work celebration party with confetti pink company culture

It’s official! Our company, Culture Works, is two—happy anniversary to us! We are so excited to continue working with our amazing clients to make productivity soar, reduce churn, and operationalize culture through:

  • HR Consulting
  • Culture Operations
  • Talent Recruitment
  • And more!

We love operationalizing the vision of role and value alignment through true culture operations and culture accountability, and can’t wait to do more of it.

In the spirit of Culture Works turning two, we asked some of our team members to reflect on our two-year journey. Below are a few of their thoughts… Cheers!

Reflecting On Our Two-Year Journey

Who? Amber McQuail, Culture Operations

What She Has to Say: “Culture Works’ mission and values are not just words on a page, EVERYONE definitely walks the walk and talks the talk. It’s intentional collaboration, it’s inclusive, it’s thoughtful and caring, it’s impactful and it’s FUN!  I’ve watched the team double in size over the last year, and it’s been so rewarding to see an entire group of professionals grow and thrive alongside their clients and always be eager for more.”



Who? Claudia Parker, Branding Operations

What She Has to Say: “It is exciting to partner with companies that share our passion for employees and company culture. We have a fun, dedicated, passionate, committed, and collaborative team who love working with our clients in making a positive impact on the lives of their employees, their company culture, and the long-term vision of the business.”


Who? Courtney Harrison, Partner Operations Manager

What She Has to Say: “Since I have been with Culture Works I have seen the team and our clients evolve dramatically. Our team collaborates and elevates the level of work product for our clients to unbelievable heights. I get so excited to see the impactful work and hear about how our team works so hard to customize, humanize and simplify everything for our clients.”


Who? Cymbre Brown, HR Generalist

What She Has to Say: “We have managed to create this cohesive group of people who genuinely love what they do. We work so well together and understand how to capitalize on each other’s strengths to provide the very best results to our clients. I have never worked with a group of people that are so committed to a company’s vision. I am so proud of all that WE have accomplished.”


Who? Jenn Owens, HR Consultant

What She Has to Say: “Internally, we have focused on being a learning organization developing our HR knowledge for our clients and our own personal growth from a professional and emotional intelligence lens. Externally, our focus on partnering with companies to better understand their business and how we can help them build an amazing place for their employees to work has shown that HR is a partner here to help make company culture better.”


Who? Lea Vergara, HR Generalist

What She Has to Say: “Joining Culture Works has been the most exciting and rewarding experience of my career. Our team is so supportive – of each other and our clients. I love that we genuinely care for our clients, and it is rewarding to see them change for the better as organizations through their partnership with Culture Works.”


Who? Margie Holmstrom, Senior HR Generalist

What She Has to Say: “I have been with Culture Works for about 7 months now and I am so impressed with the company and its leader, Kristi! She ‘walks the talk’ in every way and that’s not something you see every day in business. Whenever we provide HR guidance, work products, or process improvements, clients never fail to express how grateful they are. I’m so excited for Culture Works’ 2-year anniversary – I can’t wait to see what our future holds! I’m thankful to be a part of this amazing company and team!”


Who? Sabrina Vonch, L&D Specialist

What She Has to Say: “I was recently asked, ‘What would I change about Culture Works?’ This question, in sincerity, stumped me. As a learning organization, Culture Works is committed to a growth mindset. This mindset allows us to stay innovative not only for our team but also for our clients. If something is not working, we learn from it, make the necessary changes to improve and keep moving forward. We are inherently fostering change and embracing our company values daily – I wouldn’t have it any other way.”



Who? Simone Jones, Culture Operations Partner

What She Has to Say: “Since I joined Culture Works, I have seen the quality of our work evolve, providing impactful and innovative products to our clients. The ability to work with clients who are aligned with our mission and values allows us to truly elevate their culture and employee engagement.”

Interested in learning more about how the Culture Works team works? Read on to learn how we retain our top talent (and how you should, too!)

culture works anniversary
HRIS HCM HXM

HRIS, HCM, HXM… What the heck do all of these human resources acronyms mean!? And why do they matter? Don’t worry, our team at Culture Works is here to simplify things for you.

Let’s get down to the explanations, starting with HRIS.

What is HRIS?

HRIS stands for human resource information system. Gone are the days of filing cabinets and paper forms!

Moreover, an HRIS is a software solution that “maintains, manages, and processes detailed employee information and human resources-related policies and procedures,” according to Oracle. Sounds awesome, right?

“The HRIS standardizes human resources (HR) tasks and processes while facilitating accurate record-keeping and reporting.”

What Are the Benefits of HRIS?

Potential benefits of implementing an HRIS include:

  • Increased productivity
  • The ability to make data-driven decisions
  • Improved operational efficiency
  • Increased employee satisfaction
  • Enhance user experiences
  • Accommodate business growth
  • Maintain compliance

HRIS Examples

Here are some HRIS software examples, courtesy of Adam Enfroy.

  • ADP
  • Namely HR
  • Paycor HR
  • Bamboo HR
  • Workday
  • Zenefits
  • UKG Pro
  • Sapling

What is HCM?

HCM stands for human capital management.

Similar to HRIS, HCM is a great tool for overworked HR teams and line managers, as it frees up time from various HR tasks. To clarify, human capital management is not only software but also a more general HR strategy.

According to ADP, human capital management is “the process of hiring the right people, managing workforces effectively and optimizing productivity… [This strategy is] made up of a series of administrative and strategic applications that include:

  • Recruitment
  • Onboarding
  • Payroll
  • Time and attendance
  • Benefits and retirement services
  • Talent management
  • Training
  • Reporting and analytics
  • Compliance”

So, has your company spent time developing a quality HCM strategy? Look below for its primary benefit.

The Primary Benefit of HCM

Most importantly, an effective HCM strategy helps increase workforce productivity while helping HR managers hire, engage, and retain employees.

What is HXM?

Let’s address our final acronym: HXM. HXM stands for human experience management. Human experience management continues to build upon human capital management (HCM).

The Future of Customer Engagement, Experience, and Engagement describes HXM best. Unlike HCM—which focuses “on facilitating transactions and pushing top-down HR processes”—HXM is “all about focusing on the people who power a business to success; providing them with the tools and technology to enable meaningful, productive, and personal employee experiences that drive business results.” Awesome, right?

After all, we all know that when your employees have positive work experiences, their productivity, creativity, and ability to serve all increase. On the contrary, a negative employee experience can result in decreased productivity, poor performance, and therefore, negative customer or client experiences.

The newly emerging idea of HXM manages the role that employee experience plays in developing high-performing companies. Don’t believe in the importance of HXM? Check out this article by Forbes, “5 Reasons Why Human Experience Management Is The Future Of HR.”

A Final Word

The fact of the matter is that your business doesn’t want to be focusing on HRIS, HCM, and HXM solely to protect itself, or because it’s what you “should be doing.”

HRIS, HCM, and HXM help foster amazing company culture—and are why it’s important to build a team that is focused on building this standup culture. Interested in learning more? Read on for ten unique ways to support your company culture through human connection.

A woman using a tablet

Planning on exiting your business? Let’s discuss the first step you should take when doing so as a business owner: revisiting your org chart. But you might be wondering, what is an org chart, and why is it important?

What is an Org Chart?

First, for those who need a refresher, what is an org chart? An organizational chart, or org chart, shows the internal structure of an organization or company.

This considered, org charts house a lot of information. Also, there are many different types of org charts. For example:

  • Hierarchical Org Chart: Hence its name, shows who’s at the “top” of a business.
  • Matrix Org Chart: Typically used when individuals have more than one manager.
  • Flat or Horizontal Org Chart: This type of org chart is simple with just two levels: management and the workers. There are little or no levels of middle management in flat and horizontal org charts.
Org Chart
Above is an example of a “Matrix Org Chart” from Lucidchart.com.

How an Org Chart Can Benefit Your Business

So, now that we’ve refreshed your memory about org charts, how can they benefit your business? As a business owner, there are many benefits to using and maintaining your org chart. An org chart can help…

Org Charts for your business

Illustrate a Clear Reporting Structure

For big companies especially, org charts are extremely useful in illustrating who is a part of the company, who reports to who, who manages each department, and so on.

(Could we say “who” any more times!?)

By using an organizational chart, your company increases its efficiency; employees know exactly who to go to as needed.

Make Onboarding More Efficient

The onboarding process can be a thorn in your side as a business owner. There are so many people for your new hire to meet and remember! Creating an org chart can make your new hire more comfortable and help them put names to faces quicker.

Visualize Reorganization

The fact of the matter is that most of your employees won’t stay in the same role forever. Whether you have individuals shifting from department to department or from role to role, investing in quality org chart software can help you visualize your business’s reorganization with ease.

Delegate Work

A top notch org chart can help employees see their workload clearly. Additionally, an org chart can be helpful to identify when/if department heads need support. For example, are they managing a team of seven when they only have the bandwidth to manage five or six? An org chart can clearly paint this picture to help delegate work.

Increase Collaboration

When you have an awesome org chart, it’s something that can be shared all throughout your business. It then becomes a practical company-wide tool for planning and collaboration. An org chart can be especially helpful when it comes to scaling for growth, restructuring, and workforce planning.

How Org Charts Support Exit Planning

So, what the heck does an org chart have to do with exit planning? Well, we’re glad you asked…

Having an org chart helps you plan for exit. All of these benefits we’ve listed above—illustrating a clear reporting structure, increasing onboarding efficiency and collaboration, etc.—help support a smooth exit strategy.

After all, leaving behind your business takes forethought, and how could you leave behind your business without first identifying its internal structure?

One of the biggest challenges when it comes to exit planning is making sure your business won’t crumble when you leave. Having a powerful, scalable org chart in place is one of the many ways that you can help prepare your team for exit.

Want to Learn More?

So, you’re on your way to having an awesome org chart in place, plus you have a great team of employees! But how does your company fare culture wise? Here are five signs you have a positive company culture.

Employee Retention

When you consider talent retention, chances are the first thing you think of doing as a business owner or CEO is offering competitive compensation to your employees.

While money is an important factor in attracting and retaining top talent, it’s not the entire cake. Rather, it’s an ingredient in the cake. Arguably, there is a much more important ingredient in the cake that is employee retention. According to a recent Harvard Business Review article on employee retention, the most important ingredient is making your employees feel special.

Now, wait a minute … Before you roll your eyes at how cheesy or “unprofessional” you might think this is, give it some serious thought.

Here, we’ll help you.

Feeling Valued and Special in the Workplace

Don’t worry, we’re not going to get all mushy gushy.

But why is it important to feel valued and special in the workplace? Well, according to Investors in People, the need to feel valued is not an abstract concept.

They write, “As human beings, we know what it feels like to feel undervalued and before long it can become intolerable. This is not only true in the workplace, but in relationships, family life, social clubs, and more.”

Feeling special in the workplace results in a number of positive benefits, according to the American Psychological Association (APA), including:

  • Better physical and mental health
  • Higher levels of engagement, satisfaction, and motivation.

“All the things that lead to a healthy and productive relationship between employer and employee,” says Investors in People.

How Can You Make Employees Feel Special?

So, how can you ensure your employees—more specifically your top talent—feel special in order to attract and retain them? Don’t worry, we’re not going to advise you to take your employees out for a happy hour every week (although we’re sure they wouldn’t complain!) or to buy them flowers and chocolates (kind of weird…)

Harvard Business Reviews narrows making your top talent feel special to three things you should never do. Here’s what they are.

Never Dismiss Their Ideas

Regardless of whether or not the idea is immediately actionable, ensure that your employees’ ideas are heard. Do not dismiss their ideas. Also, it’s important to remember that chances are, when an employee comes to you with an idea, it’s because they’re able to see an issue on the horizon.

Never Block Their Development

Offer your employees opportunities to grow. Is there a seminar or conference you know they’d like to attend to grow their knowledge? Support them in this! As an employer, you should always be championing your employees’ development.

Never Pass Up the Chance the Praise Them

Words of praise go a long way. Chances are your top talent works around the clock on difficult projects and tasks. When you fail to recognize this, employees might become resentful or look for other places of employment.

A Final Word

There you have it! The secret to retaining your top talent: making them feel special. (See, it’s not rocket science!) Read on for tips for attracting and retaining great talent.