Company Culture: how to come back from a horror movie scenario?
- Clarisse LIEVRE
- Feb 27
- 5 min read
Some company cultures remind me of the little girls in horror movies. If you've seen one, you know exactly what I mean - quiet, harmless, even sweet on the surface, but behind that innocent smile lurks chaos. And if you're not careful, a bloodbath.
Candidates, beware: flashy employer branding doesn’t mean the company is as perfect as it appears. Just as I’d check a potential hire’s social media to make sure we’re not about to hire someone who skins cats in their downtime, I’d always recommend digging into platforms like Glassdoor. Of course, haters are everywhere, so take negative reviews with a pinch of salt. But here’s a test - ask your interviewers what they love about working there. Not just what they like, but what they love. If that question leaves them momentarily lost for words, you guess the façade is thick and high. And if it’s that hard to get a peek behind it now, imagine how it’ll be once you’re inside.
“I’m looking for a great company culture.” someone once told me. Another time, I heard, “My company culture is toxic.” But what does that really mean? Culture isn’t an all-or-nothing deal. It’s not just good or bad - it’s a spectrum. And, most importantly, a bad culture isn’t a death sentence. It can be fixed. You can turn it around.
What Culture Really Is (a quick recap from Anatomy of a culture)
Culture is hard to define because it’s made of many moving parts. Some people think of it as a company’s mission and purpose, others see it as leadership style, and some focus on values, behaviours, and everyday habits. The truth? It’s all of these things working together.
Like the human body, every part has a role - purpose and mission are the DNA, leadership is the brain, employee experience is the heart, and values are the skeleton holding it all together. If one part is failing, the whole system suffers. The key takeaway is simple: company culture is what happens in the day-to-day, when no one is watching.
Culture Can Be Rebuilt
A toxic culture isn’t a permanent curse, it’s a problem to solve. But before you fix it, you need to diagnose it. And that starts by looking inward.
Too many companies obsess over employer branding - polishing their image to attract new hires while quietly losing the ones they already have. It’s a quick fix, a Band-Aid over a deeper wound. A true culture shift isn’t about looking good externally; it’s about making things right internally. That’s where the Employee Value Proposition (EVP) comes in.
What Is EVP, and Why Does It Matter?
A strong EVP isn’t just about salary and perks - it’s the full employee experience, from the day they join to the day they leave. It’s what makes people stay or what pushes them out the door.
A solid EVP is built on five key dimensions:
Compensation & Benefits – Fair pay, bonuses, health benefits, retirement plans, and financial security.
Career Growth & Development – Opportunities for learning, promotions, mentorship, and professional advancement.
Work Environment & Culture – Leadership style, team dynamics, collaboration, psychological safety, and daily work experience.
Work-Life Balance & Flexibility – Remote work options, manageable workloads, PTO, and policies that respect employees’ time.
Company Purpose & Values – The mission, ethics, and social impact that drive the business and give employees a sense of meaning.
A company that only invests in employer branding, without strengthening these EVP pillars, is just feeding the turnover machine. Attracting talent means nothing if you can’t keep it.
Fixing the Monster in the Mirror: How to Rebuild a Broken Culture
Step 1: Identify the Real Issues
Forget vague complaints like “bad culture” or “poor leadership.” What’s actually broken?
Are employees underpaid or lacking financial incentives? (Compensation & Benefits)
Do they feel like they’re stagnating with no career growth? (Career Growth & Development)
Is the work environment toxic, with poor leadership and communication? (Work Environment & Culture)
Are they burned out due to unrealistic expectations and lack of flexibility? (Work-Life Balance & Flexibility)
Do employees feel disconnected from the company’s purpose? (Company Purpose & Values)
Pinpointing the exact problem is the first step. A strong EVP isn’t about what’s written in recruitment brochures—it’s about what employees actually experience.
Step 2: Look for the Silent Killers
Not all cultural problems show up in exit interviews or employee surveys. Watch for warning signs:
High turnover, but no real understanding of why.
“Good” employees disengaging—not quitting, but mentally checking out.
Meetings full of nodding but no real discussion.
Leaders who say the right things but don’t follow through.
An unspoken fear of speaking up, where honesty feels like a career risk.
Culture isn’t just what’s said—it’s what’s tolerated. If employees see that bad behavior goes unchecked, they stop believing change is possible.
Step 3: Fix the Broken EVP Dimensions
Culture shifts don’t start with PR campaigns or team-building retreats. They start with actions that improve the employee experience.
Compensation & Benefits – Conduct market benchmarking. Pay fairly. Reward performance transparently.
Career Growth & Development – Offer mentorship, learning opportunities, and clear paths for promotion.
Work Environment & Culture – Train leaders, improve internal communication, and create an environment where people feel valued.
Work-Life Balance & Flexibility – Set realistic expectations, offer remote work, and respect boundaries.
Company Purpose & Values – Align leadership decisions with company values, and make employees feel part of something meaningful.
A toxic culture isn’t about one thing—it’s a mix of broken EVP elements. Fixing it requires addressing all of them.
Step 4: Protect What Already Works
Not everything needs to change. Even in a struggling company, some things work well—teams that collaborate, managers who inspire, employees who genuinely care. Find what’s already strong and amplify it. Change sticks when employees see that not everything they love is disappearing.
Step 5: Make Change a Habit, Not a Campaign
Culture isn’t a one-time project. It’s not a slogan, a quarterly initiative, or a leadership workshop. It’s an ongoing process. The key questions to keep asking:
Are we holding ourselves accountable?
Are employees experiencing real change, or just hearing about it?
Are we improving EVP in a way that makes people want to stay?
Because, in the end, no employer brand can mask a culture that’s broken from within. A toxic culture isn’t a life sentence, but fixing it takes effort, consistency, and a genuine commitment to change... Before the horror movie can become a happy ending.
Comments