4 Reasons HubSpot's Culture Code is the Best in Tech

Beach houses in Southern California and bungalows at top ski resorts don’t come cheap for no reason. And there’s a reason why people prefer spending time with good friends rather than toxic relatives: people want to be in a pleasant environment. Not exactly a groundbreaking insight, but for some reason, not all companies seem to apply this common sense when it comes to their corporate culture. Consider this: turnover in a company with a positive corporate culture is 13.9 percent, whereas in a company with a negative one it’s 48.4 percent. Employees leave a bad work environment. Who would have thought?

Remember: It's about a positive versus a negative corporate culture. Not every culture is suitable. Your company will develop a culture one way or another. But without clear guidelines for corporate culture, something could develop that you don't like. Guidelines for corporate culture help you in selecting suitable employees. They remind employees of desired and undesired behavior. And – in the case of success – they can create an excellent working environment.

HubSpot has thoroughly outlined its corporate culture code. Here are four things you can learn from it:

It is easy to understand.

No one reads long, complicated texts about your corporate culture. Make it simple. HubSpot has divided its culture code into seven points:

• We are fully committed to our mission and our metrics.
• We think long-term and put the customer at the center.
• We communicate openly and are remarkably transparent.
• We focus on autonomy and take responsibility.
• We believe that our best employees are our greatest asset.
• We dare to be different and to challenge the status quo.
• We know that life is short.
  
  Reduce your company culture to a few core values. You can explain these values in more detail later, but they should be understandable within a few minutes and clearly show what is important to the company.

It is public.  

It is difficult for employees to adhere to a code of conduct if they don't know it. Simply type 'HubSpot Code of Conduct' into a search engine. You will get numerous results. That is optimal.  

If you cannot publish your code of conduct online, upload it to a place where all employees can access it. Print the code on posters and hang them up in the office. Make sure the code is easily accessible so that employees are reminded of it.  

Publishing your code of conduct offers additional benefits. Applicants can get a better sense of what sets your company apart (and whether they like the work environment). Additionally, you might be mentioned by other companies because they happen to come across it. (Wink, wink)

It is precisely formulated to create clarity.

Sometimes things become a bit unclear when reduced to their core values. What does HubSpot, for example, mean exactly by the commitment to mission and metrics? Well:

HubSpot makes it clear that they care about more than just high profits. But they are also logical enough to know that they cannot survive long if they neglect the metrics. They explain all the unclear concepts that their code brings very well.

It has a certain flair.

Culture should be welcomed, not forced. Design your culture code playfully. This way, employees won’t feel like they are reading a complicated contract. Take a look at how HubSpot gives personality to its code:

They communicate something valuable in a friendly way (that they do not tolerate office politics). Find a distinctive voice for your company and let it shine through in your code. This voice should reflect your organization’s personality so that anyone reading the code gets to know you better.

Whether you have one employee or a thousand – your culture benefits from a clearly defined code. This way, you can maintain a deliberately designed environment even during staff changes and growth. So define your culture code. It should be easy to understand, easily accessible, precise – and have a little fun along the way.

A clearly defined Corporate Culture Code is a pragmatic necessity, not a luxury. It acts as an explicit guideline for desired behavior, significantly lowering turnover and improving the work environment. Learning from the HubSpot model—making the code simple, public, precise, and engaging—ensures that the culture is actively maintained during growth and staff changes. For companies utilizing a robust HR platform, this cultural blueprint is essential for ensuring alignment. IceHrm can operationalize this code by incorporating its core values into various modules, such as using the values in Performance Appraisals for behavioral feedback or embedding the code in the Employee Onboarding process. By using IceHrm as the vehicle to consistently reinforce the intentional culture defined in the code, organizations ensure that their operational HR practices support and strengthen the desired, positive working environment.