There’s Never Been A Better Time To Double Down on Culture – Here’s Why

Daisaku Ikeda once said, “A person’s true nature is revealed at the times of greatest uncertainty.”

As the COVID-19 crisis continues to sweep through the world, there has never been a more poignant time to pause, reflect and double down on organizational culture.

The way companies handle the current situation will be remembered for a long time. Some might even say that these are culturally defining moments that will impact reputation – for years to come.

Either way, it’s unequivocally clear that this global spectacle has forced people to look inwards and be open about how they feel. Employees are no exception. In fact, these moments are incredibly revealing – they will show you how your people feel about each other, about your customers and about your organization as a whole.

Do people stand up to adversity and rally together?

What stories of selflessness encapsulate your organization’s higher purpose?

How have employees demonstrated compassion to help one another?

Each of these questions will provide you with crystalized insight into the true, living and breathing nature of your culture.

Now is the time to double down on culture, invest in your employer brand and tap into your organization’s most powerful asset: your people.

Listen, learn and distinguish perception vs. reality

The beauty of employer brand is that everyone is different.

Our tolerance, threshold, and endurance for situations, demands, and expectations of a company vary.

When we’re deciding whether to stay or join an organization, however, there are three main buckets of adversity we’re looking to satisfy: purpose, impact, and belonging.

1. How will I be able to fulfil my personal purpose at this organization?
2. How will I be able to create impact at this organization?
3. How will I be able to feel like I belong at this organization?

Like it or not, the COVID-19 crisis will reveal the true state of your organizational culture, but this is actually a tremendous gift. This experience offers you a unique window of insight into what truly brings your employees impact, purpose and belonging.

Listen, learn and pay attention to what people are talking about – how can you uncover the moments of adversity that employees must overcome?

Unpacking culture means taking an organised and strategic approach, so you can start influencing your employer brand, enhancing what works and fixing what doesn’t.

When you listen with the intent to understand, not just hear, then you can begin to distinguish perception from reality. For example, your culture might be great, but you could be doing a poor job of communicating it.

It’s not often that people are highly in-tuned with how they feel, so use this as an opportunity to capture live evidence and feed it back into your employer brand.

The line between employer brand and consumer brand

How you treat your people now has a marked impact on your consumer brand, too. Even if you haven’t invested in or designed your employer brand, times like these will reveal it for you.

The conclusions you draw right now, at a time of heightened emotion and openness, will give you a solid base from which to improve.

What should you keep?

What do you change?

What should you throw out?

What can you start?

We now live in a time of transparency where there’s no distinction between employer brand and consumer brand.

Increasingly, customers are making buying decisions based on how an organization treats its staff. Our habits are shaped by brands we feel we can trust, by brands that do good inside and out. That’s part of the reason why culture has never been more important.

The ultimate form of marketing: leveraging your people

When you double down on culture, you can invest in your people and give employees the opportunity to shine. Tapping into the harsh realities of life at your organization will enable you to tell real, human stories that, in turn, make your consumer brand more human as well.

In this sense, moments of vulnerability and weakness actually become strengths and opportunities, so you can demonstrate your unique brand of employee experience to candidates and customers.

When you find and tell stories of employees who are actually living the role on a daily basis, you’re able to uncover the truth about what it’s like to work at your organization. These are the stories of dealing with challenges, demands, commitments, sacrifices and expectations.

This is the real life of your employee experience, and it’s so much more meaningful than simply reeling off a list of all the things you’re good at. These stories create a culture of acknowledgment and appreciation, which fosters pride and passion for what people are doing.

Not only will this resonate with candidates – but it will strike a chord with your customers, too.

To find out more about how to invest in your culture and employer brand, my new book, ‘Give & Get Employer Branding’, is available now on Amazon and at all major book retailers.