Organisation culture is built over time. Acceptable and unacceptable Behaviours, Beliefs, Systems, Processes, Traditions etc were initially established in response to external and internal events to protect and safeguard the organisation and its employees.
Over time these notions became deeply ingrained into the organisation to become part of its culture. Markets evolved, Categories grew, People changed, Businesses pivoted and yet as the business grew it become increasingly difficult to change these preconceived notions that have now become organisational culture.
WHAT IS CULTURE?
In its most simplistic form: Culture guides discretionary behaviour; Culture is the employees guide after the employee handbook ends and the CEO has left the room. Culture is what sustains employee enthusiasm in the midst of work stress. Not everything in an organisational culture is bad, there are definitely certain things that need to be reviewed and evaluated for relevance in today's marketplace.
Without Identifying, Evaluating, Eliminating and Imprinting cultural reforms every two to three years, it is almost impossible to drive business growth especially in a competitive market environment; let alone a slowdown market environment.
As Business Owners/ Leaders as part of achieving your growth agenda it is imperative that you also take stock of the current organisational culture to ensure that it is in sync with the new goals of the company.
Start with this simple exercise
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Identify whatever behavioural norms are at work
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Evaluate if they are still relevant and valid
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If there are not valid eliminate them
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Communicate WHY some norms have been preserved/ eliminated and WHY new norms are being implemented
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Hire an external trainer if necessary to help employees understand and align with the new organisational culture
Important things to consider
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Have you discovered, articulated and communicated your company's WHY?
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Have you articulated and communicated your company's Values? (And what they should actually mean to your employees)
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Have you articulated and communicated your company's Vision?
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Culture is not HR’s job. Its everyone's job
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Invest time in talent (hiring, training and retaining)
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Reward/ Award those who epitomise organisational culture
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Honesty and Trust trump free booze every time
Related Reading: How to say 'No' to Customers and still win
Trigger Worldwide is a Brand Marketing Agency, built specifically for businesses to create Sustainable Growth. Our proprietary tools and process methodologies harness Technology, Creativity & Innovation, leverage Economic Drivers and Consumer Beliefs to help businesses overcome marketing inefficiencies and achieve their Growth Agendas.
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