Today, there's no shortage of examples of inspiring company culture. Organizations such as Google, Netflix, Zappos, Great Place To Work, and QoQa have all built unique brand identities by aligning vision, values, rituals, and innovative managerial practices. In this way, their culture has become a genuine lever for performance, engagement, and impact.
These figures alone speak for themselves:
- 66% of executives believe that culture is more important to performance than the company’s strategy or operating model (PwC).
- Creating a solid culture can help a company achieve +35% performance, +63% engagement and +25% retention (Gartner).
What does an inspiring corporate culture look like? Discover 10 examples of organizations that've successfully united their teams around a strong company culture that perfectly reflects their image.
1. Netflix
When it comes to inspiring company culture, global streaming giant Netflix is often one of the first examples that springs to mind. Here's why.
Mission
Netflix defines itself not just as a streaming company, but as one that wants to entertain the world by pushing back the boundaries of creativity. Its ambition: to combine innovation and excellence at every level.
Values
The Netflix culture is based on courage, curiosity, innovation, and impact. These values are at the heart of its every decision—from recruitment to retention of top talent.
Codes and Rules
The first rule: freedom and responsibility. Little hierarchical control, no strict policies on vacations or expenses—just total trust in employees. "Radical transparency" is another standard: everyone has access to strategic decisions, and direct feedback is highly encouraged.
Rituals
- The "keeper test:" managers regularly ask themselves the following question: "If this employee decided to set sail tomorrow, would I do everything in my power to keep him?" If the answer is no, the company prefers to offer the employee a severance package.
- The "post-mortem meeting:" no rumors flying around after a firing here. Oh, and each failure is analyzed publicly to learn from it and do better next time.
Management Style
At Netflix, it's all about total autonomy. There’s no systematic validation by a superior: everyone here's responsible and must act in the interests of the company. This model of corporate culture encourages initiative and adaptability in a constantly changing environment.
2. Google
Another telling example is Google, whose company culture combines innovation, well-being and transparency.
Mission
Google seeks to facilitate access to information and encourage innovation by giving its teams the freedom to create revolutionary solutions. Its mission is simple: "organize information on a global scale to make it accessible and useful to everyone."
Values
The company is founded on strong principles: innovation, transparency, impact, and boldness. Initiative and continuous improvement are encouraged at all levels.
Codes and Rules
Google operates in an agile way, letting everyone contribute ideas and challenge existing methods and operations. Transparency is essential: employees have access to strategic decisions and can interact directly with managers at weekly meetings rather than staying siloed in with their direct superiors.
Rituals
- TGIF Meetings: these weekly meetings enable the founders to answer employees' questions about strategy and current projects.
- 20% Time: a principle that encourages employees to devote 20% of their time to innovative projects outside their core missions. Gmail and Google Maps are two examples.
Management Style
Google relies on collaborative management anchored on trust. Rather than imposing a rigid hierarchy, the company encourages autonomy and co-creation, offering resources and a framework conducive to experimentation.
3. Zappos
Zappos, an Amazon subsidiary specializing in the online sale of shoes and clothing, has forged a worldwide reputation thanks to a corporate culture focused on customer experience and employee well-being.
Mission
Zappos doesn't just pitch products: its foremost aim is to create an exceptional customer experience. The company wants to bring happiness to its customers—but also to its employees. To this end, it places satisfaction and corporate culture at the heart of its model. This vision is directly reflected in the company's purpose—what employees call their WOW philosophy—which is "to provide the best customer service possible."
Values
Zappos is founded on 10 core values that guide its actions and decisions:
- Deliver WOW through service
- Embrace and drive change
- Create fun and a little weirdness
- Be adventurous, creative, and open-minded
- Pursue growth and learning
- Build open and honest relationships with communication
- Build a positive team and family spirit
- Do more with less
- Be passionate and determined
- Be humble
Codes and Rules
At Zappos, cultural fit is a key criterion when recruiting new staff, and this is considered just as important as technical skills.
Management is based on strong employee autonomy and a flexible organizational structure. Every employee is encouraged to show initiative and suggest improvements.
Culture is documented and shared through the "Culture Book," an annual compendium in which employees describe—in their own words—what it means to work at Zappos.
Rituals
- "The Offer:" at the end of the first-week orientation period, Zappos offers new employees a $2,000 check to leave the company if they don't feel fully in tune with the culture. Why? They simply want engaged employees—not quiet quitters.
- The "Weird Talent Show:" an event where employees can showcase their atypical talents.
Management Style
Zappos has long experimented with Holacracy, a governance model in which power is not concentrated in the hands of a few individuals, but distributed among several self-organized teams capable of making autonomous decisions. Although the company has more recently shifted away from this model, it continues to favor a horizontal structure where decision-making is distributed and employees are empowered.
Want to find out more about governance models like Holacracy and discover other examples of company culture steeped in these principles? Check out our Ultimate Guide to Organizational Models: 👇
4. Great Place To Work Netherlands
Great Place To Work (GPTW) is a mission-driven organization that helps companies improve the employee experience and employer branding through surveys, coaching, and a globally recognized certification and Best Workplace lists. Each local office largely has its own company culture and values—and GPTW Netherlands is a perfect example of that!
Mission
The goal of GPTW Netherlands is clear: to help companies become “a great place to work for all”—work environments rooted in trust, pride, and camaraderie. Their approach is based on the belief that a positive culture—where employees feel heard and valued—drives business performance.
Values
The company champions integrity, respect, innovation, diversity, and inclusion, and operates around four core values:
- "We care:" Prioritizing the well-being of both employees and clients in a supportive environment.
- "We challenge:" Encouraging feedback and innovation while maintaining a healthy work-life balance.
- "We are on a mission:" Combining positive impact with business performance.
- "Together we got this:" Relying on the strength of the collective to succeed as a team.
Codes and Rules
Transparency is a foundational pillar at GPTW Netherlands—especially around topics like salaries. The company holds itself to the same standards it recommends to clients: creating a workplace built on trust and care.
Strategic and operational decisions are made collaboratively with the team. Everyone is encouraged to speak up and share ideas freely. Feedback and learning are seen as tools for continuous improvement. For example, GPTW Netherlands invests 7% of its payroll in employee development.
Rituals
- The “Trust Index:" Twice a year, the team runs its own internal trust barometer to measure engagement and employee well-being.
- Collaboration Fridays: Every Friday, the full team comes to the office to catch up, share company news and results, and end the day with a relaxed team moment.
- Holacracy meetings: All meetings follow a structured Holacracy format, including a check-in and closing round.
- Hiring for value, not culture fit: GPTW Netherlands doesn’t hire for cultural fit, but for the unique value a candidate can bring to the team. After one year, each employee is offered a permanent contract to foster long-term collaboration.
Management Style
The Dutch office of Great Place To Work has adopted a self-management model, where decision-making is distributed and each employee enjoys a high level of autonomy. To support this way of working, the team relies on the Holacracy methodology and on Talkspirit’s agile governance platform.
Talkspirit helps map out each role clearly—along with its responsibilities, performance goals, and salary level. This gives employees the clarity and confidence they need to make decisions independently, within the scope of their role—without always needing approval from others.
Also read: How Great Place To Work Implemented Self-Management Using Talkspirit
5. Spotify
Another example you're probably familiar with is the company culture of Spotify, a Swedish music streaming platform. The company has developed a unique model based on agility, enabling its teams to innovate rapidly.
Mission
Spotify's mission is to unleash the potential of human creativity, offering artists the chance to make a living from their music and listeners unlimited access to inspiring content.
Values
Spotify values principles such as autonomy, experimentation, innovation, and collaboration. Learning is at the heart of its culture, and the company encourages a mindset where failure is seen as an opportunity for progression. Diversity and inclusion are also essential, fostering an environment where every employee can express his or her potential.
Codes and Rules
Spotify touts an agile structure built on a culture of autonomy and responsibility. Teams work in "squads"—small, independent units in charge of a product or functionality, offering a high degree of decision-making freedom. When these teams work in the same area of expertise, they are considered "tribes."
Employees can communicate with each other via "chapters" (business communities) and "guilds" (communities of interest), which encourages the capitalization and sharing of knowledge. Flexibility is also a key principle: each employee can adapt his or her schedule according to his or her needs and responsibilities.
Rituals
- Spotify Hack Weeks: several times a year, employees set aside their usual tasks to experiment with new ideas and develop innovative projects.
- Fikas: inspired by the Swedish custom and word for having a chat over coffee, these informal breaks build bonds and encourage spontaneous exchanges.
- Team retrospectives: regular opportunities for squads to analyze their successes and areas for improvement and adjust working methods.
Management Style
Spotify has adopted a management style based on trust and empowerment. Hierarchy is reduced to the bare essentials. Managers act as coaches rather than supervisors, encouraging autonomy and initiative. This agile organization enables the company to innovate constantly, all the while ensuring strong internal cohesion.
6. QoQa
Swiss e-commerce company QoQa surprises its "Qommunity" every day with quacky offbeat offers. The secret? A company culture founded on trust, autonomy, and collective intelligence, which we’ll demonstrate through several examples. First: at QoQa, we don't talk about employees, we talk about otters! 🦦
Mission
An ambitious mission guides all its actions: to surprise and amaze the community every day.
Values
The QoQa culture is centered around five core values, embodied in their daily work:
- Goodwill: trust, respect and generosity guide all internal and external interactions. Each "otter" (their mascot for employees) must be able to flourish in a supportive and humane environment.
- Expertise: strive for excellence in every way possible. After all, otters are sharp, determined, and always, always ready to surround themselves with winners.
- Pleasure: the most important thing is to please the "Qommunity" all the while enjoying work. Every project must be fun, stimulating, and chock full of good vibes.
- Cooperation: thanks to Holacracy, QoQa teams make decisions collectively. They move forward together, share ideas, and value synergies over silos.
- Independence: autonomy is strength. Each otter is encouraged to suggest, test, make mistakes, and innovate. Mistakes are part of the learning process.
Codes and Rules
At QoQa, the main rule is trust and common sense. Every decision is based on a simple question: "If you were talking with your best friend, would you behave this way?” If the answer is no, then you can do even better!
Rituals
- The Qeynote: a major annual internal meeting to share the company's ambitions.
- Solidariday: a charity event organized every year as an alternative to Black Friday.
- Anniversary week: a festive highlight with special offers and events for the Qommunity.
- Regular internal events, organized in their own HQ.
Management Style
Management at QoQa has always been empowering and oriented towards self-entrepreneurship. The Holacracy model adopted just three years ago has made it possible to structure and document these practices, and thus develop the otters' autonomy. Thanks to Talkspirit, everyone can now visualize the organization's roles and make proposals in complete transparency (like developing their missions).
This model allows everyone to take initiatives and contribute fully to QoQa's collective success. The result: an organization that's become more transparent, responsive, and deeply aligned with the values it seeks.
Also read: How QoQa Successfully Implemented Holacracy with Talkspirit
7. Buurtzorg
Buurtzorg is an inspiring example of an organization that has succeeded in creating a company culture based on autonomy and trust. Specializing in home care services, this Dutch company has demonstrated that decentralized operations and a patient-centered approach can improve the quality of care while reducing costs.
Mission
Buurtzorg aims to provide more humane and efficient home nursing care by giving caregivers the freedom to organize their work as close to their field as possible.
Values
The Buurtzorg model is based on autonomy, trust, simplicity, and proximity. The company believes caregivers themselves are best suited to decide how to care for their patients.
Codes and Rules
Buurtzorg doesn't rely on middle managers or cumbersome bureaucratic processes. Teams organize on their own, with collective responsibility for patient care, recruitment and scheduling. Transparency is paramount: each team has access to the same information and can call on the help of coaches if they feel the need. This structure limits administrative constraints, allowing caregivers to focus on their core mission.
Rituals
- Solution-focused meetings: rather than dwelling on problems, teams concentrate on what's working well and how to improve it.
- Peer coaching: when a caregiver runs into a snag, they can turn to their peers for help.
- Consensus-based decision-making: Buurtzorg's teams make decisions collectively, seeking consensus from all.
Management Style
Buurtzorg operates without a traditional hierarchy and applies a model inspired by self-organization. The organization provides coaches that guide their teams without imposing directives. Strategic decisions are decentralized, and each team is responsible for its own operations.
Buurtzorg's example illustrates how an organizational culture based on autonomy and trust can transform a sector as structured as healthcare. Its model has inspired many organizations around the world, proving that autonomy and trust are powerful drivers for innovation and performance.
8. Welser Profile
Welser Profile is a family-owned Austrian company specializing in the design and production of steel profiles. With a history spanning more than 360 years and a presence in 14 countries, the company is now recognized as a leader in its field. In 2018, Welser Profile began a cultural transformation to improve team agility and alignment. Here’s a closer look at their new company culture.
Mission
Welser Profile believes that “inspired people create opportunities for future generations.” This vision reflects the company’s long-term mindset, which focuses on empowering talent to drive sustainable growth.
Values
Four core values shape the culture at Welser Profile:
- Growing and succeeding together: Challenges are tackled as a team, and continuous learning is encouraged.
- Innovating with passion: Progress requires boldness, and mistakes are embraced as part of the learning and innovation process.
- Valuing every individual: Each person is recognized for their uniqueness. Equality, respect, and diversity are actively promoted.
- Thinking in generations: As a family business, Welser makes sustainable, responsible decisions rooted in its local communities.
Codes and Rules
At Welser Profile, every action aligns with the company’s purpose, which serves as a daily compass for decision-making.
Authority stems from expertise, not hierarchy. Employees are encouraged to continuously grow their skills to meet the challenges of tomorrow.
Autonomy goes hand in hand with collaboration: each person is accountable for their roles, while also contributing to collective success.
Transparency and clear communication are seen as essential for building trust and making teamwork more effective.
Rituals
- Welcome Days: Every new hire visits the company’s historic forge and creates their own medal.
- Family Day: Once a year, employees and their families come together to celebrate the company’s values and intergenerational roots.
Simple but meaningful, these examples of rituals strengthen engagement and the sense of belonging—both essential pillars of any strong company culture.
Management Style
Welser Profile uses Talkspirit to support the Welser Organizational System, a hybrid model that combines elements of Holacracy with more traditional structures. The goal is to give employees greater autonomy while aligning their efforts around a shared purpose.
At Welser, employees aren’t confined by job descriptions—they can take on multiple roles based on their skills and continuously evolve them. This agile setup allows the company to adapt quickly to change while increasing both individual ownership and team engagement.
Want to learn more about Welser’s company culture and how they use Talkspirit? Check out their full customer story here.
9. Decathlon
French sporting goods giant Decathlon (think Dick's Sporting Goods) employs over 100,000 people in 70 countries. Its company culture is based on a passion for sport, autonomy, and team spirit—strong concepts embodied in its day-to-day activities you'll see in the examples below .👇
Mission
Decathlon's mission is simple yet effective: make sports and exercise accessible to as many people as possible, improve quality of life for all, and protect our planet.
Values
The company promotes 4 key values, shared by all its employees in France and abroad:
- Vitality: being positive, dynamic and full of energy
- Responsibility: being autonomous, engaged and active in one's own life
- Generosity: doing things from the heart and looking out for others
- Authenticity: being sincere with yourself and others
Codes and Rules
At Decathlon, trust comes center and foremost. The right to experiment, make mistakes, and start over is the way of life. Partners make decisions on the fly. A spirit of sportsmanship, informality, active listening, and a culture of feedback are all integral to everyday life. Personality and motivation count for more than qualifications, and collective performance takes precedence over individual accomplishments.
Rituals
- Maintain cohesion through breakfasts, sporting challenges, and social events
- Align teams through daily or weekly meetings and discuss development of everyone's skills in monthly meetings
- Mentor new arrivals to pass on the corporate culture
- Share passion for sports through monthly sports activities
Management Style
Decathlon relies on an empowering, participative management style where everyone can propose and try out new ideas and learn from them. The principle of subsidiarity means that decisions are taken where they have the greatest impact. Intrapreneurship is encouraged, and ideas from the field are often at the origin of innovative projects. This culture of autonomy and trust gives everyone the desire to act, learn, and contribute.
10. Amicio
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Specializing in customer relationship management, Amicio is another French outfit with over 550 employees. It was the first contact center service provider to obtain mission-driven company status. Since 2005, the company has drawn on its love of the customer to offer outsourcing, consulting, and training services focused on authentic, long-lasting, value-driven relationships.
Mission
Amicio's mission is "to reveal the nobility of the customer relations professions and put it at the service of mankind and society."
Values
Four key values guide Amicio's day-to-day actions:
- Agility: Amicio adapts quickly to customer needs and market developments.
- Proximity: the company values a strong human relationship—both with its customers and employees.
- Commitment: they're committed to providing quality services, contributing to regional development, and creating a positive impact on society through our CSR commitments.
- Team spirit: collaboration and solidarity are strongly encouraged among teams.
Codes and Rules
Collaborative management lies at the heart of Amicio's culture. Employees are encouraged to take part in decision-making and help each other to effectively respond to customer needs.
Chairman and founder Benoît Bourla believes "every interaction is a unique moment for our customers, our employees and consumers." Geographical and relational proximity is therefore a real differentiating criterion, helping the company to achieve sustainable performance.
Also read: [Expert Voice] Amicio's Best Practices for Effective, Agile Collaboration
Rituals
Here are just a few examples of the rituals that shape Amicio's company culture:
- Team-building activities around rugby to strengthen team cohesion.
- Charitable involvement: participation in events such as Sidaction.
- Daily rituals inspired by the three types of love: Eros, Agape, and Philae.
Management Style
Amicio's management culture is based on the LARGE model (France's League of Former Collegiate Rugby Players). Inspired by rugby, this approach values collective intelligence, initiative and responsibility. It encourages everyone to win and keep the "ball" (customers), in order to earn the right to "play" (collaborate).
Their management style is highly collaborative and agile. Each employee must demonstrate autonomy—but also solidarity with his or her colleagues—in order to ultimately achieve the same goal: a satisfied customer!
A Final Word
While each has its own story, all these examples of company culture have one thing in common: agility, autonomy, innovation, and collaboration. These are the tools that allow us to drive change and strengthen our teams' engagement.
At Netflix, Spotify, Buurtzorg and Great Place To Work Netherlands, culture isn't just talk: it's a strategic tool that guides behavior, decision-making, and priorities on a daily basis.
If you, too, would like to build an inspiring corporate culture, here are a few guidelines:
- Start by defining your purpose: answer the "why" that gives meaning to your work and helps align your teams.
- Trust: give more autonomy to stimulate responsibility and engagement.
- Encourage continuous improvement: remain agile, keep learning, test, and constantly evolve.
Want to change your corporate culture? Download our white paper and discover concrete levers for achieving your cultural transformation: 👇
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