Who Owns Organizational Culture?

Conversations and articles about organizational culture have become more prevalent in the past few years, especially as organizations begin to compete in the global marketplace. What is organizational culture and why is it important?  And what can we do as HR professionals to help strengthen organization culture?

Ed Schein, a former professor at the MIT Sloan School of Management, and an expert in the field of organizational development defines culture as:

A pattern of shared basic assumptions learned by a group as it solved its problems of external adaptation and internal integration… a product of joint learning. 

 http://thehypertextual.com/2013/01/17/edgar-schein-organizational-culture-and-leadership/

Culture is the way organizations work. It’s how they accomplish their objectives and the environment in which people work.  It’s the company values – its code of conduct. It is how an organization works together to achieve its business objectives. Organizational culture has a huge impact on an organization’s bottom line. 

A strong culture should be tied to organizational strategy and the execution of that strategy.  It should inspire employees to work hard in both good and bad times.   It helps attract new talent to an organization and retain existing talent.   It’s visible in group dynamics – how they deal with change and unexpected issues.  Those observable patterns permeate throughout the organization and influence how an organization does business. 

Culture is a living organism.  A strong culture changes and adapts to an organization’s strategy and business objectives.  Employees in a strong culture are confident and empowered to play an active role in pushing the organization forward.  A weak culture creates many obstacles and affects employee morale and impacts the bottom line.  It can affect the very core of an organization.

HR can have a positive or negative impact on corporate culture.  The way the HR team interacts with employees and leadership, and the communication between HR and the rest of the organization can affect culture.  The way HR responds to issues in the workplace demonstrates how employees are valued.  Is the organization doing all it can to attract new talent and retain their current talent?  If not, it’s important for HR to advise leadership on ways to improve employee attraction and retention.  Are leaders “walking the walk” or only “talking the talk?”  Organizational leaders should be setting the setting the example of what a positive culture looks like. 

Consider your organization and its culture.  What’s the current impact of your culture on employees?   Do your employees feel safe and energized and are they motivated to stay with the organization? Are they proud of where they work and are they excited to recommend your organization to perspective employees?  An organization must continually take a good look at their culture and understand the impact on its employees and the organization’s bottom line.

Mary Walter Arthur, SPHR

Navigating Emotional Minefields

The phone rings and you answer it not expecting the challenge that's about to be presented.  Individuals are vulnerable and problems arise, even in the best of organizations.  Sound practices and resources help leaders to navigate through the worst situations, ensuring associates are treated with fairness and respect.

Not long ago I lead a discussion about employee relations.  One participant shared a situation about an employee’s behavior -- it was not interfering with his performance nor was it threatening to others -- it was just bizarre and concerning.  They wanted to send him for a medical evaluation but did not have a "fitness-for-duty policy."  Their attorney advised that a fitness for duty was not a good thing anyway because once they knew what the problem was they could be liable under the ADA.  I wasn't sure I agreed.  A fitness for duty isn't a diagnosis.  Rather it's an assessment of whether or not someone can perform his or her job without a threat to self or others. I ran this by an EAP specialist and she confirmed that my understanding was correct. 

More recently I heard of a more serious situation where the employee's behavior was posing a potential threat of physical harm and the company had sent the individual for an assessment. The results raised some serious concerns.  My colleague shared that her firm was evaluating the situation and had yet to make a decision -- stay tuned.  I didn't envy her position but admired her approach.  They were seeking advice from a number of sources.

Difficult situations require hard decisions and decision-making is a process.  Judgment has to be part of the process.  Policies reflect culture.  Some organizations have rigid, zero tolerance policies for certain behaviors, no exceptions.  Others see policies as guidance to sound decision making.  They are one resource, but not the sole resource, used when assessing a situation.

When faced with a situation similar to my colleague's, consult with medical, legal and security experts to assess the risk.  If there is a potential threat of harm, the employee may need to be removed from the workplace.  You won't know this without consultation from the proper experts.  That employee may still need help, but with flexible policies and decisions, help can be made available.

Be aware that whatever decision is made, there will be a risk.  However, with advice from the experts and sound policies and practices as guidance, the risk can be minimized.  Even with a decision is to terminate employment legal risk can be mitigated if the company shows it made a compassionate and thorough decision.

The cornerstones of positive employee relations can be found in external factors such as an organization’s response to laws and regulations and internal factors, such as its culture, policies and practices, and the resources it uses in addressing challenges.  In assessing your policies and practices, ask

·       What do they say?

·       Do they work in concert with each other?

·       Are they applied consistently in similar situations?

·       Do they provide flexibility

·       What is unique about the situation and individuals involved?

·       How are they communicated to employees & managers?

·       Do managers receive training on applying the policies?

·       Are you factoring judgment into the decision process?

Remember that any decision you make is not without risk, but don’t let that be an excuse for not making any decision.

Tradition!

"Tradition" -- the opening number for the Broadway musical, Fiddler on the Roof features Tevye, the Dairyman, explaining the roles of each social class (fathers, mothers, sons, and daughters) in the village and how the traditional roles of people like the matchmaker and the rabbi contribute to the village. The song also sets the major theme of the show: the villagers trying to continue their traditions and keep their society running as the world around them changes.  These outside influences include an edict by the Tsar that evicts the Jews from their village.

Tevye, the father of five daughters, attempts to maintain his family and Jewish religious traditions.  However, each of his strong-willed older daughters wants to choose her own husband which moves farther away from the customs of his faith – the matchmaker chooses husbands for them. 

Many of us have recently celebrated the winter holidays which are rich in cultural traditions.  What is culture?  It’s

• the acquired knowledge people use to interpret experiences and generate behavior. 
• the attitudes, beliefs, and values that drive behavior.
• something shared by almost all members of some social group
• something older members of a group try to pass on to younger members
• something that shapes behavior or structures one’s perception of the world

We are all members of more than one social group.  Examples include our families, professional societies, volunteer organizations, religious organizations, social organizations such as book clubs, political groups, sports groups, etc.  The list can be endless.  Behavior is shaped by each of these groups and can vary depending on the group we are with at any given time.

The workplace is a social environment and the organization is one group to which an individual can belong.  Each organization is a social system with a specific culture – pattern of thinking and acting.  Corporate culture originates with the values brought by founders and key leaders. However, the way these cultures affect the members – employees and other stakeholders – is through shared practices or behavior.  Founders’ and leaders’ values become members’ practices. 

Organizational culture is generally:

• Holistic meaning that the whole is more than the sum of the parts
• Historically determined reflecting the organization’s history
• Grounded in anthropology and related to rituals and symbols
• Created and preserved by the group of people who collectively form the organization
• Often difficult to change (until it is exposed to outside forces)

Like any other culture, organizational culture will have (and you can look for)

• Special terms and symbols that only insiders understand
• Special types of people most likely to succeed
• Special rituals, such as periodic meetings, specific events and behavior
• Special values, those things people like to see happening or the things to most avoid (biggest mistakes you can

These terms, symbols, ritual and values not only define the uniqueness of an organization, they differentiate it from others.  For example:

·      Is the organization process oriented (how you do things) versus goal oriented (what results you achieve? 

·      Is the organization employee oriented (concern for people) versus job oriented (concern for completing the job)? 

·      Is the organization parochial (identify with the organization) versus professional (identify with the type of work)? 

·      Are there open systems (welcoming and transparent) versus closed systems (secretive and messaged in communications)? 

·      Is there loose control versus tight control?  Is there a great deal of focus on things like cost and punctuality or not?

·      Is the organization normative (focused on procedures, dogmatic) versus pragmatic (focused on customers’ needs and results)? 

I worked for a company that had a unique culture for many, many years.  Over time it began to change to meet changing business needs.  When I speak to former colleagues, some still there and some who left after I did, they always tell me that it’s not the same company we once worked for.  It’s undergone a major transformation.  That’s not necessarily a bad thing – it’s just a change. 

We’ve talked a great deal about hiring for cultural fit, both in our blog posts and in The Big Book of HR.  During the next year we will be discussing different organizations and their own unique cultures.  At the start of a new year, it’s a good time to reflect on your organization’s culture – what shaped it, what sustains it, and what are the external forces impacting it.  Are you reacting like Tevye and holding onto tradition that no longer fits, or are you being agile, recognizes the changes around you and adapting?