Building and Sustaining a Strong Company Culture
One of the most persistent challenges facing CROs is high turnover. As Lexitas continues to grow, maintaining a healthy, engaging company culture remains just as critical as maintaining our clinical trial systems. Both are fundamental to our company’s productivity, efficiency, and long-term success.
Company culture is shaped by many factors, but at its core, it thrives when leadership is committed to fostering it. However, culture isn’t built by leadership alone—it’s shaped by everyone, from the CEO to the most entry-level employee. A strong workplace culture is rooted in trust, psychological safety, feeling valued, professional development, open communication, and a sense of belonging. These elements mean different things to different people and understanding what matters most to employees is key to cultivating a positive work environment.
Building and sustaining a strong culture must be a priority, and leaders need continuous feedback to ensure the culture aligns with the needs of the organization and its people. Trust and safety form the foundation. Employees need to know that their voices are heard, their confidentiality will be respected whenever legally appropriate, and their personal well-being is valued as much as their professional contributions. Leaders must understand what motivates their teams and how best to communicate with them. Supporting work-life balance is essential, and just as important is follow-through—doing what we say we will do.
When trust and safety are strong, our culture remains resilient through times of change. Leadership transitions, reorganizations, and even difficult business decisions like layoffs can erode trust if employees feel disconnected from leadership. Maintaining open, transparent communication and reinforcing our commitment to our team helps sustain culture even in challenging times.
We spend a significant part of our lives at work, so beyond trust and safety, we want to enjoy what we do, connect with our colleagues, and be recognized for our contributions. Building relationships across the company is vital, especially in remote or hybrid environments. Taking a few minutes at the start of a meeting to check in on non-work topics can help foster connections.
Creating opportunities for engagement through company-sponsored events—whether a step challenge, trivia competition, or college basketball bracket—gives employees a variety of ways to interact. Recognition should also be diverse, from peer-nominated awards and promotions to company-wide celebrations of key milestones and mentorship programs. Understanding how employees prefer to be recognized allows us to tailor our approach in meaningful ways. Culture isn’t static—it evolves as we grow. That’s why ongoing conversations and employee feedback are essential to ensuring we continue to build and sustain a thriving workplace where people feel supported, valued, and empowered to succeed.
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