How to embark on a culture transformation

There are no shortcuts to achieving “true culture change”, said Mindi Cox, Senior Vice President of People and Great Work at O.C. Tanner.

And as tempting as it may be, leaders shouldn’t resort to copying another organisation’s version of success.

“It’s tempting to sit at a conference or listen to someone speak and go, ‘Okay in order to be like them, these are the 10 things we need to do because that’s what they do’,” Cox told HRD.

“The tricky thing about culture is you have to find your version of that thing. Copying what someone else does would be the exact wrong thing to do. Finding your version of things in different practice areas – like trust, collaboration, fun, innovation – is the work of helping your own authentic culture emerge.”

Vital tips for a culture transformation
When embarking on a culture change, she suggested that leaders first evaluate where the company is currently at before setting an “ideal destination”.

“You can’t build a glass house on top of ruins and expect nobody to notice what’s underneath,” she said.

Some questions leaders should consider asking:

· What’s your culture right now?

· What’s your baseline?

· What are you working with?

READ MORE: How to overcome misperceptions around culture

Once the organisation has been thoroughly assessed, leaders can set a vision for how they’d like their culture to look like. The “real work” is in between, she said. Cox explained that this process will require investing lots of time into having conversations across the organisation – across levels and office locations – before you get any clarity on the topic.

“I think a lot of people want to say, ‘this is who we are’,” she said. “But organisations need to deal with the reality of who they are right now, then paint a vision of who they want to be and how they will get there. No one gets to start at the end.”

Following that, she believes the key to authentic change is consistency.

“Whether you’re running a campaign, an initiative, or a true culture transformation, the magic is in the execution and that really requires consistency,” she said.

“Some changes come quickly…but you can’t underestimate the fact that it’s going to take you years of saying the same thing over and over, and people watching whether the actions of the organisation support the words coming out of your mouth to trust and believe in what you’re saying.”

When you’re leading such a big change, she understands that there can be “fatigue” around pushing out the same message repeatedly. However, she trusts that the “champions in the organisation” can ease some of that pressure.

ROI: Measuring success of a culture change
Beyond the ‘how’ of a culture transformation, Cox believes it’s crucial to track the progress throughout the long journey. What’s more, she said culture change can and should be measured – both objectively and subjectively.

“Every organisation’s going to have to determine their success in a different way,” she said. “The magic of ROI when you’re talking about people can be difficult to measure.”

It may not be easy to identify changes in culture, she added, but they are critical to ensure you’re going in the right direction.

Leaders would need to be savvy enough to observe the slight shift in energy, for instance: has the tone of the conversation changed? Can you see it in your employees’ eyes? Is their head held a little higher? Are they smiling coming in as well as leaving the office?

“Those soft assessments are just as critical to moving the needle on employee survey or retention scores,” she said. “If you’re noticing a behaviour shift, that can be as impactful not only internally but externally to your clients, and that’s something we get all the time from people who visit O.C. Tanner.”

READ MORE: This is the secret weapon for engagement

Organisations should supplement those soft assessments with employee surveys. Cox personally loves them, using them to get vital feedback and data points that can help leaders start conversations as well as move the dial in the right direction.

“I always say, if someone said they have a great culture, can they show me the evidence?” she said. “Deciding on the vision of the culture is one thing. Deciding on the practices that would be the evidence of that vision is another. And it’s the consistency in action that will carry forth the change.”