Beneficência Portuguesa: culture for thousands of people

Key takeaways

• It is possible to develop a performance culture without giving up the humanized values that define the identity of a healthcare institution.
• Listening research revealed strong pride of belonging, but also a real tension: professionals missed recognition and spaces of care directed at those who care.
• Building observable behaviors from strategic drivers is a concrete way to make culture applicable to everyday work.
• Forming Culture Guardians expands the leading role of leaders and distributes responsibility for cultural transformation across the organization.
• Recognition is not a secondary benefit: creating mechanisms to value contributions strengthens bonds and sustains organizational performance over the long term.

The dilemma

Beneficência Portuguesa de São Paulo is one of the most traditional healthcare institutions in the country. Throughout its history, it has built a reputation strongly associated with human care, clinical excellence and commitment to patients and communities.

However, the transformations in the healthcare market required organizations in the sector to expand their capacity for management, financial sustainability and operational efficiency. In a context of growing competitiveness, BP needed to strengthen a performance-oriented culture without giving up its humanized essence.

The challenge was to balance two equally important forces: preserving the values that had always characterized the institution while developing an organization prepared for the challenges of an increasingly complex and dynamic market.

What we heard

The research conducted throughout the project revealed a strong pride of belonging. BP’s values were widely recognized and admired by employees, reinforcing the perception of an institution committed to care and to its purpose.

At the same time, an important tension emerged. The intensity of the transformations, combined with the fast pace of operations and organizational change, was affecting the experience of professionals. In an institution permanently in motion, many people found it hard to perceive recognition, development and spaces of care directed at those who care.

From this listening, the need to strengthen the employee experience became evident, creating the conditions for the organization to evolve in a way that was sustainable for the business and for people.

What we built

Over a three-year journey, between 2022 and 2025, we developed an integrated culture and employee experience program.

The work began with an in-depth diagnosis of the people journey, identifying opportunities from attraction and selection to the processes of development, recognition and offboarding.

Based on this understanding, we redesigned the employee journey, structured an employee value proposition (EVP), developed personas for the organization’s critical audiences and modeled the candidate journey to strengthen talent attraction.

In parallel, we built a new Culture Matrix, translating the institution’s strategic drivers into observable behaviors applicable to everyday work. To sustain this transformation, we formed a group of Culture Guardians responsible for spreading concepts, strengthening communication and expanding the leading role of leaders.

The project also gave rise to an incubator focused on developing a culture of recognition, creating mechanisms to value contributions, develop talent and strengthen bonds between people and the organization.

What it cultivated

The program helped consolidate a culture better prepared for the challenges of the future, without losing the attributes that made BP a national reference in healthcare.

The institution strengthened its capacity to attract, develop and engage talent, expanding the connection between purpose, employee experience and organizational performance.

The cultural advances came to sustain a more competitive organization, recognized for its continuous evolution, for consistent results and for a growing presence in market rankings and indicators.

More than new processes or programs, the project helped consolidate an essential conviction: to care well for the people who arrive at BP every day, you must also care for those who devote their lives to that purpose.

Frequently asked questions

How long did the project at Beneficência Portuguesa last?

The project lasted three years, between 2022 and 2025.

What is a Culture Guardian and what was their role in the project?

The Culture Guardians formed an internal group responsible for spreading the concepts of the new Culture Matrix, strengthening communication and expanding the leading role of leaders in the transformation process.

Why did BP need to change its culture if it was already recognized for excellence in care?

The transformations in the healthcare market required greater operational efficiency and financial sustainability. The challenge was to develop a performance-oriented culture without losing the humanized values that had always characterized the institution.

What is an EVP and how was it used in this project?

EVP, or employee value proposition, is the set of attributes an organization offers its people. In the BP project, it was structured based on the diagnosis of the employee journey to strengthen the attraction and retention of talent.