Does your organisational culture move to support growth, innovation and Lean?

The culture of an organisation is the most important and yet least understood of organisational properties. At its centre are the beliefs, attitudes, values and behaviours that can drive – or hinder- the efficient and effective working of an organisation.

So against this background there are three key questions:

1. What is the current organisational culture?
2. Where does the culture need to be for the survival and growth of the organisation?
3. How do we move from the present to the desired culture?

Most Directors can answer the second question. However, the first and last questions are inherently more difficult to answer. Yet many organisations embark on costly organisational development and change (OD&C) programmes with:

• Anecdotal evidence of the current culture;
• A ‘scatter gun’ OD & C programme;
• Little idea of the duration of the changes;
• Unarticulated key performance indicators (KPIs);
• Little notion of the eventual cost;
• Low to moderate levels of confidence in the success of any OD & C programme.

So is there a right way in creating change in organisational culture?

The short answer is ‘yes’. But our experience and research evidence shows that a rigourous approach is fundamental for success. In a nutshell its like planning any journey: where are we now? where do we want to be? how will we get there? Organisational culture is unique and there no ‘one size fits all’ approach; so each programme is created with a central framework that adapts according to individual needs and circumstances.

The essentials look like this:

• Assess the current culture(s) in categorical detail (e.g. Leadership, Communications) across and down the organisation;
• Define the gaps between the current and the desired culture categories;
• Create plans that target only the areas of the organisation and the categories of culture that need to be improved and changed.

In starting the journey for you Alturos provides a number of organisational culture activities:

Culture 101 – a 1-day practical introduction to organisational culture. This interactive Masterclass equips participants with a working understanding, as well as a personal action plan on what they can do to influence positive culture change in the organisation.

Culture Scoping – a one day review of the existing culture in the organisation through conversations with key organisation members. The scoping also involves discussions on the desired culture in the organisation.

Culture Assessment – provides a thorough ‘DNA’ of the organisation’s culture(s) and puts forward actions to be taken to positively change elements of the culture from where it is, to where it needs to be.

Culture Change – the next stage from the culture assessment. Working with the appropriate staff groups in creating and implementing a detailed OD & C programme. Regular monitoring of progress and working with teams to make any necessary adjustments.