Verbalize the culture from the outset to support ambition
sunday stood out in the landscape of scale-ups by hiring its HR Director, Mathilde Lugger, even before the official launch of the company, from its first fundraising.
Why formalize the culture from the start?
The three co-founders of sunday, also behind the Big Mamma group, had a strong conviction: to attract and retain the best talents in a context of hypergrowth, culture had to become a strategic lever.
Just two weeks after her arrival, Mathilde and the co-founders initiated a reflection around values. A simple question guided their work:
"What are the values we need to achieve our ambition?"
They took into account criteria such as their entrepreneurial experiences, the reality of hypergrowth, and the attractiveness of values to talents and clients.
The values of sunday
The reflections of the founders and Mathilde Lugger led to the definition of three fundamental values:
👌 Simple: Cultivate simplicity in actions and decisions.
🤝 Trust: Establish trust in internal and external relationships.
🚀 Beyond: Go beyond expectations and limits.
These values were quickly shared in a top-down manner with the first employees.
Steps to anchor values in daily life
Observe and listen to enrich values
Not coming from the HR world, Mathilde Lugger adopted an observer's stance. She listened to the founders' feedback on recruited candidates, particularly in terms of cultural fit, to refine and enrich the values.
This iterative method transformed vague concepts into precise and actionable behaviors.
Define success criteria for values
Six months after the initial definition of values, Mathilde formalized six key dimensions to evaluate employees:
Entrepreneurship
Growth mindset
Team player
Autonomy/Flexibility
Ambition
Personality
Study: According to a Gallup survey, companies with formalized and integrated values in their HR processes increase employee engagement by 14% and productivity by 23%.
Infuse culture into HR processes
Recruitment
Culture is integrated from the recruitment process, with a final round dedicated to the culture-fit interview, evaluating the six dimensions. The assessers rate each dimension on a scale of 1 to 5 and highlight warning points or recommendations.
The profile of the assessers has evolved:
Initially, only the HR Director and the HR team.
Then, senior managers outside the candidates' teams to avoid biases related to urgency.
Today, the HR team has taken the lead again.
A manifesto inspired by the Netflix deck was written to showcase sunday's values and working mode. This document, available on the company website, is a key tool for candidates.
Discover the sunday manifesto 👇
Is there anything more boring than a company's values?
Onboarding
Six months after the launch, sunday formalized an onboarding program including a culture module. Mathilde presents the values, the reality of a hypergrowth company, and what it implies in terms of mindset and expected behaviors.
Talent review
Each position is associated with a scorecard defining skills and behaviors aligned with the culture. Employees are assessed on these behaviors, notably on the fundamental values:
Simple: I know how to prioritize and communicate well with my peers.
Trust: I am confident in myself and share my opinion, even in disagreement.
Beyond: I am positive in the face of challenges and enjoy stepping out of my comfort zone.
Relying on managers to drive culture
Identify and manage cultural gaps
Mathilde implemented a system of People Business Partners (HRBP) to identify cultural misalignments. She and her team meet each manager every two weeks for 15 minutes with a list of specific questions.
Identified cases are tracked via a People ticket dashboard, allowing the impact of corrective actions to be measured.
Strengthen managers' storytelling
For each HR decision (leave policy, mutual termination), Mathilde develops a narrative aligned with the culture. This helps managers be effective and coherent relays of decisions to their teams.
Create a managerial community
sunday organizes a Management Academy, bringing managers together monthly for training and exchange sessions. These meetings promote the sharing of experiences and strengthen the sense of belonging.
FAQ – Answers to frequently asked questions about corporate culture
Why formalize a corporate culture from the beginning?
Formalizing a culture from the creation allows laying solid foundations for growth and defining expected behaviors, thus facilitating the recruitment and integration of talents.
How to integrate culture into HR processes?
Actions like recruitment with culture-fit interviews, dedicated onboarding programs, and regular evaluations help translate values into concrete behaviors.
What are the challenges of a culture in hypergrowth?
The main challenge is maintaining cultural alignment while recruiting massively. This involves quickly detecting gaps and responding proactively.
What is the impact of culture on performance?
A strong culture increases employee engagement, reduces turnover, and improves overall performance. For example, according to a Deloitte study, 94% of executives consider a strong corporate culture crucial for organizational success.
Key takeaways
Do not seek pleasing values, but useful values. Values should guide behaviors necessary to achieve the company's ambition.
Rely on managers. They are essential relays to capture weak signals and drive culture.
Prioritize cultural actions. Adapt your efforts to the development phase of your company.
Conclusion
Do you want to align your corporate culture and mission?
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