Is Workplace Culture on your business agenda?
Organisational culture is talked about a lot in the world of business these days. I hope that it has become an important word in board rooms too; is it in yours?! Is it on the agenda or do you just think and talk about but not really take the next step? If so, you are missing out!
Would you like to: Improve attraction and retention, promote your brand, increase engagement, develop a ‘one culture’ after a restructure or Merger & Acquisition, establish a foundation for success, drive productivity or distinguish yourself from competitors? Or do you know you have a ‘toxic’ culture or one that is not working towards your vision?
Stockland used a transformation of organisational culture to drive growth. Metro Cash & Carry focused on organisational culture to ensure a very successful acquisition. I had also read about a pharmaceutical development division that had informal values that were defeating its purposes so they reviewed their values to ensure these dysfunctional beliefs were turned around and the division had unprecedented successes in the following two years. There are many more examples.
Or maybe you would like to: decrease sick leave expenditure, decrease lost time from injuries or Workers Compensation claims, improve communication, customer service or… increase profits! The appointment of a new CEO at The Australasian College of Physicians and Environmental Medicine who was dictatorial and demeaning lead to 28% of middle managers leaving their jobs costing more than $600,000. A Columbia University study showed an organisation with a strong culture had turnover of 13.9% as opposed to 48.4% for a poor culture.
Then put culture on the agenda as it’s a business issue. If you still need more convincing, here are some other reasons.
The business environment in general has high competition, disruption, and operates in a not so great economy. A lot of businesses essentially do, or offer, the same thing as their competitors. But what makes them different is their culture and what drives or strangles their vision and success is their culture. It could be your strongest asset or your biggest liability. Culture is the bridge between strategy and the people who carry out the strategy. Google implemented a 20% time program which resulted in the creations of Gmail and AdSense.
In 1992 Kotter & Heskett did some research and those with a positive performance culture had significantly higher revenue, employment, stock price and net income growth over an 11-year period than those that didn’t have a performance culture.
In May of this year, whilst specific to the Financial Industry, the corporate watch dog flagged a major crackdown on poor culture, appealing for the introduction of criminal sanctions against Executives and Directors where firms and management have tolerated or encouraged a toxic culture. Why? Intangible or not, a poor organisational culture leads to poor organisational performance.
Organisational culture is a business issue so make sure you put it on your agenda when reviewing your plans and goals for 2016.
At HR Business Direction we are able to assist with assessing, re-defining and developing a new culture for your business and help to ensure that your culture is your biggest asset. Contact us here.
Leisa Messer BBus(HRM); GradDipIR; CAHRI; IRSQ
Managing Director | HR Strategist
leisa.messer@hrbd.com.au
07 3890 2066
www.hrbd.com.au
