Cultural Transformation
Cultural transformation sounds impressive and something that we should all be embracing, but what does it actually mean? A company’s culture determines the beliefs and behaviours of how employees and management interact. It is reflected in every aspect of how your business operates.
All businesses have their unique culture, which has either been created intentionally or unintentionally. A company’s culture is often implied as opposed to being defined and generally tends to develop over time from the combined characteristics of the people who have been employed
Historically businesses often left their culture to chance or mistakenly believed that by proudly displaying their mission, vision, or values around the office, employees would automatically be aligned with these.
It is critical to remember that your company’s mission, vision, or strategy can change, and culture is often left behind. Research shows that companies whose strategy and culture are aligned are far more likely to be successful than those who ignore the soft issue of culture.
For example, one of your company’s goals may be to provide superior customer service, but if your culture is one of accepting mediocrity, you will never be in a position to achieve that objective.
Implementing a successful cultural transformation
When implementing a cultural transformation within your organisation, it is key to remember that you are not starting from scratch. The first step is to understand where your business is right now, what changes you want to implement and where you want to be.
A cultural transformation is not an overnight event; it will require intense collaboration across your entire business. As mentioned earlier, it is critical to understand your company’s current culture and define what behaviours are and aren’t working.
Communication is crucial and the most important aspect of any change initiative, especially when it comes to cultural transformation. You will never be able to drive change by forcing your vision. Change requires the participation of everyone in the company, from the most junior employee right up to the CEO.
You need to clearly communicate the rationale for the cultural transformation, and what you are trying to achieve. The change needs to make sense. Cultural transformation can only be truly successful when all employees are engaged in creating a new culture. They need to be willing and proactive in identifying areas that need to be improved.
In other words, everyone needs to understand their role and how they fit in. Most importantly, they need to understand the importance and impact of their contribution to the company’s cultural transformation. Change is everyone’s responsibility.
Conclusion
Cultural transformation can revitalise your organisation through collaboration. It can fuel creativity, innovation and most importantly, focus everyone’s attention on the end goal.
A clearly defined culture enables everyone to be on the same page. It holds everyone to the same standards, no matter how senior or junior you are. Holding each other accountable is far easier if there are clear guidelines. But cultural transformations will always fail if people in leadership positions are not at the forefront of change – their actions must always reflect the “new” culture!
A successful cultural transformation should never be thought of as static; it should be a living aspect of your business that continues to evolve inline with your strategy! Your cultural transformation should be continuous and can be achieved through ongoing training and personal development.