Measuring Culture

At a recent Lionheart Corporate Governance Non Executive Director CPD Module we were discussing the challenges of trying to benchmark culture and to illustrate the challenge we asked the participants to imagine a large, traditional Irish company, such as Ryanair, acquiring a smaller, more agile start-up, such as Aer Arann. The leaders of Ryanair hope to boost their culture by acquiring Aer Arann, but the newcomers are quickly assimilated into Ryanair's rigid and process-focused culture.

The leadership team of the merged company then tries to implement a high-performance culture inspired by a successful Irish technology company, such as Stripe, but finds it almost impossible to put into place ideas borrowed from a software company, given Ryanair's need for operational efficiency and safety.

Gradually, the merged company abandons the ideas it had taken from Stripe and begins to look more closely at its own cultural situation, asking what elements it needs to strengthen to become a better competitor.

Implications

The hypothetical story of Ryanair and Aer Arann may provide some important lessons for the CPD Module participants.

First, it is important to be realistic about the challenges of cultural change. Acquiring a company with a different culture is not a quick fix for your own cultural problems. It takes time, effort, and commitment to create a new culture that is both high-performing and aligned with your business needs.

Second, it is important to understand the unique cultural requirements of your industry. What works for a software company may not work for an airline or a financial services company. It is important to develop a culture that is tailored to your specific needs.

Third, it is important to be patient and persistent.

Cultural change takes time.

It is important to keep working at it, even when you encounter setbacks.

Here are some specific things that you can do to create a high-performance culture:

• Define your values and culture. What kind of company do you want to be? What are your core values? What behaviors do you want to encourage? Once you have defined your values and culture, communicate them clearly to all employees.
• Empower employees. Give employees the authority to make decisions and take action. Encourage them to be innovative and creative.
• Provide training and development opportunities. Help employees to develop the skills and knowledge they need to be successful.
• Recognise and reward good performance. When employees meet or exceed expectations, be sure to recognise and reward their efforts.
• Create a supportive and collaborative environment. Encourage employees to work together and help each other succeed.

By following these tips, we believe you can create a high-performance culture that will help companies to compete in the global marketplace.

Part of the Lionheart Knowledge sharing program

#culture #free #knowledgesharing