The eternal struggle of a manager: you want to change certain things within your company, but you are unable to actually implement them. One area that many managers encounter is changing corporate culture. How can it be that the culture doesn't change? Is it the attitude of your employees or are there deeper underlying motives? In this blog we delve deeper into corporate culture and explain how you can measure culture.
Change management and what is corporate culture?
Company culture is the day-to-day goings-on within a company. It has to do with norms, values, and expectations. An example of company culture is when employees take a walk outside during their lunch break. The Friday afternoon drinks are also part of company culture. Or how about a table tennis table in the office so you can hit a few balls in between? But the dress code, whether or not overtime is required, and the number or lack of meetings are all examples of company culture.
How do you view culture?
To make a culture change a success, it is important that we first look at how you view culture. Over the years, the view on culture has undergone important changes. For example, it was initially assumed that culture was only about what people did. Later it was added that culture is also what people think.
Everyone looks at culture through a different lens. You can distinguish different groups, each with a different view on culture. Opinions are also divided on this in science. So you have the anthropological school and the management school. The anthropological school indicates that culture is not a factor that the organization has, but equates culture with the organization. According to them, you cannot influence cultures. The management school actually believes that you can influence cultures. So they believe that you can change cultures in a targeted manner.
You can influence culture
We believe that you can influence culture. Every type of behavior can be influenced. You can also influence every skill such as selling, communicating and managing.
Employees must first become aware of their unconscious behavior before they can change behavior and skills, for example.
A well-known scientist who also assumes that you can influence cultures is Straathof (2009). Straathof has developed a model with which you can measure cultures. This instrument, shown in the figure below, consists of three parts: behavior, mindset and arena.
Behavior (blue ring) is visible on the surface of companies and organizations. Behavior can develop into certain habits, which are consciously or unconsciously adopted by others. The mindset (red pyramid) is values ​​and beliefs. Values ​​indicate what an individual or a group considers important. Beliefs describe what motivates people. Through the values ​​and beliefs we have, we create our own reality. The arena (green ring) focuses on relationships between group members, in which influence and appreciation are important. The mutual relationships influence behavior.
In the model you can see a kind of volcano. The behavior (1) is what is visible within a company or organization. From the behavior we move to the mindset (2), which forms the basis for the arena (3). These are the invisible parts of culture. Behavior can be explained from this position (4). These three components can mutually influence each other.
How do you measure company culture?
Are you wondering whether you should change your company culture ? Be aware that you cannot change culture overnight. Changing a company culture can take years. The Straathof model is a useful tool for mapping the current culture. What is the behavior, arena, and mindset of your organization? You can measure the culture by conducting in-depth interviews and surveys at all levels of your organization.
Next, determine what the desired culture is. Which aspect of the culture do you want to change exactly? Clearly map out what needs to be changed and explain it well. Culture is an intangible concept; make it tangible by explaining the cultural change using examples and compelling visuals. Do you need help changing the culture within your company? We are happy to help you on your way with your business improvement.
Team development
Behavior, mindset, and the arena therefore play an important role in culture change. Collaboration and team spirit are also crucial for successful culture change. Team development maps out, among other things, what is already going well and what potential areas for improvement exist. Through four steps—intake, scan, gap analysis, and best approach—we help you on your way to an even stronger team. Curious? The coffee is ready; we would be happy to tell you more about this!
Sources
Straathof, A. (2009). Searching for the core of cultural change: Insight, measurement, management. Delft, Uitgeverij Eburon.
Verdoolaege, S.(2012) Leadership opportunities for public managers: reducing the failure rate of organizational changes.
