Global markets, technological developments, changing customer needs and other factors reveal that companies must change rapidly in today's business world. However, many companies fail in the change process or achieve unsatisfactory results. The reason is that they do not understand that they must not only make changes in their business strategies, processes and company structures, but also adapt their company culture to these changes.
At this point, it is important to carry out change management and cultural transformation together. Company culture is the set of values, beliefs, expectations, norms and symbols shared by the employees of the organization that affect the way the organization works, the understanding of leadership, employee loyalty and even the financial statements. Cultural transformation requires changing the perspective, values and behaviors of employees. Only in this way is it possible to embed the change in other areas in the company and make it sustainable. We would like to share a few of the things you can do to evaluate, change or reinforce your company's culture.
Clarify and share your vision
The first step in any change and transformation project is always to define the desired point, namely the vision. The most fundamental step for cultural change and transformation is to clarify your company vision. Determine where your company wants to go and how you will achieve that goal. It is important for the employees to understand this vision, internalize it and establish harmony with their own values in terms of consolidating the company culture.
Consider cultural harmony in recruitment
A healthy and robust company culture depends on how well the company's employees adopt this culture and how compatible it is with the value behavior set. In recruitment, it is extremely important for the employee candidate to adapt to the company culture as well as their technical knowledge and skills. In healthy companies, a newcomer can adapt to that institution like a puzzle piece, but cultural adaptation is necessary for this. We recommend reviewing the recruitment processes and evaluating the criteria from this perspective.
Strengthen two-sided and open communication
In order for the company culture to be sustainable and strong, two-way, open and transparent communication should be provided between leaders and employees. Top management should explain company goals and strategies to employees and listen to their feedback and comments. When the individual, who wants to find meaning in his work and avoids conflicting with his values, understands why the company does what it does, employee loyalty will increase along with it.
Support the employee with training and development programs
Adapting to change and transformation requires employees to develop their knowledge and skills in many cases. In particular, coaching and mentoring programs should support the understanding of values during cultural transformation, the establishment of a relationship with the values of the individual and their implementation. Trainings and workshops should help fill the knowledge and skills gap needed during change and transformation. The use of these tools will help weaken the resistance that company change and transformation may cause and increase the self-confidence of the employee.
Make leaders role models
Company culture is influenced by the behavior of leaders. When employees are undecided, they look at the top management and decide what is right and acceptable. Therefore, leaders should adopt the company culture and be a role model in this regard. In change and transformation projects, company leaders are expected to sponsor and support this process. At the same time, they should set an example by placing all the behaviors they expect employees to implement into their daily lives.
Remember that cultural transformation is a marathon
The process of cultural change is a long process and it is important to ensure continuity. As stated in many change management models, it is imperative for successful change management to not let go of the rope, to create short-term gains, not to decrease motivation and to establish a change team that will follow the process.
Let's not forget that many change management projects should either be culturally compatible or run together with cultural transformation. Companies may undergo structural, technological or process changes due to different internal and external factors. The success of all these change projects is successfully implemented and internalized considering the human side of the change and the culture of the company.
*RNA Change Management uses Barrett Cultural Valuation tools to evaluate the cultures of companies and takes a clear picture of the cultural harmony of their employees and their perception of organizational culture to company managers. You can contact us for information.