Culture isn’t built in workshops or written in handbooks. It’s shaped in the small, everyday moments- how people communicate, make decisions, and get things done. Increasingly, that means it’s shaped by the tools they use. The systems that run payroll, approve leave, or manage expenses quietly set the tone for how a company operates and how people feel about working there.
Take Slack, for example. We used it heavily in our last business, and it became part of our DNA, the rhythm of how we collaborated, shared wins, and even joked. If you’d taken it away, it would’ve felt like pulling the rug out from under the culture itself.
The pace at which things get done also shapes culture. Tools that make decisions and tasks quick to complete help set a productive rhythm, a sense of forward motion that builds confidence and keeps teams connected.
The Problem: Control Over Culture
Traditional people management software was built for control. It hides pay details behind permissions, requires endless form-filling, and uses language that feels bureaucratic rather than supportive.
That kind of design erodes trust. People start to feel managed at, not with. Even simple things like submitting expenses or requesting a holiday become frustrating time-sinks, time that could be spent looking after customers instead.
If your company values trust, your tools should reflect that. An expenses system that needs three layers of approval to buy a pack of pencils sends a very different signal to one that assumes good intent. The irony is that these systems were meant to make work simpler, yet they often make it more complicated and less human. Conversations move outside the tool, and the tool becomes a chore, something you update afterwards “because it’s process.”
The Shift: A New Expectation
Work in 2025 looks different. People expect openness in how they’re paid, flexibility in how they work, and confidence that decisions are fair and transparent.
Culture isn’t a statement on a wall anymore; it’s embedded in your systems. It’s not about what values you say you believe in, it’s how those values show up every day and in the tools your people use.
The Solution: Culture-Encoded Software
That’s the idea behind Aigence, a new kind of payroll and people management platform that doesn’t just automate admin but amplifies trust, autonomy, and fairness.
- Trust by design: Employees can see their pay breakdowns, pension contributions, and expenses in real time. Nothing hidden or mysterious, just clarity that builds confidence. They can adjust pension contributions and instantly see the impact on their pay. They can also see who’s on holiday, making it easier to plan time off.
- Empowerment through automation: AI handles the complex stuff- tax, compliance, anomaly detection, so people can focus on meaningful work, not paperwork. Employees can ask the AI assistant questions about pay differences or tax and get simple, clear answers without waiting for HR.
- Fairness at scale: Consistent processes and compliance intelligence ensure everyone is treated equally.
- Human tone: The platform speaks like a good manager- calm, clear, and kind.
Every Workflow Is a Cultural Decision
Culture doesn’t live in slogans. It lives in the thousand micro-moments that shape how people experience work- checking a payslip, requesting time off, submitting expenses, or fixing a small mistake.
Each of those moments sends a signal about how your company treats people. Aigence turns those moments into proof points for trust. When fairness and transparency are built into the system, culture stops being an aspiration and becomes something operational, measurable, and real.
The Impact: From Process to Progress
When people trust their pay, their tools, and their leaders, they show up differently. They stop second-guessing, bring more energy, and feel safe to speak up. That’s what modern people management should deliver, not just smoother operations, but stronger, more empowered teams.
Culture isn’t something you build once. It’s something you run on and the best teams use it as fuel.
