Jeremy Salter of Achievers makes the case for a more practical approach to culture using an anthropological lens
Discussions about corporate responsibility and performance frequently go hand in hand with reflections on culture.
While many are quick to point a finger at culture, far fewer can describe it, let alone know how to change it.
So how can organisations effectively change or influence culture?
Jeremy Salter, Customer Success Manager, Achievers will soon be speaking on a webinar that explores the process of cultural change within larger organisations.
Design anthropologist Ari Nave will also be joining the webinar to share his thoughts on how cultural anthropology can help organisations think outside the box, and better understand what corporate culture is and how it develops.
On the webinar How To Get Culture Change Right Salter will make the case for a more practical approach to culture using an anthropological lens.
Indeed, with a master’s degree in social Anthropology he has a keen interest in organisational culture and the drivers of employee behaviour and performance.
Salter told HRD that the reason why a lot of cultural change efforts fail is because they are not designed around the way that culture works.
“Attempts to change culture often focus more on the influence of leaders and the internal communication of purpose and values,” said Salter.
“They also tend to focus more on what employees think than the processes and procedures that directly influence behaviour.”
According to Salter, a symbolic approach can exaggerate the “trickle-down influence” of leaders on the everyday attitudes and behaviour of employees.
Salter quoted Jerry Sternin, author of The Power of Positive Deviance: How Unlikely Innovators Solve the World's Toughest Problems, who said that: “It's easier to act your way into a new way of thinking, than think your way into a new way of acting.”
In fact, a lot of cultural change efforts often approach cultural change by attempting a top-down focus on ideology which in turn drives behaviour, added Salter.
His advice to employers is to adopt a point of view of what culture actually is within your organisation “beyond simply values and missions”.
Indeed, Salter has a professional and academic interest in human behaviour, and has delivered successful recognition and reward programs for some of the world's leading companies in the UK and Australia.
He added that employee reward and recognition programs provide organisations with both a symbolic and a structural way to change organisational culture.
“They can amplify leaders, communicate values and provide a process that allows employers to encourage, measure and align behaviours,” said Salter.
“Modern recognition programs can integrate into all aspects of work and reach deeply into areas of the organisation where employee behaviours are less visible and harder to measure.”
Jeremy Salter will be speaking on the webinar How To Get Culture Change Right on Wednesday, 20 March at 12:30pm. He will be joined by Ari Nave, Design Anthropologist at The King's Indian. Click here to register for this free webinar.
