Building a Culture That Helps Talent Stay and Thrive
Across our industry, leaders are facing a common challenge: finding and retaining talented professionals. With an increased volume of infrastructure work, the need for engineers is expected to continue to grow in the coming years, yet enrollment in university engineering programs continues to decline. Combined with workforce losses after the 2008 recession and the COVID 19 pandemic, the result is a workforce with fewer mid level engineers and intense competition for those who remain.
With a limited pool of engineers, firms are competing more aggressively for staff. While higher salaries are often used as a recruitment tool, compensation alone rarely keeps someone long-term. What does make a difference is culture, and the organizations that invest in it are the ones most likely to retain strong teams.
Why Culture Matters More Than Ever
Culture, at its core, is the collective experience within an organization. It shapes how people show up each day, how connected they feel, and how confident they are that their contributions matter. A 2018 Harvard Business Review study determined that 9 out of 10 employees would accept less money to do more meaningful work. This was further supported in 2022 by an MIT study of employee turnover that determined organizational culture has ten times the impact of compensation. In our experience, when someone is considering leaving B&N and the only counteroffer made is more money, their stay is usually temporary. People remain where they feel valued and supported.
A frequent message we hear from our staff is that they want work-life balance and respect in the workplace. They want to learn and be challenged. They want meaningful work and the ability to provide input on their careers. Everyone has a desire to be part of an organization that wants them to succeed. The ability to provide that environment is a result of organizational culture.
Shifting From Reaction to Intention
Strengthening culture starts with understanding where you are today and where you want to go. Many leadership teams benefit from a neutral perspective to identify those opportunities. In our case, working with an outside facilitator helped us set clearer expectations and create a shared vision for our future culture.
One idea that shaped our journey was treating our culture like a thermostat instead of a thermometer. A thermometer reports the current temperature, but a thermostat sets it. When organizations simply react to the moment, culture becomes inconsistent. When organizations set their desired environment and adjust intentionally, culture becomes a strategic tool, as highlighted in Thermostat Cultures by Jason V. Barger (2016). This shift requires leaders to listen with purpose, understand what their teams need and make changes that guide the organization forward.
Adopting a Servant Leadership Mindset
Another important shift involved redefining how we view leadership. Traditional organizational hierarchy places leaders at the top, with employees supporting them. However, when you flip this model, you create a servant-leadership structure where leaders support employees and clients.
Servant leadership views employees as a company’s greatest asset. Leaders ask how they can remove barriers, provide resources and create conditions for people to do their best work. This approach not only builds trust but also strengthens retention because employees experience leadership as a partner rather than a distant decision-maker.
Four Steps to Calibrate Your Team
As leadership models evolve, alignment becomes essential. These four steps can help organization build shared ownership of culture.
1. Define the mission.
Clarify what leadership looks like in your organization and how it should support your firm's culture goals. Ask staff for input and ensure the mission reflects both organizational direction and employee experience.
2. Establish the vision.
Engage people in imagining what the organization can become. When staff help define the vision, they see themselves as a part of the future of the company and are more committed to building it.
3. Define your values.
Values should inform decisions, not simply live on a wall in the office. Revisit them regularly, explain how they shape expectations, and use them as a compass to guide day-to-day interactions.
4. Develop a strategy.
Bring the mission, vision and values to life through action. This may involve providing new opportunities for feedback, facilitating leadership discussions or establishing employee committees that represent all levels of the organization. At B&N, our culture committee has helped broaden voices and increase transparency.
When employees contribute to these steps, they feel seen, involved and invested. The process becomes a shared commitment rather than a top-down initiative.
Looking Ahead
With talent in high demand, culture is one of the most powerful ways an organization can differentiate itself. It requires consistent effort and participation from everyone, not just leadership. A strong culture honors the past while staying open to new ideas. It listens, adapts and creates space for people to succeed. Most importantly, it builds a workplace where teams feel connected to each other, confident in their opportunities and proud of the work they do for the communities they serve.
To learn more about B&N’s culture, visit the Culture area of our website, watch this video and visit our LinkedIn Life page. Interested in joining our team? Check out our current job postings and apply today.
