This article was updated on May 29, 2026, to reflect the latest information.
TL;DR: A strong company culture strategy doesn't happen by accident — it requires intentional design, employee buy-in, and champions across the organization. Tackle.io built their Culture Working Groups to do exactly that: give employees ownership over the values and behaviors that shape their daily work lives. Here are four practical tips from Tackle's vice president of people and culture that any organization can apply.
When Tackle.io's leadership team sat down to define their company culture strategy, they knew a pen-and-paper exercise wouldn't cut it. They wanted their values to be alive — felt in day-to-day decisions, team interactions, and the way people showed up for each other in a fully remote environment.
The result was Culture Working Groups (CWGs): employee-led teams that create intentional programs and initiatives to cultivate commitment and shared purpose across the organization.
The stakes are real. According to Gallup's State of the Global Workplace report, culture and engagement issues account for 69% of the reasons employees leave — far outweighing pay as the primary driver of turnover. Getting culture right isn't a soft initiative. It's a business priority.
"We wanted to make sure our values weren't a People Team run program. Our Tacklers live and breathe our culture daily," says Ellen Thorne, vice president of people and culture at Tackle.
We sat down with Ellen to hear how Tackle's Culture Working Groups are enriching their workplace, along with her best tips for how other companies can define and build an authentic company culture strategy.
Workplace culture as a component of success
Tackle's Culture Working Groups started with a core belief: workplace culture is not a nice-to-have. It's an essential component of success.
"We recognized that a strong and positive culture leads to greater productivity, employee engagement, and retention. We knew that achieving this required a company-wide effort, not just top-down directives from our senior leadership," says Ellen.
The Culture Working Groups were built to create champions across the organization, bringing together employees from different departments and levels to brainstorm, develop, and implement culture initiatives.
"These are an integral part of our strategy for employee engagement and retention," says Ellen. "We believe that our Tacklers are our greatest asset. By investing in their success and well-being, we create a culture that fosters innovation, creativity, and growth. And with the help of our Culture Working Groups, we're able to do just that — one conversation, one connection, and one champion at a time."
Employee engagement in action
The impact is already clear.
"These groups have helped to foster a more inclusive and supportive work environment for all employees," says Ellen. As Tackle is a fully remote organization, she highlights the Community Pods, which support local and regional Tacklers in building a stronger sense of community both in-person and virtually. "Thanks to their efforts, Tackle's recent end-of-year party and all-company meetings have become instrumental pillars in bringing people together in a fun and meaningful way."
Ellen also describes how Tackle's CWG-DEIB — the working group focused on reducing unconscious biases and barriers to inclusion — supported the People team in redefining the paid time off (PTO) holiday schedule, including incorporating holidays across both Canada and the U.S.
Meanwhile, CWG-ERG, the working group that celebrates the uniqueness of diverse groups within Tackle, built the foundation for what an ERG should look like at Tackle. "They'll be piloting our She+Tackles ERG with the company this year," Ellen says.
While participation in the Culture Working Groups is voluntary, the incentive is clear. "Every member is passionate about maintaining a culture that was intentionally designed so that Tacklers want to be part of it every day," says Ellen. By participating, team members have direct influence over the values and behaviors that shape their everyday environment.
4 tips for building your company culture strategy
"Being able to articulate what culture you want to have as a company, with buy-in and a champion mindset with all key leaders, is key," says Ellen. "Defining a culture strategy from that point will be so much easier to build on."
Here are Ellen's four tips:
1. Invest time to define your core values
Aligning your core values to your culture strategy is foundational. But the process matters as much as the outcome.
"Involving others in the organization, including a bottoms-up approach, means there is an accurate representation from the organization as a whole," says Ellen. Values that employees helped shape are values employees will actually live by — not just post on a wall.
2. Identify champions in the organization
Culture programs succeed when ownership is distributed. Champions at every level of the organization can serve as advocates and mouthpieces for your programs in ways that HR alone can't.
"A lot of times, People/HR is owning and driving programs, but culture is broader than a People function," shares Ellen. "Creating more ownership and opportunities for others will help any culture program or initiative be sustainable and relevant over time."
3. Be intentional about communications and decision-making
Your culture should show up in how decisions get made and how information gets shared — not just in formal programs or all-hands presentations.
"If one of your key core values is transparency, that attribute should be felt in all facets of the employee experience, from the first interview and company meetings to emails and Slack threads," says Ellen. Every touchpoint is an opportunity to reinforce or undermine the culture you're building.
4. Make it your own
A company culture strategy that borrows someone else's playbook rarely sticks. The more specific and authentic it is to your organization, the more it will drive real adoption.
"Think creatively! You can create your own culture strategy, and the more unique it is to you, the more it will drive adoption and the stickier it will be," says Ellen.
Build a culture worth staying for
A company culture strategy is only as strong as the systems that support it — recognition, training, inclusion programming, and leadership development all play a role. PowerToFly's employee retention and engagement solutions help organizations create the kind of culture where people want to show up and stay, with expert-led live training and on-demand learning built for today's workforce.
See how PowerToFly helps you build a high-performing inclusive culture.
FAQ: company culture strategy
What is a company culture strategy?
A company culture strategy is a deliberate plan for defining, communicating, and reinforcing the values, behaviors, and norms that shape how people work together. It goes beyond mission statements and posters — it's reflected in how decisions get made, how people are recognized, how conflicts are resolved, and how new employees are welcomed.
Why do company culture strategies fail?
Most culture initiatives fail when they're driven entirely top-down, disconnected from daily work, or treated as a one-time exercise rather than an ongoing effort. Culture that isn't owned across the organization — by champions at every level, not just the People team — tends to fade quickly. Lack of consistency between stated values and actual behavior is also a common breakdown point.
What are Culture Working Groups?
Culture Working Groups (CWGs) are employee-led teams organized around specific cultural priorities — like inclusion, community, or employee resource groups. Rather than leaving culture entirely to HR, CWGs distribute ownership across the organization, giving employees direct influence over the programs and initiatives that shape their workplace.
How do you get employee buy-in for a culture strategy?
Involve employees in building it from the start. A bottoms-up approach — where employees at different levels contribute to defining core values and culture initiatives — creates authenticity and ownership that top-down directives can't replicate. Identifying and empowering champions across departments sustains that engagement over time.
How does company culture affect employee retention?
Culture is one of the strongest predictors of whether employees stay or leave. According to Gallup's State of the Global Workplace report, engagement and culture issues account for 69% of the reasons employees leave — significantly outweighing compensation as a driver of turnover. Organizations that invest in a deliberate culture strategy see measurable improvements in both retention and productivity.
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