2021 State of Culture Report

Survey Research
People Analytics
Co-authored gothamCulture’s first annual global study of organizational culture during COVID-19, with survey data from 241 respondents across 200+ organizations.
Published

May 1, 2021

Publisher: gothamCulture & the Global Organizational Culture Institute Authors: Chris Cancialosi, Zad ElMakkaoui, Brian Lind, Casey Osorio-Duffoo Role: Co-author; data cleaning and data analysis (internship)

Read the full report (PDF)

The question

During the COVID-19 pandemic, some organizations adapted and even innovated while others struggled. What aspects of organizational culture separated the two?

The study

  • Survey: a 70-item survey covering culture, climate, performance, COVID-19 responses, values, and social justice practices (Likert-scale and open-ended items)
  • Sample: 241 respondents from more than 200 organizations across six continents, including HR/OD and non-HR professionals and roles from individual contributor to executive
  • Collection: six weeks of snowball sampling through professional networks and social media
  • Framework: gothamCulture’s Culture Mosaic, which scores four culture dimensions: Inspire, Deliver, Enable, and Adapt

Key findings

Bar chart: organizations that innovated during COVID-19 scored higher on Enable (79 vs 61) and Adapt (78 vs 53).

  • Culture predicted adaptability. Organizations that pivoted or innovated during the pandemic scored significantly higher on all four Culture Mosaic dimensions, for example Enable (79 vs. 61) and Adapt (78 vs. 53).
  • Defining culture matters. Organizations with a shared definition of culture, especially one shaped by leadership, scored significantly higher on all four dimensions. Only 44% had one.
  • Measurement isn’t action. Only 36% formally measured culture, and just 21% said their assessments led to real change, a clear gap between data and action.
  • Remote work is here to stay. 68% expected remote work to continue after the pandemic.
  • Social justice: organizations that discussed social justice openly and honestly significantly outperformed those that treated it as “lip service.”

My contributions

  • Cleaned and prepared the survey data for analysis
  • Analyzed the survey results, comparing groups of organizations on Culture Mosaic scores
  • Helped design and analyze the survey in SurveyMonkey, Excel, and R, and created visuals comparing cultural trends across industries

Tools

R, Excel, SurveyMonkey