Renovate Company Culture
In every (business or social) group, there’s a few people that have a stronger personality (good or not so good). In every group, the group norms are being heavily influenced by strong personalities. If you’re not purposely and consciously creating the culture you want to have, the stronger personalities will shape the culture for you!
Getting the Company Culture Right!
Do you allow culture to develop by happenstance and hope the right people are going to influence it? Of course not! Instead, as leaders, we should be purposeful and focused to create the culture we want rather than simply letting it happen by default
In short, if you don’t get the culture right in your company, things go sour! And, it doesn’t matter if you have 10 people or 1,010 people!
We live in an age of incredible innovation and breakthroughs. Extraordinary leaps in technology are commonplace. Your technological edge no longer makes the difference.
The real difference is the people. And how people feel collectively develops into the culture of your company.
As Sir Richard Branson says “Clients do not come first. Employees come first. If you take care of your employees, they will take care of the clients”
The People Behind the Machine!
People are not machines. In the 20th Century people were treated as “resources” much like any other resource. This is no longer appropriate in the 21st Century! The old “carrot and stick” approach to motivation simply doesn’t work any more – in fact, it demotivates people (this is scientifically proven!).
Demotivated, stressed and overwhelmed staff don’t perform well. They are reactive, disruptive and not innovative. When people are dissatisfied and lack joy, they can’t produce extraordinary results or deliver the type of customer service that is expected today.
On the other hand, when your company actively focuses and promotes the personal and professional development of their people, staff are more engaged, motivated and happier on and off the job.
Many companies need a culture renovation to unlock their organisation’s potential.
The Reality Check!
Do any of these sound familiar?
- It’s hard keeping good people – staff turnover is up.
- People are taking more sickies
- Bullying and gossiping are tolerated
- There’s a lack of trust between managers and employees
- Morale is low
- People fear making mistakes
- There’s an unhealthy degree of competition between staff
- People get to work late
If any of these are happening in your workplace, we need to talk – soon!
How would you rate the importance of culture in terms of its impact on your company’s reputation and ultimately, the bottom line?
1 being of no importance and 5 being of vital importance.
What number would you give it?
Virtually everyone I’ve asked has given this question a 4 or 5. In other words, business leaders see their company culture very important to the success of the company.
Now, three more questions.
Do you have a:
- Written strategic Business Plan that outlines major goals and initiatives etc?
- Sales plan with sales targets and quotas with who is responsible for achieving which targets?
- Written budget and financial plan?
Most business leaders say a resounding YES to all three of the above
And now a last question ……
Do you have a written culture plan for how you are going to consciously drive your culture?
Virtually all business leaders so NO to this one!
What does this mean?
Most people see culture as very important to their organisations success BUT they do not have a plan to develop and maintain it! They are also NOT proactive in developing the type of culture they want!
A recent study of 90,000 people found that only 21% were fully engaged in their work. Alarmingly, 40% were actively disengaged! Companies with low-level employee engagement had a 33% decline in income over a 12 month period.
So, how do you improve your company culture?
It starts with developing a set of what I call “behavioural fundamentals”.
Behavioural fundamentals are foundational to success and include a brief description of what you mean by that behaviour. They describe the behaviour you want people to consistently take and are a way to demonstrate our values in action. They are action orientated and systematic and therefore they can be measured and tracked. They are an incredibly effective way of developing your company culture by consciously defining what behaviour is expected and acceptable.
It’s been said that culture is the shadow of the leader. It’s easy to talk the talk but as a leader, do you walk the talk? Leaders at all levels significantly affect company culture. They must pursue their own personal/professional development so they know, understand and manage themselves at a high level. They also need to encourage the personal development of their people and to define and live the company mission and behavioural fundamentals day to day. It is encouragement and demonstration from the top, that rank and file employees will truly buy-in to the expected behaviours. When this level of buy-in happens, the culture starts to shift.
Let’s chat about your company culture. Call me on 0419 831 373 or email me at wayne@successknowhow.com.au