How to build company culture: tying the "how" back to the "why"

At Choozle, our Top Workplace-worthy culture didn’t happen overnight. It started with a strong foundation—namely, leaders who had a clear idea of putting people first. As we grow, though, we’ve found that it’s necessary to be more and more deliberate about how we maintain common ground across teams and what we want to keep top-of-mind for all of our employees, at scale. That’s where our company values come in.

How to build company culture, starting with values

Now, we know we didn’t invent the idea of company values. We’ll actually be the first to admit that our values haven’t always remained front-row-center. It wasn’t until last year that we sat down to consider, when’s the last time we really put some thought into these?

We believe our values are our ticket to maintaining the culture we know and love, and admittedly, are low-key known for. It’s how we tie the “how” (our product), back to the “why” (the people behind it).

Any time we start to take ourselves a little too seriously, our CEO Andrew often reminds us, “we’re not saving lives here”.

We all love what we do, who we work with, and where we work, but it’s not all we love. As soon as our friends, family, pets, or health start taking a backseat to work, that’s when it’s time to reevaluate what we’re doing. We believe in working smarter, not harder so that we can close our computers at the end of each workday and focus on being present with the things that matter to us as individuals. When it comes down to it, how to build company culture starts with the people and ends with the people, all day, every day.

Our values, Ownership (make progress, never excuses), Balance (enjoy the ride), Attitude (choose to be positive), Growth (focus your energy on building the new), and Service (work for a cause not for applause) are just five ways we keep our eyes on the prize each day.

View our infographic for more ways we exemplify our values and how you can, too. Want even more inspiration? Read this post for more insight into what we do to keep our team’s happiness & balance in tip-top shape.