One of the big challenges for any Organisation is that of retaining good talent and attracting good talent. More so now with millennials. And one of the key parameters that contribute to this is the Organisation’s Culture.
In many organisations, its culture is not consciously articulated, expressed, reviewed or reassessed. While the reality is, they hold a role as important as the strategic financial goals of a company but they seldom get discussed and reviewed like the strategic financial goals do.
Where does it start? Like everything in an organisation, it starts at the TOP. But if not actively worked upon, the danger is that anything can become the organisation’s culture and it can start from anywhere and can take undesirable qualities and grow into a monster that an organisation has little control of or worse, little awareness of.
In my experience, it is the CEO who defines an organisation’s culture and the CHRO actively implements it. These two roles play an important part in ensuring the cultural fabric is expressed, taken forward, reviewed and resonates genuinely across the organisation.
The leadership team that works with the CEO is accountable to reflect the organisation’s culture in their thoughts, actions, decisions. And this is how their teams pick it up experientially and take it forward. In a way it becomes the binding feeling. It is the framework that helps its employees to think and act decisively and proactively. It is also a oneness factor, a pride, a sense of belonging, a culture your employees are happy to align with, a shared value system. The power of an Organisation’s culture is that it works as a motivator beyond increments, incentives and promotions. It also gives a boost to the valuation. It is the healthy cherry and the icing on the cake.
Even when I interact with young work forces, the Organisation culture factor comes through as a key filter for them. The millennials seek a sense of purpose to the work they do, shared values, respect for employees, employee learning & development, and transparency apart from relevant remuneration and role. They give their best when the culture inspires them to.
In less than a week of association, they instinctively pick up cues about the organisation’s culture. Be it presence or absence of values, ethics, respect, diversity, fair policy practices. No amount of news clips or press releases or ranking charts that is out there in the world will change their reality.
It might be a good idea to check what is the Organisation Culture of your company and for CEO’s & CHRO’s who already have this defined, it will be worthwhile to check if it really resonates across. Not just through an agency but have direct discussions with some employees across ranks to know the reality. You might be pleasantly surprised to see that your defined culture has really percolated and is strongly in place both in words and action. If that’s not the case, be prepared to have a shock as to how far away and undesirable the cultural fabric has become and is eating into the near-term & long-term success factor of the company. It can help you accept and inspire you to re-build your org culture.
Admirable companies have admirable cultures that they stay true to both in challenging and booming times. It is an integral part of their identity that adds a lot more to their net-worth beyond just the financials. And here is the best part- it does not cost money. Zero financial investment but incredibly high returns. Every company however small, medium or large, can have a defined culture. All it takes is a small effort for a much larger, long-term positive impact, a small part of the CEO’s time to create/ define/ redefine the company’s culture and review it periodically to ensure it is truly owned by his/her teams.
