Introduction
Culture is often transmitted through informal cues: how meetings are run, how conflict is handled, what questions are considered acceptable. These signals are powerful but fragile. When an organization grows, culture can degrade because these signals are no longer transmitted consistently. Information-theoretic onboarding treats culture as a signal that must be encoded, transmitted, and preserved.
The Problem of Cultural Noise
Cultural noise occurs when new hires infer incorrect norms. For example, silence in a meeting might be interpreted as agreement, when the culture actually expects dissent. If the signal is ambiguous, behavior diverges. Over time, culture fragments.
Encoding Culture
Encoding culture means making the implicit explicit:
- Stating norms in writing.
- Demonstrating expected behaviors in onboarding sessions.
- Providing examples of decision-making criteria.
This is not about rigid rules. It is about providing clear reference points so that new hires decode the culture correctly.
Redundancy for Critical Values
Some cultural values are critical to organizational identity. For these, redundancy is not waste; it is error prevention. You reinforce core values through storytelling, mentorship, and visible leadership behavior. The repetition ensures the signal survives noise.
Feedback and Adjustment
Cultural signals should be verified. You can ask new hires to describe the culture after their first month. Their responses reveal what signals were received. If their understanding diverges from intent, you adjust the encoding.
Example
Suppose the culture values speed over perfection. If this is not explicitly stated, new hires might spend weeks over-optimizing. By encoding the norm clearly—through onboarding stories and decision examples—you reduce that mismatch.
Going Deeper
Cultural signal transmission ensures that culture scales. Without it, the organization becomes a patchwork of interpretations. With it, culture becomes a stable, shared framework.