3 Ways to Rebuild a Stronger Organizational Culture
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How to help employees reconnect with your organization's core values, regardless of where they're working
A strong culture is an essential component of a successful organization. Without one, employees can feel rudderless, and navigating through tough times can be more difficult.
The COVID-19 pandemic challenged many organizations’ core values. When faced with decreased revenues and potential closure during the lockdown, some businesses found out precisely what they were made of — and what would allow them to persevere.
In the aftermath of a challenging time, leaders are charged with synthesizing these lessons and revising their organizational cultures to reflect new workplace realities. Here is a three-step plan to help make it happen:
Step 1. Conduct a cultural “audit”
Just as self-assessment is a vital first step of any personal change story, begin by honestly evaluating the cultural status quo.
A few months into the pandemic, the consulting firm McKinsey predicted that business leaders were shaping “the organizations of the future” with the decisions they were making to manage the crisis. Some of these actions were specific to the moment and not sustainable. But others could represent a change in values and cultural direction.
Now is an excellent time to evaluate leaders’ decisions that focused on employees, tailoring them to impact the cultural identity of an organization. For example, did the switch to remote working weaken some core values? Did your organization’s “personality” change? This recovery period may be time for, as McKinsey puts it, “intense experimentation and soul searching” to determine just what your organization is to its employees and customers, and what it needs to be.
Step 2. Involve employees in redefining your culture
Once you’ve done some organizational self-examination, weave your findings into a narrative you can share with your employees. Some of the most successful company cultures are built on a common story; for example, an anecdote that sums up the founders’ motivations or a legendary tale about the company’s humble beginnings.
The pandemic's lessons can add to this story, highlighting successes and detailing what you want the organization to achieve. It’s important for employees to feel they are part of something bigger than just a job and a paycheck. Including them in a narrative about how the organization "beat the pandemic" with their help can reinforce loyalty and a sense of purpose.
Getting employee buy-in is essential throughout every stage of your culture rebuilding project. Be sure to balance the concerns of individuals still working from home with those who returned to the office. Use surveys, message boards, or even casual brainstorming sessions to gather information from all levels of your organization. Take any opportunities to revise the organization’s mission or values and ask employees for feedback.
Culture cannot be left to senior management or human resources to dictate in a top-down manner. It should be a shared responsibility.
Step 3. Create and share a plan for culture-rebuilding throughout the entire organization
If a cultural assessment reveals that your organization lacks clarity of purpose, shared values, and the harder-to-articulate “glue” that bonds the employees of successful organizations, propose some remedies.
Start by aligning the leaders throughout your organization. In a February 2021 article for the Harvard Business Review, branding consultant Denise Lee Yohn suggested ways for various groups within an organization to do the hard work of culture-building:
CEO and senior management – Define the desired culture and create operational processes to support it.
Human resources department – Design employee experiences that reinforce the desired culture; support the organization’s “culture responsibilities” by providing training.
Middle managers – Deliver an employee experience consistent with the desired culture; cultivate employee engagement.
Employees – Provide feedback and volunteer input about how the desired culture aligns or differs from the actual culture; align attitudes and behavior with the desired culture.
A healthy and supportive company culture can raise employee morale, lower turnover, and help attract talented candidates. In the tight hiring climate firms now face, being known as a great place to work can set your organization apart from the competition. And an organization's reputation is often established by its culture.
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