By: Barbara I. Bronswinkel
This expression by Peter Drucker, (consultant and writer): Culture Eats Strategy for Breakfast is often used in business talk.
And before getting into whether you agree or not, let's look at a few questions and what they mean to you:
What is your definition of a company culture? How much time do you think is really invested in cultivating a great company culture? Let's take a look at your company of the company you work for, does it have a mission and vision statement, in there does it speak of the desired culture? And if someone would walk around in your organization and talk to your employees or colleagues, what would they say? Would one encounter many "quiet quitter", as they call them nowadays? Is the Employee Experience (also known as EX) and important part of what your company stand for?
So what exactly is company culture?
A corporate or company culture often referred to as the order of an organization. It shapes the attitude and behaviors on the long term. Company culture defines what is encouraged, discouraged, accepted or rejected within a group. It is what happens in an organization when no one is watching, behaviors that are unwritten, but actually happen in an organization. How people behave, the unofficial language.
Culture adjusts itself to internal and external changes, whereas strategy is typically determined by the C-suite.
Why are values and mission & vision statement so important to a company culture?
These documents should actively be used internally with the main purpose of keeping everyone focused on why an organization exists. The vision aligns you with your goal while the mission empowers how to get this accomplished. The values often speak of what is important to an organization (the foundation) and what it stands for, the desired behavior. It is also used to indicate the role of the employees in an organization. It helps reinforce the message of what is really important. If done well, it is a source of inspiration and motivation to everyone in the organization. Usually the values, mission and vision statement are supported by a document that speaks of the pertaining behaviors that are expected.
Often enough these are documents are beautiful words that lay on a shelve collecting dust somewhere instead of being used to guide the organization.And often enough there is a misalignment between what is written and what really happens in the organization (company culture) the company culture.
So why do organizations struggle to get the execution of the values, mission & vision statement and company culture right?
Values, mission & vision statement are only written words, no one lives by them, it is not important to the top
Lack of communication regarding progress
Unclarity of how this translate into what is expected of the employee (role of the employee)
To many grey areas, lack of a consistent application across the board
Weak leadership
Lack of courage to make tough decisions or have crucial conversations
So, who is responsible for reinforcing these values and mission & vision statement and guide the company culture?
Is it the employee, the team, the department, the leader, the CEO, HR?
It is my opinion, that the top of the organization in this case the CEO/ Director, is responsible for defining what is part of the mission and vision statement and what is expected, but he/she/they together with the managers are responsible for the execution of this mission! They have to be aligned and live by these guiding principles and hold themselves and everyone around them responsible to adhere to these agreements. This requires the capacity to have honest conversations. Employees should constantly be reminded of: why we do what we do and how it is done. The role of HR in this journey is to be a change enabler, the recruiter for potential candidates that fit the company's ambitions, to provide advise on tools and facilitate the necessary training for alignment.
Can the above be accomplished?? Sure it can:
Let's see how Toney Chocoleny describes their values/culture:
......We dedicated a lot of attention to strengthening our culture. Our culture is about our four core values, our eagerness to always raise the bar and the fact that in addition to being crazy about chocolate, we’re always serious when it comes to people. Tony’s Chocolonely is outspoken, wilful, entrepreneurial and.. makes you smile! To us, these core values aren’t just pretty words you hang on the wall; they are our compass for making choices and decisions, like hiring new Tony’s, determining our approach and responding to successes and failures. We discuss our core values with the entire team on a regular basis....
The above talks about raising the bar, they are serious when it comes to their employees. They are outspoke, willful, entrepreneurial and make you smile!
They actually reinforce these values regularly during monthly and quarterly meetings and truly live by them.
Focussing on the Employee Experience (EX) will enhance all aspects of a great company culture and total employee engagement. Statistics shoe that in most organizations, less than 30% of employees are actively engaged. How employees are treated says a lot about an organization. Therefore it is crucial for organizations to focus on the EX and why this is an important part of the company culture.
Let's take a look at J. Bersin's EX model which covers 6 main areas .
A successful organization is able to focus on all of these 6 areas.
By reading the content of this picture you may notice that it boils down to two simple (not so simple) words: genuine care. Ensuring that employees don't just fit in but have really have a sense of belonging where they can be genuinely be themselves, and add value to the company.
What does it take to have engaged employees?
Maybe you should ask yourself what does it cost the company to have disengaged employee?
Does the above mean that companies should please employees all the time? No, this is not what that means. It does mean however, that leadership needs to master competencies such as vernerability, trust, transparency, communication, feedback, involvement, courage, coaching, and provide a positive work environment for the employees. It also means that employees know their role in the organization and targets are set according to the organization's ambitions, keeping the values, mission and vision statement in mind.
One way of gaging if your employees are truly engaged is to walk around, talk to the employees, get the feedback on what is happening the organization, equally important, provide honest feedback, this is how trust is established.
Ask yourself this question: if someone would walk around in my organization and talk to my employees or colleagues, what would they about my organization? Are they happy, do they think that the organization is fair, consistent, makes an effort to build a genuine relationships with the employees, involve the employees in decisions that have an impact on them? Or do employees just work and find personal satisfaction in the result of their individual contribution?
Lately you can find many articles regarding "quiet quitter".
The definition of a "Quiet Quitter" is defined as performing only the jobs that are assigned to an employee by the employer and not going above and beyond the job description.
According to an article written by MSNBC: "Why Quite Quitting is a Dead End" defines quite quitting as:
....You’re still performing your duties, but you’re no longer subscribing to the hustle culture mentality that work has to be your life”. “The reality is it’s not, and your worth as a person is not defined by your labor.” ....
To conclude:
Culture differentiates one company from the other, this is felt by the customers and employees alike.
You can have a great strategy in place, however company culture determines your full potential.
Organization that sell products, especially those in demand by the market, can have great financial results despite the lack of a great company culture, but imagine what could happen if you had both. MAGIC! Happy employees, happy shareholder.
Don't be fooled by social media posts and this may not be the internal reality.
Leaders, take time, walk around, listen, force employees to talk to each other rather than about each other in order to build genuine relationships that truly matter.
Sources Used:
Websites:
Books:
The insider's guide to culture change - S. McHale
Articles:
Harvard Business Review: A Leader's Guide to Corporate Culture
J. Bersin - Employee Experience: The Definitive Guide
Video:
Call to Courage - B. Brown
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