transforms from "just a job" into something they care about.

Opportunity…

… is about growth and challenge. This doesn't mean you need fancy career ladders or endless training budgets. It's about giving people chances to learn, contribute ideas, take on new responsibilities, and feel like they're moving forward rather than just treading water.

Success…

… means celebrating wins – both big and small. It's recognising when someone nails a difficult customer interaction, completes a challenging project, or helps the team hit a milestone. People need to feel like they're succeeding too, not just contributing to your success.

Appreciation…

… is the simple but powerful act of noticing good work and saying thank you in ways that actually land. It's not about expensive rewards. It's about genuine recognition that makes people feel seen and valued for what they bring to your business.

Wellbeing…

… recognises that your employees are humans with lives outside work. It's about creating an environment where people don't have to choose between doing good work and looking after themselves or their families.

Leadership…

… is how you show up as a boss. Whether you're mentoring, inspiring, problem-solving, or just making sure people have what they need to do their jobs well. It's the foundation that either supports or undermines everything else. It sets the tone for the whole people experience.

Notice how each element relates largely to how your people feel at work?

And how each is directly linked to how you lead and treat your people?

Which is why your culture is happening whether you’re focused on it or not.

If you’re not already being intentional about it, imagine if you were? I’m sure you already treat your people well (RIGHT?!), but what if you sat down and really considered them? Is there room for improvement? Are you assuming they feel appreciated… but have you expressed this to them in a tangible way?

This is what we’ll be exploring throughout this series. Connecting your good intention as an employer with actions that your employees feel.

We're starting this series with Purpose…

… because when your team genuinely understands why your business matters (beyond $$$) and how their daily work connects to something bigger, the rest becomes more meaningful.