Culture has a lot to do with attitude, and how things are expressed.

If you wait to create your culture, you’ll find that you already have one.

You should thoughtfully craft your company values and purpose as early as possible, and then use that to drive the decisions from then on. It is a sure-fire way to attain and maintain the culture you want.

If you think that expressing your “culture” is having “beer friday” and “wall climbs” and “all night hackfests”, you’re going to find that you’re excluding some of your employees simply by default.

A true business culture should be one where quality of work is valued, and where who hangs out at what bar doesn’t determine who gets promoted or hired (although, too frequently that’s the case.)

Remember that some of your employees may have families, or may be planning to have them. They will appreciate a work culture they can go home to be with them – not one where they need to spend time after work doing more work to “bond.”

So, to make your culture more employee friendly, create plenty of experiences and time within the normal work hours for this bonding to happen.

Here are a few tips:

• Have conversation areas.
• Create a nice lunch room, with communal tables.
• Instead of beer-o-clock do an afternoon tea, or morning coffee.
• Offer brown bag sessions where employees can share expertise and mingle.

Little things like that can make it a more open environment and much more welcoming to people who would otherwise feel left out from “after school activities.”