the foHRsight podcast: Building company culture that employees never want to leave
Creating a workplace where people genuinely want to stay isn't just about perks and ping-pong tables. It's about building something deeper—a culture so compelling that employees can't imagine working anywhere else. Katya Laviolette, Chief People Officer at 1Password, has cracked the code on building company culture that drives both retention and business results.
In a recent conversation, Katya shared her proven framework for creating what she calls an "irresistible culture"—one that's helped 1Password scale from 500 to over 1,400 employees while maintaining their remote-first approach for nearly two decades.
The Sunday night test: your culture reality check
"Someone told me once that if you go to bed on a Sunday night and your stomach is churning and you're not sure about whether you really want to go back to work on Monday morning, you can do that for a while, but if it's sustained, you should maybe think about it," Katya explains.
This simple employee retention strategy has become her litmus test for organizational health. When employees consistently dread Monday mornings, it signals deeper cultural issues that no amount of surface-level benefits can fix.
The Sunday night test reveals whether your building company culture efforts are actually working. It's not about creating a perfect workplace - it's about fostering an environment where people feel genuinely excited about the impact they're making.
The THREE pillars of irresistible culture
Katya’s approach centers on three interconnected elements that must work in harmony:
1. People-first foundation
"We actually had to codify things because as you grow, you bring in more talent, more cohorts of different age and size and scale, and then things can become disparate and disseminated," she notes.
At 1Password, this means establishing clear values: put people first, lead with honesty, and keep it simple. But values alone aren't enough—they need to translate into specific behaviors that guide daily decisions.
2. Mission-driven impact
Having a compelling mission creates natural alignment. "We have a really strong mission that we're very proud of, and that's keeping people safe," Katya shares. When employees understand how their work contributes to something meaningful, engagement follows naturally.
This remote work culture principle becomes even more critical when teams are distributed. Without the casual conversations that happen in traditional offices, mission alignment becomes the invisible thread connecting everyone.
3. Sustainable profitability
"We're not a not-for-profit. We are a for-profit. And we have investors. We have shareholders," Katya reminds us. The most sustainable cultures balance employee satisfaction with business results.
"All those three elements, when they're in harmony—and they're not always in harmony, it's not always perfect—but if you can get the bulk of them in harmony, then you're rowing towards something that is successful."
Building psychological safety through leadership
Leadership development plays a crucial role in culture sustainability. Katya emphasizes the critical importance of mid-level managers: "The cohort of leaders that's most critical in our success is what I would call that mid-management cohort... I call that the sandwich generation, and they're super critical in terms of ensuring that we're moving the needle."
These managers need support to create psychological safety within their teams. Katya's approach involves transparent communication about expectations and regular feedback loops.
"The whole performance management process, you either love it or hate it, but at the end of the day, when you're finished your performance reviews, there should be no surprises," she explains. This philosophy eliminates the fear and uncertainty that destroys psychological safety.
The power of reverse mentoring
Traditional mentoring models are evolving. "It's actually, when you come into this kind of ecosystem, it works both ways," Katya observes. "You take AI for example... I think we need to actually hire more campus grads because they understand AI more than perhaps other generations."
This employee retention strategy creates value for both junior and senior employees:
Experienced leaders gain fresh perspectives on emerging technologies
Newer employees develop business acumen and strategic thinking
Cross-generational relationships strengthen company culture
"The powerful part of that can be mentoring and it can be me mentoring a younger leader... but also myself getting mentoring from a leader who has perhaps less experience than me, but I'm actually seeing them do something different that I might need to learn from."
Scaling culture without losing authenticity
As organizations grow, maintaining cultural authenticity becomes increasingly challenging. Katya's solution involves anchoring decisions to foundational values while allowing for evolution.
"None of us would be here if it was not for our founders. We have codified those values. Those values are very, very important to us," she explains. "So whenever you're scaling, what's really important is to use that almost as a litmus test and say, as we build, are we being true to these values?"
This approach to building company culture requires:
Regular assessment of cultural health
Honest conversations about fit
Willingness to evolve practices while maintaining core principles
Adult conversations about whether roles still align with the company direction
Practical steps for HR leaders
Based on Katya's insights, here are actionable employee retention strategies for HR leaders:
Implement the Sunday night test: Regularly survey employees about their weekend-to-Monday transition feelings
Codify your values: Move beyond generic statements to specific behavioral expectations
Invest in mid-level managers: Provide targeted support for the "sandwich generation" of leaders
Create feedback loops: Eliminate surprises through regular, honest conversations
Embrace reverse mentoring: Facilitate cross-generational knowledge exchange
Anchor decisions to values: Use core principles as a litmus test for cultural changes
The resilience factor
Katya's perspective on HR's role during challenging times offers hope: "COVID was the most hardest time for any HR professional... because we didn't know what to do. We didn't have a toolkit."
This experience built unprecedented resilience in HR professionals. "I'm super optimistic that that is set like a really good baseline for the HR professional in terms of resiliency, in terms of challenge, in terms of grit."
Looking FoHRward: Building your irresistible culture
Creating a culture people never want to leave isn't about perfection—it's about intentionality. As Katya concludes: "You want people to come to work on Monday morning... and be proud and understand the impact that they're making."
The most successful building company culture initiatives focus on sustainable practices that align people, purpose, and profitability. When these elements work in harmony, you create something truly irresistible—a workplace where Sunday nights become anticipation rather than anxiety.
Start with the Sunday night test. Ask your employees how they feel about Monday mornings. Their answers will tell you everything you need to know about your culture's true health.
