The importance and development of organisational culture

The importance and development of organisational culture

The importance and development of organisational culture

More and more organisations are recognising the impact that organisational culture has on business success. Yet, most HR professionals are dissatisfied with their own company's organisational culture and often fail in their attempts to change it. In this article, we'll take a look around:

  • What is organisational culture, how is it developed?
  • What are the key elements and questions?
  • Why is it so important to get it right and what happens if the organisational culture is weak? 
  • What are the characteristics of a good organisational culture?
  • When is it worth making a conscious effort to improve and how should you start to transform your organisational culture?
  • Finally, we've also put together some practical advice on how to make the change
Organisational culture plays a huge role in business success

What is organisational culture? 

Organisational culture is the culture of the organisation 

  • value system 
  • standards 
  • expected behaviours 
  • hiedelmek

which takes a unique and specific form for each organisation. It functions as a cohesive force, helping and guiding the members of the organisation in how to behave and act in a given situation. Organisational culture is therefore not the same as the mission or objectives of the company, although these undoubtedly have a significant impact. 

Organisational culture (as is typical of culture in other ways) includes:

  • The events of the past;
  • Action in the present, the attitude of the members of the organisation;
  • And the vision for the future.

How is organisational culture developed? 

The management, especially the founding members, has a huge role to play in the development of an organisational culture. For the success of the organisation, it is essential that founders develop patterns of communication, cooperation and action based on appropriate values that help to cope with the challenges of the external environment and internal governance problems. 

If successful, these examples will serve as a model for the rest of the organisation to follow.

However, it is important to consider that other factors also influence the development of organisational culture: 

  • Environmental impacts, such as market environment, natural environment, current historical events
  • Specific features of the organisation, such as technological conditions
  • History of the organisation so far

The acquisition of organisational culture is always a socialisation learning process and the result of a longer process.

Elements of organisational culture, iceberg model

Organisational culture is often compared to an iceberg, as it has both visible and invisible elements. 

The visible elements of organisational culture: 

  • Dress, appearance;
  • Environment design equipment;
  • Symbols (e.g. logos);
  • Language habits, "internal" expressions that express identification with the organisation;
  • The story of the organisation, its heroes, sometimes with fictional elements that exemplify desirable behaviour and attitudes,
  • Ceremonies, celebrations, gatherings that strengthen the sense of belonging and togetherness.

The invisible elements of organisational culture: 

  • The articulable set of values that the organisation develops in its members;
  • Subconscious assumptions about the organisation that cannot be made even by the members.

Key issues in organisational culture

Organizational culture is a very complex concept that can be looked at from many different angles:

  • Does the member identify more with the job or the organisation as a whole? 
  • To what extent does management consider the consequences of organisational tasks for people? 
  • Are individual or group goals the priority?
  • Can departments act independently or is coordinated action expected? 
  • Is the control weak or strong? Does the organisation control and monitor the behaviour of its members through a system of rules? 
  • Is risk-taking encouraged, or is avoiding uncertainty accepted? 
  • To what extent can criticisms and conflicts be expressed? 
  • Is the reward system linked to performance or does it depend on other factors?
  • How well can the organisation track and respond to changes in the external environment?
  • How well can the organisation plan for the long term?
visible elements of organisational culture, such as dress code and office layout

Why is it so important to develop a good organisational culture? 

A weak corporate culture can lead to the following problems:

  • The members of the organisation are introverted, they do not establish good relations with their colleagues;
  • The body can only think in the short term;
  • Ethical problems arise;
  • Management decisions are inconsistent;
  • Clashes between cliques (subcultures) can develop;

In the long term, this leads to a significant reduction in the body's performance.

What are the benefits of a good organisational culture?

Organisational culture affects all areas of the organisation's operations. When employees' goals are aligned with the organisational culture, employees feel more comfortable, supported and valued. This significantly increases the level of engagement, which is a huge advantage in difficult situations.

Good company culture also plays a huge role in recruiting and hiring new staff. Experience shows that employees are more willing to go to a job with a good company culture, even for a lower salary. 

What is a good organisational culture?

  • Employees are appreciated and recognised for their efforts - whether it's through thanks, public praise or financial rewards;
  • An atmosphere of trust is created: people can express themselves freely and count on each other's support when, for example, they are starting something new;
  • The focus is on the development of the members of the organisation - so that in the long term, the organisation can function more effectively;
  • The organisation's leaders are able to respond flexibly to environmental changes;
  • Integrity and teamwork are developed: there is good communication between members, they treat each other with respect, and good partnerships are formed;
  • Creative thinking comes to the fore.

Improving organisational culture

Unfortunately, it is often the case that the existing organisational culture is no longer in line with the company's aspirations and goals, and the paradigms that have evolved can even be a handicap in maintaining market competitiveness. But it is also common for corporate mergers or sudden growth to necessitate a conscious transformation of corporate culture. 

And while changing corporate culture takes a long time (research suggests that it can take up to 6-10 years to change an organisational culture), it is definitely worth addressing. 

Let's see how! 

Steps to transform organisational culture

  1. Formulating a vision, developing a strategy: exactly what direction do we want to take the organisation and its culture, what are the values we want to communicate and how?
  2. Gain the support of top management: it is crucial that board members are truly committed to cultural change and new values;
  3. The exemplary behaviour of the management: as leaders set the trends in the organisation, it is essential that they not only talk about the values to be followed, but also act on them;
  4. Making the necessary organisational changes: what systems, policies, procedures, rules, etc. need to be changed to achieve the desired values;
  5. Barriers to change (e.g. resistant employees, etc.) identification and management;
  6. Reward and recognise active participants;
  7. Monitor the process and change direction as necessary.
One important element in developing an organisational culture is to create a climate of cooperation within teams

A few tips for improving organisational culture

As already mentioned, transforming organisational culture is a long process that requires a great deal of consistency and commitment. The following few tips are intended to help you in the process of transformation. 

Let's build a culture of recognition!

A common mistake is to recognise staff only at major milestones or annual appraisals - or even then. Yet continuous recognition conveys that everyone's work is important to the achievement of shared goals, and this contributes significantly to increased productivity and engagement. 

It is also very important to encourage staff to recognise each other's work on a regular basis. 

Let employees have their say too!

Create channels where workers' voices can be heard! For example: 

  • Completing questionnaires
  • Conducting interviews
  • Use of rating scales
  • Preference studies

A common mistake is that the organisation gets to the point of collecting the data, but does not analyse it properly or at all, and does not respond to it adequately. It is therefore worthwhile to provide detailed analysis and, more importantly, feedback to employees so that they feel that their opinions really do matter. It is then necessary to identify the most pressing issues that need to be addressed and to draw up an action plan. 

Strengthening the relationship between team members 

It is essential to encourage teamwork between members of each team through team-building activities. These can be designed by exploring common links between generations (hobbies, etc.), but can also support the development of subcultures within the organisation. Shared activities and values can increase understanding and empathy, which can also facilitate more effective conflict resolution. 

Let's put learning and development in focus! 

Companies that offer opportunities for professional and personal development tend to have much higher levels of engagement. Various group training courses and individual or even group coaching all contribute to the success of the employees and thus of the company. 

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We can help you develop your organisational culture, but also individual or team development, in coaching as well. Contact us!