Consciously create your company culture
THE BETTER YOU fit in with company culture, the happier and more productive you are bound to be. But what is company culture?
One of the simplest ways to define corporate culture is: “The way things get done around here.” Sticking a list of values on the wall does not create a culture. The only corporate culture that is truly relevant is the manifestation of culture observed in the behaviour of individuals within an organisation.
Even though it is true that culture is driven by the sets of assumptions and beliefs of people, it is their real behaviour that will create the true culture. For example, the belief of senior management in Company X may be that the culture of the organisation is “innovative”. However, people are not encouraged to take risks, but have to adhere to restrictive policies and procedures. As a result the real culture of Company B is conservative and not innovative at all.
The same principle applies to descriptors of culture as “dynamic”, “quality driven”, “flexible”, “customer-centric” and “people-oriented”.
It is clear that corporate culture can be an asset or a liability – depending on the actual behaviour of people and not the rhetoric used to describe the supposed culture in an organisation.
Research shows that organisations with strong positive and aligned cultures achieve better results because employees sustainably behave and focus on both “what to do” and “how to do it”.
Well-entrenched behaviours consistent with the mission of the organisation can be considered an asset, while well-entrenched contradictory behaviours are a liability.
Awareness that organisational culture impacts the bottom line implies that it must be consciously managed to preserve the appropriate business values and sustainable success. The emphasis on “well-entrenched” is critical. Many organisations do not have well-entrenched sets of behaviours and therefore do not have established and defined corporate cultures.
Not having a defined or clear corporate culture could be a blessing in disguise as it provides the organisation with a window of opportunity to consciously create the required culture. But how do we consciously create culture?
The first step is an understanding that culture is the result of clear leadership – that is management; focused values; and the alignment of the entire organisation in a specified direction. There is no right or wrong culture. Only a culture that is relevant in terms of your mission, vision and key strategic objectives.
To know what to change we must understand what the current culture is and what it consists of; we need to define and describe the true culture reflected in employees’ behaviour.
Once we understand the culture we have and the culture we want, we can start to directly address the various elements that make up culture. This includes aspects such as structures, use of power, symbols, use of language, stories, myths, rituals, habits, dress code, team work, approach to problem solving, approach to meetings, physical layout (such as open plan) and even the style of furniture.
This can only be done with commitment from management, from the top. Appropriate and relevant behaviours, activities and the environment must be amended accordingly to facilitate a culture shift. When employees start to feel the culture in their “bones”, they will develop intense loyalty and a sense of cohesive belonging.
Wikus Jansen van Vuuren is the business development director at Henley Business School Africa.