Culture dialogues: bringing our values to life through conversation

Corporate culture is not created through presentations, mission statements, or policies. It emerges wherever people work together, make decisions, take responsibility, and engage in meaningful conversations. That is exactly why we launched our Culture Dialogues: as an open forum for honest exchange about our values and how we truly live them in our day-to-day work.

Since the initiative began, Florian Teufelberger and I have facilitated 19 Culture Dialogues across Austria and Italy. The feedback has been overwhelmingly positive. One thing has become clear: meaningful conversations do not require a perfect group size. Whether there are three or seventeen participants, both formats have proven valuable in their own way.

Our values are at the heart of every Culture Dialogue. Together, we reflect on what they mean to us, how they provide guidance, and how they are expressed in our daily actions. The focus is not on theory, but on real experiences, examples, and perspectives from everyday work. Participants openly discuss what is already working well, where challenges exist, and what opportunities we see to further strengthen our culture. Culture Dialogues are intentionally designed as an open exchange rather than a training session or evaluation. Listening and considering different perspectives are just as important as contributing one's own thoughts and ideas.

At the same time, the past months have shown that these conversations extend far beyond the topic of values. The Culture Dialogues provide space for topics that matter most to our employees today, including collaboration, organizational change, leadership expectations, and ideas for the future.

Following the positive experiences in Austria and Italy, we are now expanding the format further. Over the coming months, Culture Dialogues are also planned in the Czech Republic and the United States.

The dialogues held so far have shown me one thing above all: culture grows through connection and collaboration. When people talk openly with one another rather than about one another, understanding, trust, and a sense of belonging flourish. In the spirit of our motto: Together in Motion.

Christian Nörpel