When we think of culture we think of an organically changing set of ideas, behaviours and customs shared by a specific group of people but when it comes to organisations, culture must be planned and monitored in order to be achieved. This post explains the context and how to implement company culture.
A detailed strategy – which is as important as a sales or growth strategy, supports company culture. How to implement company culture must include buy-in from leaders and managers.
Whoever develops the company culture strategy must be clear on the focus and desired outcome. To build the strategy and to implement it, everyone within the company or organisation must understand what is expected of them. They must be personally developed in a way that is meaningful and effective.
To ensure that employees are on board and on message with the company, regular 360 feedback helps to regularly measure behaviours and thus culture. This comes from people providing feedback to each other. You can use this data to make changes where necessary. In order to achieve your desired company culture, you need to ensure there is no ambiguity or confusion at any level in the organisation about expected behaviours.
Your leadership team should have a clear vision of the direction they are pursuing and communicate this clearly to employees – they should also demonstrate the values by the way they act and the things they say.
Telling your team what is expected of them is not always enough and having frequent check-ins with 360 Feedback can highlight not only to how they are performing but also whether they are changing and driving the company culture.
Stimulating people in their work environment is increasingly important, as is portraying the desired traits. If your team is expected to behave in a certain way, they must be shown not only what to do but why and how to go about it.
Many organisations use 360 Feedback to define what the company culture looks like. Also it establishes goals and measures the performance of leaders or employees.
We are not suggesting that all employees must be moulded into a one shape fits all. In fact, a correctly managed culture strategy empowers individuals to pursue their own goals. It also supports decisions within the agreed parameters of the company culture.
When implementing ‘company culture’ the leaders must work together. They decide how to translate the cultural strategy so that they can define achievable actions. These actions can then be highlighted to staff in a way that they will understand and respond positively.
Heads of department can filter down the action plans. They will also define how their teams will put those plans into action. In addition, they should be prepared to coach their teams.
Like sales and marketing strategy, to align your cultural strategy there is no room for error. Support each stage of the process with clear actions and training plans for every level which must be aligned and linked together.
The measure of a successful company culture is when every member of the organisation has clear cultural goals. Also, they know how they are to achieve those goals. In this way, the strategy comes full circle. Positive leadership and management will reward constructive and progressive actions. How to implement company culture relies on a clear strategy over time.
More information
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We have found this Training Journal article useful when thinking of implementing or changing company culture.
