Corporate Culture and the Role of Change Management

BY Anani John Klutse

Culture is how we do things around here - Gallup

In today’s dynamic business environment, the significance of a robust organisational culture cannot be overstated. ?There are many complex definitions organisational culture, but in this article, we will have picked two straightforward ones. ?Lundy and Cowling (1996) define it as the “routine activities?in an organization”. ?Gallup also provides another simple way to look at organization culture, by describing it as “how we do things around here.” ?Organisational culture are values, behaviours, predispositions, mindsets, assumptions, etc. that members of an organization not only share but have agreed to be the ‘way’ ‘approach’ or ‘method’ of doing things within the company, (Blackwell, 2006). ?Effective organisation cultures identify different sceneries or tough dilemmas that employees face and provide direction to how each should be managed. “If we encounter this situation, this is the way we respond as a company; when we have an angry and aggressive customer, this is how we want to treat them”. Culture is emergent and unique to each organization, (Gallup).

Culture doesn’t happen by Accident! – Forbes

Several researchers have linked a positive and effective corporate culture to productivity, company success, employee well-being and happiness, staff retention, and customer satisfaction among several others (Deng and Murph, 2021), yet, only a few companies articulate their culture in ‘such a way that the words become organizational reality that molds behaviours as intended’ (Harvard Business Review, 2024). In many companies today, culture is not created, so everybody behaves the way they like while the senior company leaders query or commend employees' behaviours based on what they think is right or wrong. “Culture doesn’t happen by accident, you create it and change it” asserts, Kevin Kruse (2024) in a recent Forbes article. Where this is not done, anything goes and that can be catastrophic!

Culture is a strategy to help companies achieve goals – Harvard Business Review

Why do companies create or change a corporate culture? Well, there are myriads of reasons companies create, change, or improve their organisational cultures. It could be because of a merger or an acquisition; or there is a significant change in the senior leadership of the company; or they are revamping their hiring practices, or just an intentional change to how the company thinks or operates, Neely McHarris (2024). It could also be a result of an occurrence, just like the Covid-19 pandemic which resulted in many changes in organisations, including cultural changes. ?

But most importantly, organisations create or change cultures because they require it to help them achieve goals that have long seemed out of reach, (Harvard Business Review). It is a unique strategy to be distinct, create an identity, and possibly gain a competitive advantage. As companies go through transformations, try to build resilience, and remain relevant and competitive, it results in organizational culture changes; and new introductions while upholding steady and effective old organizational practices. A strong corporate culture functions as a differentiator in the marketplace. Corporate Culture is created to attract world-class talents, create alignment, keep employees engaged and focused as well as boost performance among others. (Gallup). Essentially, organisational culture is a strategy, an intentional plan, designed to contribute significantly to the company goals and objectives.

Read More: 5 Important Drivers of Corporate Cultures

How does Change Management Impact Organisational Culture?

Resistance to organizational cultures accounts for a significant percentage of why many companies appear to be ‘cultureless’. Culture is very complex and requires time, process, and people for it to thrive. Neely McHarris (2024) noted that for “Over 20 years, we've learned that changing a company's culture is tough. Often, new plans fail because people aren’t on board—and some don’t even get along. This is where good culture change management helps.”

Change management plays a critical role in organizational culture success because it puts people first; it leverages the desire and commitment of the employees and changes their behaviour. Organisational culture is built around people and not just technologies, and change management helps people to understand that the culture is not just some laws of dos and don’ts, but a strategy towards an ideal goal.

Change management improves organisational cultural awareness.? It makes the employees understand the reason (‘why’) the culture exists and why they need to uphold it.?Answering the question ‘why’ is very imperative in building a lasting company culture. When people know a culture exists but lack awareness of the rationale, they are most likely not going to sustain such a culture.

Change management creates a system that supports people who are affected by the company culture to be successful in bringing that culture to life. Deploying change management strategies in the cultural creation and enforcement process facilitates a smooth transition, minimizes resistance, maximizes engagements, aligns company strategies and objectives as well as build organizational agility and resilience, (Golhar, 2023).

Furthermore, change management makes it easy for companies to break down the various corporate cultural initiatives into specific behaviours, being clear about the expectations and how the behaviours connect to strategic outcomes. It identifies potential resistance to organisational culture and makes sure that the company employees have a common understanding of what their culture is.

Where does the Prosci ADKAR Model come in?

The Prosci ADKAR Model is a sequential framework that helps people navigate through different levels of the change process. From Awareness to Desire, Knowledge, Ability, and Reinforcement, ADKAR provides support for people to embrace a change message. Likewise, applying the ADKAR model in the creation of a corporate organisational culture increases the chances of that culture thriving. Talk to us about how we can help your corporate culture thrive with ADKAR.

Corporate cultural Awareness is key. People should not only know that a culture exists, but why it exists and why it is important. While corporate cultural awareness is important, it is easier to achieve compared to creating a Desire for that culture. Imagine a Gen Zee that loves to appear in jeans and polo, who now has to wear a suit and tie every day. Senior leaders in companies have a responsibility to ensure that the corporate culture is connected to some personal motivations, values or organisational motivators. Desire to embrace corporate culture is created when employees answer the question, What Is In It For Me (WIIIFM)?

The 'K' in the ADKAR Model focuses on Knowledge. You cannot expect people to demonstrate a corporate culture when they lack the skills, information, training, education, or empowerment that is necessary for them to do that. It’s like employing a local cook in a five-star hotel and expecting that cook to display exquisite culinary craftsmanship, without training them. Employees need to be empowered with what they need to bring the corporate culture to life.?

After the 'K', is another 'A', which represents Ability. Is it possible for a manager who earns $500 per month, to wear a Brioni designer suit? An average Brioni suit costs between $5,000 - $7,000 per pair. Even if the manager is aware, has a desire, and has been trained on how to appear like a C-Suite executive, the manager does not have the ability (cannot afford) to dress like this. Companies must ensure that the people can act out the corporate culture and supported where help is required. Over time, employees have responded to corporate cultures differently and this is because there is an individual component to ability and action. Companies must understand that aligning with corporate culture is a process and people will demonstrate but at different times and steps.

Lastly, the 'R' for Reinforcement. This has to do with sustaining the corporate cultures. Sustaining a corporate culture is more difficult than creating the culture. Some companies have cultures that have lasted over a century; while some corporate cultures only get immediate acceptance, but die off along the way. There is a need for constant reinforcement of culture so that employees don’t slip back into old ways. Different strategies could be used including use of corrective feedback, celebration and recognition, evaluation, and constant training and retraining.

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Conclusion

Building an effective organisational culture is a deliberate and ongoing process that requires commitment from leadership and active participation from all employees. By prioritizing the development of a strong culture, companies can create an environment where employees are engaged, innovative, and aligned with the company’s goals. Ultimately, a positive organisational culture is a key driver of long-term success, helping companies to thrive in an increasingly competitive and complex business landscape. Application of change management principles, tools, or models can significantly increase the chances of success of any corporate culture in a way that delivers the key outcomes, with less resistance in a sustainable way.

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