The workplace is changing, with technology and the continued influx of the millennial generation as driving forces. While older generations are comfortable with the structure and security that characterised workplaces of the past, younger workers neither experience the security, nor are they satisfied with a structure that can feel like an impediment to growth.
As a result many companies have started developing strategic cultures with the intention of attracting and retaining young talent. This kind of thinking is often mistaken as fluffy, but companies like Zappos, Google, and Twitter are all high-profile examples of how intentional culture development can result in high performance organisations where employees feel valued and engaged.
For many, the temptation is to consider culture development a function of HR. However, Human Resources is generally synonymous with rules, compliance, and sanctions. Culture development starts with establishing purpose, values, and the strategic vision of the organisation. The culture of a company — intentional or unintentional — sets the standard for how the company treats employees, and how employees interact with each other and customers.
In other words, HR is a left-brain business function and culture development is more of a right-brain function. Some might argue that the two can’t live under the same department but that’s something that has to be decided by the leaders of an organisation, based on what culture development means for them. In many ways, the two must operate in symbiosis to create the desired culture and supporting systems.
For instance, the HR team probably won’t be responsible for determining the purpose, values and vision for the company. The 10 core values at Zappos were established through a collaborative process that involved everyone from executives to customer service reps. In other cases, the core values might be determined by company leadership, which may or may not include someone from HR.
Likewise, performance reviews were traditionally a function of HR but there’s a growing consensus that performance reviews are useless. This is not to suggest that employees don’t need feedback, it just means that the old system of annual reviews isn’t the best way to deliver that feedback. It also needs to examine performance within context of the established culture.
In this way, culture development can become a strategic part of any organisation, ensuring alignment to vision and purpose among the employees, and establishing guiding principles for behavior and performance.
Image courtesy of nongpimmy at FreeDigitalPhotos.net
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