Craft Your Culture: Designing Award-Winning Workplace Cultures

At Craft Your Culture, we have one primary purpose: to elevate human performance by thoughtfully designing workplace cultures. Our recent work with Phoenix Software, an ambitious technology company rapidly growing to over 500 employees, has been nominated for a prestigious industry award. Here’s a closer look at the award-nominated initiative and what it means to our business and our mission.

The Phoenix Software Culture Transformation Initiative

Phoenix Software approached us during a pivotal period in their growth journey. Having doubled in size over five years, they faced significant cultural challenges: preserving their legacy, welcoming a more diverse and hybrid workforce, and navigating the rapid pace of technological change. Our goal was clear: craft a culture that empowered both existing and new employees to thrive individually and collaboratively.

Our initiative was built around our proprietary three-step process for designing high-growth cultures:

1. Goal Setting: Clearly define the commercial objectives and growth timelines.
2. Curated Story: Articulate the company’s DNA, what employees value, and the narrative they share.
3. Future Customer Brand: Establish the perception Phoenix aims to cultivate among future customers.

After extensive research through workshops, surveys, and executive facilitation sessions, we developed the Phoenix Software Culture Blueprint, a living document designed to guide all employees, old and new, through their journey in the company.

Inside the Culture Blueprint

Phoenix Software’s Culture Blueprint provides clarity and direction on what it means to be part of #TeamPhoenix. At its heart, it encapsulates Phoenix’s fundamental beliefs: integrity, collaboration, kindness, continuous learning, and psychological safety.

Psychological safety was particularly emphasised to ensure everyone at Phoenix felt comfortable sharing ideas, making mistakes, and learning openly—a critical aspect of growth and innovation. Inspired by Amy Edmondson’s work, the Blueprint highlights the importance of cultivating a safe environment to speak freely, fostering deeper connections and greater trust among employees.

Implementation & Results

The implementation phase involved internal launches, comprehensive training programs for leadership at all levels, and engaging bootcamp experiences for employees. Utilising the Perform 365 platform, we continuously monitored and assessed the impact, ensuring the culture transformation was deeply embedded throughout the organization.

The results speak volumes:

• Phoenix achieved significant milestones towards their ambitious growth targets.
• High psychological safety scores averaging 8.8/10, showcasing an empowered, communicative workforce.
• Strong alignment with company values, averaging 4.6/5, indicating deep cultural integration across teams.

Testimonials & Recognition

Being nominated for this industry award underscores the transformative impact of our collaboration with Phoenix Software. This recognition is not merely a personal achievement; it is a powerful validation of the Craft Your Culture methodology tailored specifically for high-growth, ambitious businesses.

Sam Mudd, CEO at Bytes Technology group (the parent company for Phoenix Software), shared, “Craft Your Culture’s innovative approach has genuinely transformed how our people experience work every day. The cultural blueprint isn’t just a document; it’s how we live and work together now.”

From our perspective, entering and being nominated for this award is invaluable. It highlights the critical role that intentional culture design plays in achieving business success and employee satisfaction. The recognition significantly contributes to our overarching goal of becoming globally recognized experts in workplace culture, particularly in high-growth environments.

Why This Means So Much to Us

At Craft Your Culture, our mission transcends conventional business goals. We aim to create lasting, positive changes in the workplace by deeply understanding human behaviour, decision-making, and neuroscience. The work with Phoenix Software perfectly exemplifies this mission—balancing ambitious commercial growth with meaningful, human-centred culture development.

Winning or even being nominated for an award of this calibre reinforces the importance of culture design as a strategic imperative. It confirms that when companies prioritize psychological safety, clear values, and intentional behaviours, they unlock extraordinary potential and deliver impressive business results.

Looking Ahead

This nomination inspires us to continue refining and evolving our approach, bringing even greater value to future clients. For Craft Your Culture, the journey continues: helping organisations navigate growth by crafting cultures where individuals and teams truly thrive.  We love being able to do this work!

Author: Sean O’Shea