The 7 characteristics for a successful organisational culture change
The secret to a successful organisation is to maintain a culture that is based on a set of characteristics that are in line with the business strategy and organisational structure. Having a good organisational culture not only makes employees feel engaged, but differentiates you from your competitors as your culture defines how you do business and builds strong relationships with your clients and partners, rather than relying solely on selling your products and services. More importantly, it also attracts more talent.
So, what are the characteristics of a successful organisational culture?
1. Purpose-driven
The rise in technology has contributed to a faster work pace, resulting in higher demand for our work time that is increasingly exceeding our normal capacity, making the modern-day worker feeling drained most of the time. Essentially, employees need to have an inspirational driver to keep them going.
The connection between being purpose-driven and an engaged workforce is clear. A study by Harvard Business Review found that employees who have a purpose in their work reported 1.7 times higher job satisfaction and were 1.4 times more engaged at work, fuelling the highest level of performance. They are also three times more likely to remain with their organisations.
2. Effective communication
In an organisation that practices effective communication, employees generally get work done more efficiently as instructions are delivered in a clear and concise manner. Having an effective communication organisational culture also ensures that every employee is on the same page, and that no one gets left behind.
For the employees, an effective communication platform also means that any feedback or work issues can be easily raised and transmitted safely and directly to the person in charge. This builds trust and in time, buys loyalty. In addition, open communication channels encourage the exchange of ideas and fuel innovation so there really isn’t much to debate here.
3. Valuing feedback
Feedback is an effective way to know whether your methods are right or wrong and you definitely can’t have a communication channel and not utilise it to encourage feedback. Organisations that value feedback culture let their employees’ voices and opinions be heard, leading to company improvements and an increase in retention rate.
A culture of feedback is not only good for employee engagement but builds trusts and confidence in your clients. Positive feedback from clients is always great but negative feedback is what brings the most insights into how you need to further improve your business and services. Feedback is also an avenue for you to address the problems raise by your clients and turn them into positive experiences.
4. People-oriented
As the saying goes, your people are your greatest asset. The people-oriented organisational culture puts its employees’ priorities first by recognising all their efforts no matter how “big” or “small”, making employees feel appreciated and have a good sense of belonging at work. This is based on the fact that happy employees translate to better work productivity.
With more millennials in the workforce today, it’s not surprising that focusing on employees makes perfect sense. Known to be mission-driven and ambitious, millennials want to consistently feel good about their contribution to the company and even make an impact to the society if given the chance to. A people-oriented organisational culture allows employees to feel assured that their efforts are appreciated, propelling them to go the extra mile without hesitation.
5. Team-oriented
Organisations that stress on collaboration, cooperation and working together brings out a collective strength into the workforce. This is because, a team-oriented organisational culture tends to have employees with strong work relationships not just within their own teams or departments but with other co-workers from different divisions.
A team-oriented environment allows employees to easily help each other when needed as they have higher understanding of each other’s functions. Such organisational culture also promotes a flatter structure as team members often are able to lead and manage themselves, reducing the unnecessary cost of hiring leadership positions.
6. Inspiring innovation
With the introduction of new ways in doing business using artificial intelligence, advanced analytics and other cutting-edge disruptive technologies, an organisational culture that inspires innovation is one that is always ahead of the competition. This is evidenced by a recent research conducted by PwC, which found that innovative companies have grown at a rate 16% higher than the least innovative for the past 3 years.
Predictability, traditional hierarchies and bureaucratic systems could represent stability and control in the past, however, the world is changing. Such work practices are now seen as the suppressing factors toward innovation. Opportunities for growth are definitely there if your organisation encourages and actively supports creativity and allow innovation ideas to flow through.
7. Embracing diversity
Promoting an organisational culture that embraces diversity is more than just projecting a good image to attract talent into your organisation. Diversity is not just about race, gender or religion. According to a report by Deloitte, diversity is defined as “a blending of different backgrounds, experiences and perspectives”, and these differences are important elements for encouraging innovation.
Embracing diversity in your organisational culture actually helps your employees to foster compassion and develop deeper understanding towards different set of opinions from people with diverse skills, preventing employees from feeling alienated. The concept of inclusion is vital as it can draw rich variety of approaches and experiences, potentially leading to better decisions and a better organisation.
While the above may be the most ideal ingredients for a successful organisational culture, the truth is, a good culture begins with hiring great people. In this sense, HR plays a vital role in bolstering the characteristics of a successful organisational culture through recruitment, employee training and development and performance management programmes. The decisions made by HR can in fact have significant positive and negative implications in reshaping the quality of your organisational culture. The question is, are you ready to take this lead?