A nebulous concept: Culture is one of those concepts that everyone has a "feel" for, but struggles to define and/or describe how to change it.

The best definition we've heard is "The way we do things around here". An organization's culture drives almost every part of its being – e.g. what does quality, timeliness, customer service, employee engagement, etc. look like in our organization?

It can be defined and shaped: PBI likes the simple and practical approach. We use adjectives to assess and describe an organization's culture (as well as its reputation). Ask your employees how they would describe your culture. Ask key clients or customers to describe your culture and your reputation. Do a gap analysis to determine the difference between what you're hearing and the desired adjectives. We'd bet that the root causes for that gap are grounded in the lack of defined/lived Core Values, the measurement and recognition/reward systems not driving desired behaviors, or management not "walking the talk".

Match with differentiators: Hopefully your organization has defined its' differentiators from competitors in your space. If not, you must. If so, compare the culture feedback you're getting with your desired differentiators. The culture should be "mapping to" and reinforcing these differentiators to separate your organization from the pack. Then go back and look at leader and manager behavior; their actions send huge messages about what's important and has a major impact on the organization's culture and the degree of this match.

Contact us by phone: (703) 897-0724 or by email.