What You See Is What You Get -- or Is It?

By contrast, when I was a copyright clerk in radio, working in a grimy office for low pay, I was surrounded by talented people who treated me with respect and encouragement. Everyone talked to everyone, assistants lunched with producers, doors were -- literally -- propped open. My peers and bosses were male, female, gay, straight, black, Asian, Welsh, fat, thin, young and old, glamorous, and scruffy. Only years later did I look back and notice the absence of any discrimination, harassment, or injustice. I thought everywhere was like that.

Now, 20 years later, some of my radio colleagues are still there, still doing great work. In looking at corporate cultures, perhaps the greatest single indicator of all is retention: How long do people stay with the company? In companies with fast staff turnover, no one builds strong relationships -- what's the point if your colleagues are going to leave next year? Or, as Robert Putnam put it in Bowling Alone, "for people as for plants, frequent repotting disrupts root systems." In business, the root system is the culture; it's what nourishes the company and makes it grow.

It doesn't take a lot of plate glass and steel sculptures. It takes time.

Additional Resources

• Great Place to Work Institute: Lists companies that have scored highest on trust, pride, and enjoyment; includes trust indexes and culture audits for U.S. and international companies
• Vault: "Gold Snapshots" offer interviews with current and past employees of companies
• WetFeet: Offers insight into particular companies through interviews and insider guides
• Where Women Want to Work: This free service offers research and comparison tools for women to identify employers of choice

Also, always look to see whether your company has a Web site for alumni. Former employees can give great insights and, while some may have an ax to grind, others have no particular reason to be other than frank.

Margaret Heffernan is former CEO of ZineZone Corp. and iCAST Corp. Additional information about Heffernan -- as well as additional Culture Club columns -- are available in Online Insights.