WTF is a Culture Carrier?
There are culture warriors and culture vultures. Now meet the culture carrier.
Recent studies indicate that employees are feeling less engaged in their workplace, with Gallup finding more than half the workforce feeling this way. Employers are searching for ways to connect with their people, and enlisting a culture carrier could be a solution.
What is a culture carrier?
While not easy to precisely define, the role has been described as “someone around whom a company’s culture develops,” who essentially is a person who has deep institutional knowledge, who embodies a company’s values and who has a presence people want to be around.
Think of them as sort of ambassadors of the company, well-versed in its culture and mission, there to guide colleagues on questions both large and small that have to do with the company’s way of doing business.
According to Laura Jackman, senior vp of culture, experience and learning at the customer and employee experience company Medallia, culture carriers act as the connective tissue of an organization, bridging gaps between leadership’s vision and day-to-day operations.
“They are the person to who the company looks to demonstrate ‘what good looks like’ at a company — not just in technical skill, but also in core value alignment, which, in turn, contributes to the company culture,” explained Eric Mochnacz, operations director at the HR consultancy Red Clover.
Let’s talk specifics
For better understanding of the role, Jackman references a framework developed by Stanford University social psychologist and author Hazel Marcus. Known as the “four i’s,” the factors she identified continuously shape and influence each other in an organization.
Here’s a breakdown:
Ideas: Culture carriers deeply understand and help shape the organization’s mission, values and leadership concepts.
Institutions: They possess extensive knowledge of the operation and actively engage with company policies and programs.
Interactions: They create and maintain connections that align with the company’s values, often intervening or coaching colleagues when misalignments occur.
Individuals: They influence others in the organization and may assist in attracting and selecting new hires who align with the company’s values.
So what role does HR play?
HR departments can play an important role in identifying and empowering culture carriers. For one thing, an onboarding process that goes beyond job-specific training to include organizational navigation and cultural understanding increases the likelihood of employees becoming culture carriers, according to Jackman.
While some offices, like Medallia’s London HQ, have formal groups of culture carriers, elsewhere they may emerge organically. These individuals often volunteer for additional responsibilities, lead internal communities, or simply serve the role of go-to person for navigating the organization.
As Jackman explained, “We have people who kind of opt in. They’ve put their hand up, volunteered themselves into a role that greatly increases the likelihood that they would be seen as a culture carrier.”
“Integrating that person, or people, as a mentor or a stop during an employee’s ongoing onboarding is a great way to integrate new and current employees into the ongoing goal to build culture and recognize and cultivate core value aligned individuals,” Mochnacz added.
How can this be measured?
A yearlong analysis of the Medallia culture carrier group in London revealed that employees who participated in its monthly connection sessions were more likely to stay with the company and reported feeling more connected and having a greater sense of belonging.
Beyond promoting employee connectedness, a business case can also be made for instituting the role.
For one, they can enhance organizational clarity by connecting high-level strategy to day-to-day operations, according to Jackman. Further, they can combat cynicism by demonstrating the alignment between stated values and actual practices.
How can you identify the best culture carrier?
To foster culture carriers in an organization, Jackman makes several recommendations, including celebrating aligned behaviors when observed, incorporating values into performance evaluations, and ensuring that HR policies and practices reflect and reinforce organizational values.
While certain personality traits may lend themselves to the role, they can also emerge from unexpected places, so staying open-minded about identifying prospective culture carriers is key.
As companies continue to grapple with employee engagement and retention challenges, recognizing and nurturing culture carriers may serve as an effective strategy for building strong, aligned and successful organizations. As Jackman put it, “Having a strong and healthy organizational culture is critical to organizational success. I think culture carriers play a big role in that.”