The value of organisational culture
Why good Leadership is not enough
What is the value of your organisational culture?
Especially during annual meetings, leaders often emphasise how important the culture is in which we all work together every day. They underline how crucial a common goal is and how much leaders, as well as managers, care about the employees. However, the phrase “We are not a company. We are a family.” became an overused cliché in the past which generally led to anything but motivation. Today, you can expect an active and outspoken counterreaction to such claims. Looking at anonymous surveys in organisations, most companies are far from being seen as families.
How can your organisation do its best regarding organisational culture and its impact?
Distance
One of the main objections to dealing with organisational culture is based on the highest level in your organisation: your leaders. They often overestimate the quality and appreciation of the organisation’s culture. The reason is simple: they do not have to deal with the challenges, situations, issues, and problems that anyone else has to see daily. Living a privileged life may be beneficial when getting a job done quickly and efficiently. However, the result of their actions is often seen as a group of people sitting in a luxurious ivory tower whilst making decisions that are not suitable for reality. The distance between a leadership decision and the operational business is becoming one of the most significant problems in organisational culture. Be sure always to keep this issue in mind when deciding how to progress with your project.
Culture
Organisational culture is not a tangible product. Noting physical will be produced which you can see, touch and quickly evaluate. The benefits of a great, positive organisational culture can only be seen in the long run. Expecting quick results will set the focus on too many pseudo-activities. Organisational culture will not be changed or designed in an out-of-office hours weekend workshop. Please refrain from making up that everyone volunteered to spend their weekend time there instead of spending it with their families and friends. Hint: using social pressure to force people to give pseudo-commitment to work over hours is not a sustainable approach to Leadership.
Always ensure that every person of this project is aware that it will take quite a while before you see the first excellent results happening. Even some quick wins, in the beginning, are not the sustainable result for which you are looking.
Organisational culture is an intangible benefit that positively sets you apart from the competition. There is no easy and quick approach to this complex situation.
Values
Organisational culture and its corresponding values are your core offer when attracting, winning, retaining and developing talent. If you think you can afford to ignore this aspect, be ready to be forced to offer countless hard-fact based benefits. Especially the salary will then be in the focus of any negotiation.
If you aim to have employees who care more about the organisation than just focusing on the next job with a better salary, be sure that leaders actively engage with the organisational culture project. Any cultural aspect cannot be treated as a delegated objective that you only evaluate after the project is over. All levels of the organisation must participate in the project. When the number of employees is too high to do so, use elected representatives from every part of your organisation. When full participation is granted, your project will get the traction it needs to succeed.
Easier recruiting, lower employee turnover, higher attractivity as an employer, and higher productivity are only some of the many benefits a positive organisational culture offers.
More about organisational culture in
this week’s podcast: click here to listen and learn.
Organisational culture is crucial for you?
Let’s talk: NB@NB-Networks.com.
