Free snacks. Ping-pong tables. Casual Fridays. Unlimited PTO.
It all sounds good – until you realize you’re just recreating the Google aesthetic without actually building a culture of your own.
Company culture isn’t defined by trendy office perks.. It’s about the values, behaviors, systems, and rituals that shape how work gets done. And when your culture is a copy-paste job from Silicon Valley, your people feel it.
Here’s how to stop chasing perks and start building something that actually fits your mission, people, and purpose.
Too many companies confuse culture with benefits. But perks are surface-level. Culture lives in:
As McKinsey puts it, culture is the “common set of behaviors and underlying mindsets that shape how work gets done.”
At Bchex, we often see clients trying to patch culture with things like employee wellness apps – while ignoring the root issues of poor communication, inconsistent policies, or untrustworthy leadership.
Read more: Screening policies and trust-building go hand in hand
When companies mimic Google, Netflix, or Apple, they forget one critical truth: those cultures were designed around their unique business models and talent profiles.
What works for Google’s 100,000+ engineers won’t translate to a 40-person healthcare nonprofit or a regional construction firm. In fact, blindly importing practices can create friction, confuse teams, and erode trust.
Harvard Business Review warns that copying “best places to work” practices often backfires when they’re misaligned with company context.
Your culture should reflect:
Not what’s trending on LinkedIn.
Another misconception? That culture is solely HR’s responsibility.
In reality, culture is a leadership function. It must be modeled from the top down, reinforced in hiring, feedback loops, promotions, and day-to-day rituals.
As SHRM notes, “leaders set the tone and lead by example.”
If your executives preach transparency but make decisions behind closed doors, that’s your culture – no matter what your mission statement says.
Bchex Tip: Screening for values-alignment during hiring is one of the best ways to embed culture early.
Culture should answer the question: “What does great look like here?”
There’s no right answer – only your answer.
Zappos, for example, built a culture around customer service obsession. HubSpot built theirs around autonomy and growth. Patagonia? Environmental activism and mission-led living.
None of them tried to be the next Google. And that’s exactly why their cultures stick.
Instead of copying perks, build your culture around these five foundational elements:
If your organization struggles with inconsistency or misalignment, start with a culture audit. You may find you're reinforcing the wrong behaviors – without realizing it.
Even the best cultures can collapse if you ignore compliance, risk, or safety. Just ask any tech company that grew fast and failed harder.
A culture that values “trust” without background screening or visitor management is performative, not protective.
At Bchex, we help organizations build safer environments without sacrificing agility or values. Whether it’s continuous monitoring, volunteer screening, or digital check-in tools, we offer systems that scale with your culture – not against it.
Read: Why background checks are part of culture, not just compliance
To create a company culture that actually works:
You don’t need to be Google. You just need to be consistent, clear, and human.
Bchex helps organizations build cultures of safety, trust, and accountability.
Schedule a demo to explore how background checks, visitor management, and continuous monitoring can support your values-driven workplace.