Is Cultural Change all that important?

Cultural Change in business.

Culture in an organisation is the sum of a million little things. It is the different ways organisations ‘do things’. Cultural Change in business means changing the way people in a company think and act, its created by the language, decision making, symbols, stories and legends, and daily work practices demonstrated by the organisation . Ideally there should be a focus on working better together to achieve company and personal development goals.

What is being observed in many public and private organisations establishing a healthy culture as opposed to one that is inherently dysfunctional and in some cases toxic should be a leadership imperative.

In business, Cultural Change is often overlooked in large transformations. However, it is possibly the strongest factor impacting company metrics. The way people treat each other, what they do when leaders are not looking, and what they prioritise, all come down to the unspoken rules of company culture.

Cultural Change in business is required for companies to adapt when market or internal operation conditions are suboptimal. For startups, establishing the right Cultural attributes is equally important. Changing behaviours and the ‘mindset’ that drives those behaviours – is crucial for a successful cultural change. It will allow for business to rapidly pivot and respond positively to the volatile market conditions.

Culture is Negotiated – One Leader or group of leaders cannot create a culture alone. Employees must try to change the direction, the work environment, the way work is performed, or the manner in which decisions are made within the general norms of the workplace. Culture change is a process of give and take by all members of an organisation. Formalizing strategic direction, systems development, and establishing measurements must be owned by the group responsible for them. Otherwise, employees will not own them.

Culture is Difficult to Change. Culture change requires people to change their behaviours. It is often difficult for people to unlearn their old way of doing things, and to start performing the new behaviours consistently. Persistence, discipline, employee involvement, kindness and understanding, organisation development work, and training can assist you to change a culture.

Why Cultural Change is important now.

Michael Murphy

With external market conditions being volatile in our current time, companies are feeling the pressure mount up on reduced ROI, increased Board concerns, allied to talent attraction and recruitment difficulties. Ultimately harnessing the collective energy and commitment of our people can only be realised if the cultural environment has been created for them to thrive and deliver great work.

Deloitte’s Gen Z & Millennial Survey notes that “39% and 35 % respectively, have turned down employers (whose cultures) do not align with their values.” Michael Murphy, Principal in our Canadian office says, “Using culture as a talent attractor and retention tool is one of the clearest ways to build a workforce of the future that has the critical skills needed and is highly engaged in the organisation’s purpose and mission.”

For companies to stay relevant and thrive their people need to be empowered, engaged, skilled and adaptable. A positive culture change can encourage employees to be more innovative, productive, and engaged.

What is required for Culture Change to be a success?

Based on our collective experiences at ADAPTOVATE we have identified 4 key areas that are critical for a successful Cultural Change. However, it is necessary to measure the current organisational cultural values first. To change, it is important to understand what the status is, and learn what the key challenges are within the specific business. Undertaking an initial diagnostic that includes hearing from your employees is a great way to begin.

This can be in the form of workshops or surveys or a combination of both. Talk to leadership as well. Often what the employees think and what leadership think, may be worlds apart. Creating a high level of alignment about what we want to maintain, grow or discourage in our future state is also important.This is why it is valuable to have independent and objective third party partners involved so we don’t introduce excessive bias in our desired state outcome.

1: High Alignment

2: High Autonomy

3: High Clarity/Transparency

4: High Trust

Brigitte Odgers-Jewell

How these areas are approached will depend on the organisation. Leadership will need to be 100% aligned and committed to the approach. For larger organisations undergoing a Transformation, it will usually be an external company that is guiding the leadership through whole initiative. Brigitte Odgers-Jewell, our Principal in Singapore, notes, “The role of a leader has also changed. Leaders are in place to remove blockers, clarify vision and purpose and give their people the tools they need to go above and beyond to achieve goals.”

At ADAPTOVATE we have identified four crucial areas that impact Cultural Change when we support Transformations with our clients:

1. CONTINUOUS IMPROVEMENT: Collaborating with the client to have them ready for sustained success and continuous improvement (including Coaching and Training)
2. TRANSPARENCY: Implementing approaches using structures and tools that make the work visible and build greater accountability (and thus build a high-trust organisation.)
3. TRUST: Building trust with the stakeholder and leadership team from the outset – and understanding deep rooted Cultural challenges. We collaborate with Executives as well as teams on how to shift behaviours
4. EMPATHY: We understand and are empathetic for those impacted by change. It’s important to continually bring the focus back to humans, not statistics.

So what?

Recognition that culture is important is not new or a groundbreaking- insight! However, the most difficult question is where should we start? As always it depends on where you are, a good place to start is understanding the strengths and weaknesses of your current Cultural Environment against the 4 key areas we have outlined and focus on the priority areas . If this is of interest please contact us below and we will respond within 24 hours.