Your company culture is in need of improvement. How can you use change management to achieve it?

Ein Unternehmen braucht eine gute Unternehmenskultur für erfolgreiches Change Management. Somit ist diese Frage ein Henne-Ei-Problem. Der Schlüssel zu einer besseren Unternehmenskultur ist Leadership: Führen durch Vorbildwirkung. Sagen und Tun in Einklang bringen, authentisch sein. UND: Geduld.

Pour paraphraser Peter Drucker : "La culture dévore la stratégie au petit-déjeuner". Pour une meilleure stratégie de conduite de changement, il convient d'abord de définir précisément la culture désirée et d'identifier l'écart avec l'état actuel. Par exemple, si l'objectif est de renforcer la collaboration dans un environnement fortement cloisonné, on pourrait mettre en place des ateliers interactifs favorisant le travail d'équipe et l'échange d'idées. Il est essentiel d'impliquer tous les niveaux de l'organisation dans ce processus, de communiquer clairement les bénéfices attendus et de reconna?tre les contributions individuelles au changement.

My preferred approach is to start with identifying the key values, which the members of the organization share. The next step is to understand, how these values impact strategy, operations, performance, organizational behaviour, communication and work atmosphere. The envisioned change in culture can be managed through the agreement on a revised set of corporate values, which is then step by step incorporated into strategy, operations and communication. There are a multitude of methods and tools available to drive this process.

To improve company culture, I start by understanding the current state through discussion and feedback from employees, customers, and stakeholders. This reveals the strengths and areas for improvement, how the culture impacts performance and satisfaction, and the gap between the current and desired states. My experience is that dentifying these gaps and actively working to bridge them, guided by a clear vision of the desired culture, is key but don't expect success overnight. Change management here means aligning every step towards this new culture, ensuring it supports the strategy and enhances satisfaction. That's a tall order.

Culture change cannot be managed like other types of changes. While all changes require behavioural change and adopting new ways of working, culture change requires a strong focus on how actions align to your purpose and values, and how you can create an environment where people feel they belong, can be themselves and are engaged. You will need to examine closely where you're starting FROM and where you're going TO. Don't forget the 'AND', namely that you want to keep the elements of your culture which matter and make your organisation unique.

Dans le cadre d'une amélioration de la culture d'entreprise, impliquer les parties prenantes dès le début en sollicitant leurs retours et suggestions est essentiel pour garantir l'adhésion. Prenons l'exemple de la mise en place d'une culture de l'innovation : cela impliquerait de favoriser les initiatives, de célébrer les succès, mais aussi d'accepter l'échec comme partie intégrante du processus d'apprentissage. Dans ce processus de changement le soutien continu, sous forme de formations et de mentorat, accompagnera les parties prenantes dans cette transition, renfor?ant ainsi les nouveaux comportements et valeurs.

Culture is often considered as the 'soft' part of change, but it's really hard to do. You must get buy-in from the top to have a chance to succeed. It takes time and it will require you to listen and adjust interventions as you measure profress through surveys, focus groups, lunch & learn, pulses, etc. But it can also be fun. A client I worked with had a fun culture and it enabled me to be creative. I even did a cartoon for them.