why organisational culture matters, and how to … · why organisational culture matters, and how...
TRANSCRIPT
Why is organisational culture important?
Organisational cultures characterised by
high levels of employee engagement lead to ...
↓ Higher service, quality and productivity
↓ Higher customer satisfaction
↓ Increased sales
↓ Higher profit and shareholder returns
Why is organisational culture important?
Organisational
culture became more
important when
intellectual capital
became mobile
11 June 2013 Page 3
1800 1900 2000 2100
Agrarian age
Industrial age
Information age
Consciousness age
Industrial age Information age Consciousness age
growth change transformation/evolution
quality intellectual capital cultural capital
skilled labour knowledge management creativity
productivity learning vision
efficiency re-engineering shared values
cost effectiveness systems emotional intelligence
economies of scale processes social responsibility
mass marketing customer satisfaction customer collaboration
Richard Barrett and Associates LLC, Cultural Transformation Models and Tools
What is organisational culture?
“Culture is what is created from the messages that are received about how people are
expected to behave. Cultures develop in any community of people who spend time together and
who are bound together through shared goals, beliefs, routines, needs or values. Cultures exist
in nations, corporations, sporting clubs, schools, families, religious communities, professions and
social groups. Humans are tribal … we read the signals about what it takes to fit in, and we
adapt our behaviour accordingly. This is a survival strategy ...we in turn reinforce these tribal
norms, or accepted behaviours, and thus reinforce the culture … The process is supported by
peer pressure.”
Carolyn Taylor in “Walking the talk – building a culture of success”
“The culture of an organisation defines appropriate behaviour, bonds and motivates
individuals and asserts solutions where there is ambiguity. It governs the way a company
processes information, its internal relations and its values. It functions at all levels from sub-
conscious to visible.”
Charles Hampden-Turner in “Corporate culture – from vicious to virtuous circles”
11 June 2013 Page 4
Culture refers to the pattern or set of thoughts, speech and actions that
we receive, transmit and reinforce – often unconsciously
What is organisational culture? ► Beliefs - opinions, doctrines or principles held as being true by a person or group
► Behaviours – the outward manifestation of beliefs (conscious or unconscious)
Associated concepts include:
► Cultural resilience - the ability of an organisational / human system to withstand shocks
and endure under duress
► Cultural entropy - the proportion of energy in an organisational / human system that is
consumed by non-productive activities e.g. bureaucracy, empire-building, politicking
11 June 2013 Page 5
Context
Concept
Beliefs Behaviours
Values
“Values are the shorthand method for
classifying beliefs and behaviours”
Barrett – Cultural Transformation Models and Tools
Barrett’s 7 levels culture model
Page 6
Positive focus / excessive focus
SERVICE 7 SERVICE TO HUMANITY
Long-term perspective. Future generations. Ethics.
2 RELATIONSHIP
SURVIVAL
Good communication between employees, customers and suppliers. Manipulation. Blame.
PURSUIT OF PROFIT & SHAREHOLDER VALUE Financial soundness. Employee health and safety.
Exploitation. Over-control.
DEVELOPMENT OF A CORPORATE COMMUNITY
SELF-ESTEEM Productivity, efficiency, quality, systems and processes. Bureaucracy. Complacency.
BEING THE BEST. BEST PRACTICE
RELATIONSHIPS THAT SUPPORT CORPORATE NEEDS
3
TRANSFORMATION Learning and innovation. Organisational growth through employee participation.
INTERNAL COHESION 5
4
Positive, creative corporate culture. Shared vision and values.
MAKING A DIFFERENCE 6 Strategic alliances. Employee fulfillment. Environmental stewardship.
COLLABORATION WITH CUSTOMERS
& THE LOCAL COMMUNITY
CONTINUOUS RENEWAL
1
Source: Richard Barrett and Associates LLC, Cultural Transformation Models and Tools
Barrett culture “dot plot”
Orange = PV, CC & DC Orange ONLY (no underline) = CC & DC Blue = PV & DC
Personal values Current culture values Desired culture values
2 5 9
8 4 6
7 3
1 7 7
2 4 10
1 5 6
3 8
9
1.
safety 352 1(O)
2. diversity 218 4(R)
3. blame (L) 215 2(R)
4. confusion (L) 205 3(O)
5.
continuous improvement
203 4(O)
6. bureaucracy (L) 187 3(O)
7. control (L) 183 1(R)
7.
customer satisfaction 183 2(O)
8. quality service 182 3(O)
9. equity 174 4(O)
1. accommodating 264 2(R)
2. commitment 248 5(I)
3. professionalism 241 3(I)
4. positive attitude 218 5(I)
5. respect 214 2(R)
6. family 213 2(R)
7. self-discipline 211 1(I)
8. ambition 201 3(I)
9. accountability 187 4(R)
10. fairness 186 5(R)
1 2 10
3 4 5
7
9
6 8
1. accountability 325 4(R)
2. continuous improvement
289 4(O)
3. employee recognition 251 2(R)
4. open communication 223 2(R)
5. customer satisfaction 206 2(O)
6. coaching/ mentoring 204 6(R)
7. safety 198 1(O)
8. employee fulfilment 191 6(O)
9. fairness 186 5(R)
10.
information sharing 181 4(O)
3 CC – DC matches: in a highly aligned culture, one would expect to see 6 or more matching values.
7 Service
6 External cohesion
5 Internal cohesion
2 Relationship
1 Survival
3 Self-esteem
4 Transformation
What do high performing cultures look like?
► The organisation has defined the culture it wants and needs to succeed, and
articulated the values and behaviours that give expression to that culture
• Most organisations operate with a “default” culture: it is simply “the way things are
done around here”
• They do not manage or monitor the culture
► Employee’s personal values are aligned with the organisation’s values
• Staff are able to bring their “full selves to work”
• As a result, they are more committed, feel a stronger sense of belonging, and are
willing to “go the extra mile”
• This means employees should have a say in defining the desired culture – and can
then be held accountable for “living” it
► The organisation espouses full-spectrum values (spread across the 7 levels
of consciousness)
Page 8
What do high performing cultures look like?
► Leaders role model the desired behaviours
• An organisation cannot operate at a higher level of consciousness than the
personal consciousness of the leadership group
• Leaders require high levels of emotional intelligence to drive the desired culture
Page 9
You are a member of your culture. You participate in it every day. Yet you also
intend to influence it. To achieve this you must be able to both participate, and
observe your participation … to move in the dance and to watch the dance at the
same time is a skill you will have to develop … every step you take either supports
or contradicts your words about culture.”
Carolyn Taylor in “Walking the talk – building a culture of success
• The company’s business strategy was distilled into core leadership behaviours
required to drive success
• A set of definitions was developed for each of these core behaviours which
described in concrete, measurable terms how each behaviour should find
expression
• A 360 degree (multi-rater) review was conducted on the top 100 managers,
revealing considerable divergence between self and others’ ratings
1. Promoting leadership behaviours for success
1. We will develop skilled and engaged people
2. We will deliver world class quality
3. We will meet our customers’ expectations
4. We will make good decisions and deliver results
5. We will demonstrate a contagious passion and
commitment
6. We will exercise and encourage entrepreneurial skills
• The review results became key inputs into a voluntary executive coaching
programme for the 30 most senior managers
• Executive coaches participated in supervision sessions to surface trends and
systemic blockages, which were relayed to and addressed by decision-makers
(without breaching confidentiality)
• Workshops were conducted with functional teams on their aggregated scores,
and team-specific remedial action plans developed
1. Promoting leadership behaviours for success
We will develop skilled and engaged people
•This person provides, and clearly communicates, strategic
direction for the team
•This person focuses on developing skills and talent
•This person works in a way that develops the team and builds
trust and respect
•This person empowers team members by involving them in
problem solving and decision making
• There was a significant improvement in scores, and in alignment
between self and other scores, after a year – and again a year later
• Employee engagement scores also increased
• The company believes this intervention contributed to realisation of
business objectives
• The programme was adopted by the country’s parent company as a
best practice
1. Promoting leadership behaviours for success
2. Driving employee behaviour change Lead and lag indicators Online data capture system Key successes
Monthly ranking reports
•Halved unplanned
absenteeism by the
end of the first 6
months
•Halved the number
of “blow reds”
(positive
breathalyser tests)
in year 1 and halved
again in year 2
•Safety training
attendance
quadrupled during
the course of a year
•Injuries on duty
halved over a 12
month period and
disabling injuries
reduced by over
70%
• The aim was to describe and then shift to a culture that would support the
organisation’s turnaround strategy
• The project was designed and implemented
in partnership with recognised trade unions
• More than 44,000 employees were involved in
determining the values and behaviours that would
drive business success
3. Co-creating a new culture
• A national election provided them with the opportunity to vote on the most
important behaviours needed to win
• They rate the company annually on the extent
to which these behaviours have been institutionalised
• Scoring outcomes are used to design business unit-
specific plans to address shortcomings
• They also inform company-wide campaigns
on generic issues
3. Co-creating a new culture
Culture change is driven by systemic change, and through mobilisation
3. Co-creating a new culture
SYSTEMIC CHANGES
Performance management & reward systems
Talent management & leadership development framework
Operations re-engineering
Skills planning &
capacity building
Integrity &
risk management systems
Informal
recognition & reward
Brand ambassador programme
Visible leadership &
management engagement programme
Active change communication & employee engagement
Leadership behaviours charter
PEOPLE ACTIVATION
PROGRAMMES
The culture charter is the glue that binds systemic change and activation programmes
3. Co-creating a new culture
Recognise, capture, affirm, reward behaviours
Involve staff in defining desired culture and optimise buy-in
Regularly assess and make
transparent how we are doing
Lead by example, train, coach,
codify, give feedback, inspire
Embed it in systems and
processes, induct into it, measure it, teach it
Affirm it where
it exists
1 Name it and
sign up
2
Track it
3
Replicate it
4
stitutionalise it
5
Replicate
it
Track it
Institutionalise
it
What shapes organisational culture? Deale and Kennedy’s model
► Deale and Kennedy argue that the most important variables influencing
organisational culture are:
► The import / amount of risk of frequent decisions or actions
► The speed of feedback as to whether the decision or action was wrong or right
11 June 2013 Page 26
Low High
Slow
Fast
Import / risk
Sp
eed
of
feed
back
Government
departments
Riot
police
Surgeons
Futures
traders
Insurance
companies
Consultants
Slow feedback
High import
Fast feedback
High import
Fast feedback
Low import
Slow feedback
Low import
Restaurants
Oil companies
Call centres
Merchant
banks
Risk and Culture
What shapes organisational culture? Harrison and Handy’s model
► Harrison and Handy argue that the most important variables influencing
organisational culture are:
► The degree of formalisation
► The degree of centralisation
11 June 2013 Page 27
High
centralisation
Power-based
culture
Atomistic
culture
Task-based
culture
Role-based
culture Low
centralisation
Low
formalisation
High
formalisation
Relationships
of independents
or free spirits
(e.g. consultancy)
Inter-disciplinary
relationships of integrated
but separate skills
Scientific / process based
relationships
(e.g. government department
or factory)
Verbal and
intuitive
relationships
(e.g. founder-led
professional firms)
Risk and Culture