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How to successfully implement cultural change
Workplace culture matters...
Making a significant and lasting change in any organisation that successfully shifts the way that things are done requires far more than a training session and a to-do list – it means defining shared goals, creating a shared pathway towards those goals, and the whole workforce walking that path together, guiding each other through each step and process of the change.
Changing the culture of an organisation – fundamentally altering the atmosphere, the way things are done, and the way that people communicate – can be a lengthy process and one which needs careful planning and gradual rollout. However – the world is changing quickly, and those changes get more significant and more rapid every day.
We understand that strategic involvement in every step of the process is how to successfully implement a lasting cultural change in any organisation, using methodologies such as Kotter’s 8-step model. Not only that, but we can prove the effectiveness of our programmes with our unique evaluation tool that demonstrates level 3 behavioural change on the Kirkpatrick scale.
What is the problem that needs to be solved?
There’s a crisis at the core of every change; identify the crisis, and let people know it’s urgent.
Look at the growth of communication technology; picture a business owner with bases in the UK and in America one hundred years ago, and the length of time any communication between those offices would then have taken. News of a crisis would take weeks to be delivered, and longer still to be responded to.
Today, those messages can be communicated in an instant, decisions can be made in real time, and changes can be made to counter any issues immediately.
This rapid response to issues is a sign of a cultural shift in how we do business – and that kind of significant cultural change is a process we can guide you through if your organisation needs to meet challenges head on.
Who is on your team?
Who steps forward when a crisis arises? This is your team, ready to lead the change – don’t ask for a team, position those who already care to lead the change.
ASK consultants can work with your organisation to identify what strategic goals you have for your organisation, and help you to implement the changes needed to reach those goals. We have tools to identify the team members who can make the most significant difference and bring your entire workforce along with you, creating a significant change in the culture and evidencing the success of that change.
We have many years of experience in successfully implementing widescale cultural change, and we work with you to identify the issues within your organisation, and create a unique strategy to meet problems face on and implement change that will have a lasting and significant impact on the success of everything you do.
What needs to be done?
Let the people who recognise the crisis identify what needs to be changed, and create a vision of their end goals, then break that down into what steps need to be taken to get there.
As an animal, people are, at their core, often resistant to change, and this is particularly apparent when they are being told to change, having the need for change dictated to them, but being kept separate from the decision-making process about what that change will entail.
Communicate and empower
Don’t just tell your team there’s going to be change; listen, engage and really hear their concerns – and address them with the goals you set and steps you implement to reach them; demonstrate the new methods and encourage them to replicate them.
People are more accepting of change when they are led through the process than when they are told to do things differently.
If you want to successfully create cultural change, and rapidly and fluidly adapt the way that your organisation functions and your workforce perform, you need to involve them at every stage of that process – from decisions about what they will be learning and why, to what end goals that learning will achieve, and include a culture of social learning and communication at the core of the entire process.
Short term wins lead to long term change
Reward every small success: prove the effectiveness of new learning and methods and let those successes feed more of the same.
This level of commitment and engagement ensures that there is a genuine, recognisable and significant shift in the culture of the organisation, bringing employees at every level of the organisation together to a new way of thinking and doing.
Yes, this takes time – but involving the key players in the process from the very first step ensures that everyone keeps pace, and that the culture of change itself is instilled in the whole organisation, meaning that there is less resistance to the idea that further changes may come if your organisation is to keep up with your industry, and a world which never stops evolving.
For information on the way that we adapt our learning programmes to suit your specific needs, download our guide or contact us today on 01234 757575 or email hello@askeurope.com