Culture Mapping Session Planning

Who should participate?

Culture Mapping’s value comes from its focus on human-interaction within a group setting. Here is how we recommend leaders go about planning and scheduling their organization’s Culture Mapping sessions.

For organizations with < 50 employees

• Run Culture Mapping sessions for 100% of all employees not filling a senior leadership role
• Session sizes should range between 3-6 participants each with a max of 10
• Sessions should be split based on participant dynamics and organizational hierarchy. When in doubt, ask “will person A change how they respond if person B is in the room?”
• Plan on sessions lasting approximately 2 hours each

For organizations with > 50 employees

• Run Culture Mapping sessions for a statistically representative sample size of employees not filling the most senior leadership roles–Project Nomad will help determine the appropriate sample size
• Participants should be randomly selected so that the results are representative
• Session sizes should range between 3-6 participants each with a max of 10
• Sessions should be split based on sub-team alignment
• Sessions should be split based on participant dynamics and organizational hierarchy. When in doubt, ask “will person A change how they respond if person B is in the room?”
• Plan on sessions lasting approximately 2 hours each

Where should sessions be held?

Culture Mapping sessions have been held in classrooms, low-traffic hallways, and even on the side of a building. While some spaces are better than others, here are the basic recommendations:

• Space should be quite with minimal outside distractions
• Equipped with a large whiteboard or empty wall-space
• Have good cellphone reception or good Wi-Fi access

What materials are needed?

The Culture Mapping Facilitator should arrive at the session at least 15-minutes prior to its start to prepare the venue using the following materials:

• At least one printed-out QR code for the initial survey
• One printed-out Workplace Culture Canvas for each facilitator
• Enough Participant Handouts printed-out for each participant
• One roll of painters tape for the whiteboard or wall-space
• Enough dry erase makers for each participant
• Enough Extreme Post-It Notes pads for each participan