Whether all your employees work from home, report to the office daily, or a combination of both, your organizational culture will determine whether your employees will be productive and efficient, or find ways to avoid doing work altogether. What has been effective pre-pandemic might not be as useful now that your employees have experienced how it is to work from home. Given these changes in the workplace, how do you rebuild the culture you envision for your organization?
Start with what your people valued the most during the pandemic and leverage on those by incorporating work practices that echo their needs. Your employees should be at the center of your culture-building efforts, and it would be beneficial for you to align their values with your organization’s goals. Encourage work practices that help employees become productive and efficient, and find ways to curb those that detract from your goals. Before implementing any cultural change in the workplace, you need to listen to your people and understand their values.
In aligning the core value and the vision and mission of the organization to the culture that you envision, anticipate that other people will fall away. This is expected if you want to remain true to what your organization stands for. If done right, people would adjust willingly to align themselves with the organization’s goals. Otherwise, they will always look for a reason to leave, so be prepared to accept that not everyone will align themselves with the organization.
To attract and retain the right talent, create a lighthouse identity. In Adam Morgan’s book Eating the Big Fish: How Challenger Brands Can Compete Against Brand Leaders, he defined lighthouse identity as a projection of a distinct and focused perspective to customers such that they notice the organization even if they do not intend to. Having a clear understanding of what you provide to customers can help greatly in sharpening your strategy, and makes it easier for your employees to rally behind your purpose.
You also need to check for communication loopholes to ensure transparency and easy access to the management’s vision for the organization. For big organizations where access to the executive team is limited, the communications team can create and consistently update knowledge channels for information on management direction, or tap interest groups for easy information dissemination. There are several communication channels you can tap to provide information to people in your organization, but the best way is always by word-of-mouth. When people understand your organization’s objectives and culture, they will tell it not just to co-workers but also to their family and friends.
People also need to understand their role in the entire organization and how they contribute to the overall achievement of its goals. When people know this, they will find purpose in what they are doing and become better engaged. It is difficult to identify indicators that tell if people feel that they belong to the organization, but you can start by looking at pantry conversations, your team’s membership in interest groups, laughter in your department, and other informal metrics.
You also need to understand that technology is an enabler, and your organization should capitalize on existing technology to help your people work smarter and more efficiently. There is a disconnect if you invest in technology for remote working when you require your people to report daily to the office. Technology should be used to further improve the culture in the workplace, and not to be applied for its own sake.
Tap the culture-builders in your organization. These are people who may not have formal positions but are respected and followed by your employees. These are people who know who to call in other departments for help, maintain good relations with people they work with, and are natural leaders because of how they draw people to themselves. Tapping them can help increase culture-building and provide a model for others to follow.
Understand also that performance and learning are dependent on each other. If you do not train your people, they will not improve. Training comes in many forms and is not limited to classroom discussions or online modules. Mentoring programs and cross-functional internships can help managers have a better understanding and appreciation for other departments in the organization. Having mentors in the organization also ensures that the next generation of employees understand the core values of the organization and how the vision came to be. This way, you sustain the culture for the next generation of leaders in your organization.
But take note also that this does not mean the organization should be unbending. If there is one thing this pandemic has taught organizations, it is to react quickly and adapt swiftly to changes. A significant consideration that management needs to incorporate in workplace culture is how people decide. There are organizations that empower their employees to decide within a certain amount just as long as it contributes to the improvement of customer experience. On the other hand, there are organizations that require all decisions to go through the manager. Either way, organizations need to decide which one they want to adapt.
Also, take a good look at yourself and ask if there are things you do or say which hinder the development of the culture you want. Sometimes, it is easier to plan and strategize for what is ideal but then get lost in implementation because you do not see how your actions go against the culture you want. Get the opinion of friends or trusted colleagues so you can correct as necessary.
Lastly, be patient with results. Culture does not happen overnight, but it would help if you identify behaviors that indicate your organization is getting closer to its envisioned culture. This will also help you adjust your methods to get closer to your target culture. In the end, people will do what they need to do even with minimal supervision when they understand what is expected of them.