Well, one answer could be that it is all the ingredients that make up Workology Co’s A – Z of workplace culture series. And yes, that’s a plug for the rest of the series, which you can find here.
I also feel very comfortable suggesting that most people reading this blog will have heard this often-cited definition of culture– it’s the things we do around here.
Ok, sure. That can work. But I think the answer is much broader than that.
When researching for Workology Co’s white paper, *infamously released on the literal eve of Lockdown #1 back in 2020 (side note: is it just me, or does that feel like another lifetime ago), I spoke to and surveyed around 30 people, including many senior HR professionals.
In other words, peeps in the know when it comes to culture.
Here is one of my favourite definitions.
Everyone striving for the same mission and vision but with respect and acknowledgement for others.
Annnd my absolute personal favourite:
How you feel when you come to work. You should be able to bring your full self into the workplace and be respected for it.
Those are some good definitions…but what makes each culture unique?
Of course every workplace culture can’t be the same.
I only have to think about the culture at client’s workplaces, or where my mates work.
The culture of a mid-tier law firm is never, ever, going to be the same as that at a Tech start-up; nor is it going to be the same of that at a veterinary practice, a quasi-government body, or an aged care facility.
Culture however is really the DNA of your organisation. Or it should be. Workplace culture is the feel and flow of an organisation. It is a combination of personalities, policies and procedures and organisational structure that make up the demeanor of the organisation. It is in a sense, the personality of an organisation. [White paper participant]
At its heart, every organisation’s culture is unique because it is created by a group of unique individuals.
However, what is important to remember is that ‘unique’, without deliberate strategy, does not automatically equal ‘high performance’ or ‘good/great or exceptional’.
If culture is not deliberately designed, then it just evolves. And what it evolves into may be far from ideal and may in fact be the complete antithesis of the Mission, Purpose, and Values of your organisation.
Let me paint you a picture
Actual footage of me conducting a cultural audit – with a picture (that, alas, I did not paint) in the background.
Back in Ye Olden days (ie pre-Corona) I conducted a cultural audit for a Joint Venture (JV).
This JV was made up of a mix of employees from the two very different parent companies, as well as new recruits.
The JV had existed for around a year when I ran the audit.
Here was some of the things I discovered:
- Team members continued to wear the uniform of their parent company rather than that of the JV.
- Team members overwhelmingly sat in groups with employees from their parent company, even if they were in a business unit that consisted of a mix of employees (which most units did).
- Business units had developed their own unique mini cultures that reflected the style of leadership of the head of their department. Which in turn tended to reflect the parent company each leader belonged to.
- There was a distinct lack of a sense of belonging to, or of being part of the team, of the JV entity.
- Most audit participants were crying out for team building/ social bonding activities for the whole JV rather than restricted to business units.
- Communication was less than ideal and tended to be restricted to employees communicating only with employees from their parent company. Which translated into issues when information was not shared.
- Blame was rampant, and again tended to be employees from one parent company vs employees of the other.
The JV had been created hastily without appropriate thought given to how to develop a new culture reflective of the JV.
Interestingly many of the employees had worked on numerous JV projects in the past and told me how on these previous projects, deliberate (and successful) efforts had been to create a unique JV culture from the outset.
One of the main problems with this unplanned and ad hoc culture is that the unique culture that had sprung up was neither cohesive, team orientated nor ideal.
The world is full of different people. Different backgrounds, sexes, qualifications, and experience, family circumstances. Extroverts and introverts, omniverts (mix of both).
Deliberately designed culture is essential. But it needs to be designed in a way that considers that organisations are made up of a team of individuals, all with different personalities, interests, responsibilities.
Yes, but how do we deliberately design our culture?
I’m glad you asked, my reader friend.
First off, a cautionary note: there is no ‘CULTURE’ template that you can pick up off the shelf and implement straight into your organisation. I know, I know. BOO.
“I think if you try to look at someone else and say, let’s implement that here, I don’t see that working. My experiences show you’ve got to create your own, it’s got to be created by you and your people. It’s not something that you can pull out of a textbook or another organization. That is not authentic. You’ve got to create something that people really feel talks to them and is created by them for them. ” [White Paper participant, Professional Services]
The steps include:
1. Culture being recognised as an Executive and Board responsibility
In other words, recognising that culture is not just the domain of us HR peeps.
I came across an excellent example of this a number of years ago, when I interviewed the then People & Culture Manager of one of Australia’s top 50 Great Places to Work Australia.
The founders of the business had started their culture journey by deciding from day one that a priority for them was ensuring their workplace had the right culture, one founded on the slogan ‘built from beer’.
Fast forward a few years (and no doubt, beers) and the MDs proudly declared that
“We want to be known for our culture, we want to be the leading culture workplace in Australia.”
Which leads onto step 2…
2. Dedicating enough time to designing your culture
Now I am not going to pretend that this is easy or a quick task.
If you really want to have a culture that is unique in all the right ways, then this requires dedicated time, effort and strategy.
And (somewhat sadly for some people), beers alone do not equate to either time, effort and strategy. Which is why a good solution can be to involve your people in your designing your strategy.
Which in turn means you accrue brownie points from this Workplace Culture Nerd, because it means you will be listening to your people. Want to know why listening = brownie points?
Well then, I suggest you read ‘L is for Listening’ here.
3. Involving the team in developing the culture
In the Great Place to Work I mentioned in step 1, staff were involved in developing what ultimately became the organisation’s Seven Points Of Culture.
The Points were developed during a team building session in which the MDs deliberately absented themselves.
Three whiteboards were set up across the room and staff were asked to write on the boards what they thought working for the organisation meant for them. This brain dump was later whittled down to the seven points – Accountability, Passion, Teamwork, Fun, Integrity, Excellence & Balance.
The 7 points of culture are included in the team handbook given to new employees, and each year one of the points becomes the theme for the year.
Leaders accept and acknowledge that the whole business is never going to hit those seven points, 100% of the time, but they continually emphasise working towards them.
For example, each Monday morning in resource meetings, current projects are discussed in detail across teams. This reinforces that all the team are accountable for the results, and ensures transparency.
Another useful tool can be to establish a Culture Council, with representatives from all areas of the business meeting regularly to discuss the current culture, and provide recommendations for ways to either continue the current culture, or improve where necessary.
4. Recruit to fit
Yes, absolutely, having a mix of the ‘right’ skills should be an important factor when choosing candidates to recruit to your business.
However skills alone are not enough when it comes to deliberate designing your unique and high performance culture.
Instead, make sure you emphasise getting to know candidates to see if they are a right fit for the business. Perhaps invite select candidates to attend a Group Information Session that is in part letting the candidates learn more about your business, but is equally a chance for you to really get to know candidates over a few beers (or other appropriate beverages).
This approach also wins extra brownie points from yours truly, because ‘finding the right fit’ works both ways, and means you are saving candidates from jumping through unnecessary hoops – which is a win:win in this current employee driven job market.
Only once you fit candidates are a good fit for the culture you have (or are aspiring to have), do you then move to making offers.
Final reminder, especially for those feeling a tad daunted right about now….
Don’t overcomplicate it! Create an environment where people feel comfortable and happy coming to work, like and enjoy what they are doing, where they have a chance to work on interesting stuff that stimulates and challenges them. [HR Leader, White Paper participant]
If however that daunting feeling is turning into overwhelm, then I have two suggestions for you.
Start by reading ‘O is for Overwhelm’ here.
Alternatively, book a time here to have a chat with us. We can uncover a true picture of the current health of your culture, and then work with you and your team to develop / design and implement your unique, ideal and high performance culture.