In order to change organizational culture, you first need to understand how it is created and maintained. Many business owners or team leaders assume responsibility for the current environment at work, but leadership actually plays a relatively small role in the process.
Organizational culture begins and ends with the employees—how are they implementing the company’s missions and values? How has that affected overall business health and team cohesivity?
Whether your motivation for change stems from a routine business update or a significant change in leadership, finances, or employee retention rates, we’ve got the tools you need.
Here are three simple steps to help you change organizational culture without uprooting and overturning every good thing about your company…
1. Diagnose the Current Organizational Culture
You can’t change what you don’t know, so evaluating the current culture is key.
Through this process, you can identify what’s actually working and what’s not—both in terms of mission, vision, and values. If your company is utilizing outdated business goals, the work and attitude of your employees will reflect an outdated culture.
Take a close look at your current business model: when you’re able to diagnose the problematic components, you’ll have a better understanding of how to change organizational culture.
2. Changing Organizational Culture Will Require Goal Setting
You’ve diagnosed the situation…now what?
Creating a plan with specific goals and desired outcomes is a vital part of your business’ transformation—one that you’ll need to consider after you’ve evaluated the current structure.
Start asking yourself…
- How can I encourage and expand the effective aspects of our existing organizational culture?
- What needs to change in order to spark a cultural transformation?
- What are some of the big-picture goals I would like to accomplish?
- How can I create smaller focus initiatives to inspire change?
Answering these questions will help you develop a thorough plan that can later be used as a baseline measurement.
Because the change in organizational culture will depend on employee reception and engagement, you’ll need to involve personnel throughout the organization process.
3. Executing Change
With a better understanding of workplace culture and a strong plan under your belt, you’re now ready to jump into the most important—and challenging—part of changing organizational culture: implementing.
There are several puzzle pieces that need to come together before you’ll see any kind of difference in culture. The first thing to consider is motivation: how do you plan on getting people to change their behaviors to fit this new plan?
If you’re truly serious about organizational change, you’ll need to consider some of these motivational tactics…
Lead by Example
If your company culture emphasizes leadership growth and relationships, your employees will be more likely to support your new goals when their superiors do. People that maintain healthy and respectful relationships with their bosses will follow their lead should new business operations be introduced.
In another way, your company’s priorities will impact your employees’ efforts. If people see you focus time, energy, and resources on organizational culture change, they’ll make an effort to adapt as well.
Actively Support Change
With executive support in place, employees will be more open-minded about cultural shifts in the workplace. However, change requires training and resources.
If your employees are willing to change, you should have all the necessary tools available to them.
The process may not be easy, but it will be worth it. If you’d like to see your organization transition to a place with better company culture, Culture Innovations can help. Our consultants have the experience and know-how to take your team—and business–from dull to dynamic.
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