Organisational culture & brand development – how does your organisational culture impact your brand?

“Your culture is your organisation’s greatest competitive advantage … The most successful workplace cultures are built on trust which is a key driver of engagement.” (A Great Place to Work)

If your organisation is hoping to grow into a strong brand, you need an engaged team of employees behind you to deliver your objectives. For that you need to lead by example and create the very best organisational culture. This will help your business to create emotional appeal and attract top talent far easier, increasing your competencies and your competitive advantage.

Organisational culture is made up of a number of unwritten rules about the way things are done around your workplace. An example of a company with a healthy culture is a bus company I work with where the directors learn to drive buses so they can muck in when required, including driving at charity events – this has been an ‘unwritten’ rule since the business was launched.

The drivers of trust are: Ability, understanding, fairness, openness, integrity and consistency (ILM, Trust Index 2013)

The scoring criteria for great company culture is: Inspiration, hiring, welcoming, thanking, sharing, celebrating and developing (A Great Place to Work)

I highly recommend that readers of this blog take a look at Fortune’s 100 Best Companies to Work which clearly states what the employees think about working at each place and what the benefits of working for their organisation are.

The best place to work is Google (Alphabet), which serves organic meals and provides free health screenings for their staff. One of the worst places to work, according to Real Business, is Ryan Air whose staff have to pay for their own uniform.

Quotes from staff from the Top 100 Great Places to work include:

• “I’m proud to tell others I work here”
• “People here are willing to give extra to get the job done”
• “Management is honest and ethical in its business practices”
• “It’s a great atmosphere”

Signs that your company culture needs transforming

• If your employees are playing dirty games to compete against each other in order to achieve KPIs, then this indicates that you have culture problems.
• If there are rumours spreading and gossips are causing trouble, this is a sure sign that your team is unhappy and they don’t trust senior management. Without trust, there is no engagement.
• If leaders and managers are not leading by example and are openly shouting across the office, goalposts keep changing, dirty washing is being aired in public, this indicates that your organisation culture is unhealthy.

Unfortunately, many of the companies I have come across who show signs of a negative company culture are in denial and therefore resistant to executive coaching when they are the companies would benefit most.

However, the first step is for the leader and senior management team to recognise that help is needed and that engaging in executive coaching is the first step to transforming company culture.

Summary

“The corporate world is an increasingly intimate space which calls for company bosses to engage more with their employees. The need to accommodate this change, however, is hampered by the fear of appearing weak and vulnerable, meaning that most businesses still suffer from an empathy deficit.” Belinda Parmar, LadyGeek (original source Real Business)

Each interaction with your client is a chance to add customer value, however if your staff are not happy, they may be jeopardising your chances of adding value, which is your responsibility.

The best companies to work for have one thing in common, they put people before profit  – in other words they implement Triple Bottom Line and profit is automatically boosted. Therefore, staff feel valued, trust the management, do a great job and productivity is naturally increased, boosting profit.

With many businesses having to do more with less, some staff can feel pressured. However, this can work in your favour. I recently enjoyed success with one company I work with who feared communicating change would cause problems. During our coaching session, I used powerful questioning which helped my client form some helpful strategies which he has now implemented. As a result of implementing the change strategy, his team are really enjoying the new ways of working and feel more valued.

How executive coaching can help to transform organisation culture

Trust, strengthening relationships, inspiring staff and employee engagement are key subjects covered in my Executive Coaching sessions. I am also a Chartered Marketer so this combined with executive coaching has proven to be really powerful. In a snapshot:

• Executive coaching: This will help you discover your own strategies for motivation staff.
• Strategic marketing: and Internal marketing communications:
• Creative design: We design stunning presentations to align with your corporate identity and and generate the right kind of engagement from your employees so they help you implement your marketing plan, meeting your objectives.

Call Vicky Vaughan on 01903 824229 if you would like to discuss any of the above.