Cultivating Cultural Value

Now is a great time to get the value back into culture.

A strong organisation culture can drive higher productivity and immense value both for the company and its people as well as other stakeholders.

Yet, while most of us understand a thriving culture can result in a great place to work, many culture-building efforts can be challenging and miss the mark.

Globally, $23.3b is forecast to be spent on Diversity, Equity and Inclusion efforts (World Economic Forum, 2023) and over $600b expected to be spent globally on training and development (Statista 2023). Most of this spend is well-intentioned however it takes aligned, effective and consistent leadership to execute well and to deliver an impact on this spend.

Leaders have an obligation to understand the current state of the culture and how well it supports the strategy of the business. With an accurate and current benchmark, leaders can focus the firm’s attention on the few things that will move the dial – often starting with the leadership team themselves.

Timing is right to redouble efforts. The creeping visibility and regulatory and reporting focus on the “internal S” in ESG is on its way. Many investors are becoming more proficient in understanding the health of internal Social factors beyond traditionally viewed lag indicators such as recent engagement surveys, the number of women on a Board or media articles on a cultural crisis.

So, in thinking about and acting on culture, our leaders should consider how to create the environment for performance, rather than implementing a set of unrelated yet well-intentioned tactics.

Our leaders have a privileged vantage point from which to drive a positive focus on culture and to make it central to the firm strategy.  There is a growing evidence base of initiatives that can be prioritised to have maximum impact.

The narrative should be clear and connected to the Purpose of the organisation and the “why” should be explained in a way which taps both the emotional and rational triggers of all employees, owners, customers and the community.

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