How to change Culture

I have seen time and time again, great businesses that have failed because they have allowed a poor culture to take hold and it has destroyed what could have been an amazingly successful organisation.

So how do businesses get this so wrong and end up with a bad culture that drives away great staff and customers?

If I consider some examples where I have witnessed this first hand, then these may be some of the warning signs.

No vision

Where business owners have failed to define their vision and relay this to their workforce then employees have become frustrated as they don’t understand the bigger picture of where the company is heading or how they fit into this. Ultimately over time the great employees leave as they want opportunity that they perhaps cannot clearly see where they are.

Lack of Management

In smaller businesses, I often see great people promoted into Management roles but with no training and support on how to be a great Manager. The skills are very different from being a great Technician (they were great at the job they were doing) and so if these are not nurtured and taught then you have weak Managers that are not able to deal with the issues which may crop up in your business. These issues then fester, or worse – employees see that nothing is done about poor performers or concerns they raise.

Recognition

Saying Thank you is one of the most under rated ways to motivate your teams. People love being recognised for doing a great job, yet many business owners spend their time dealing with the problem employees rather than showing the employees that are loyal and hardworking their gratitude. This doesn’t have to be expensive gestures, bonuses or formal rewards but openly recognising great performance helps build a great culture.

When the rot has set in then I always consider a poor culture to be like a giant oil tanker, it takes some planning and deliberate action to turn this around and that turnaround takes time.

If you are worried that the culture and atmosphere in your company is not where you would like it to be then contact us to book our People Plan Audit which will give you the action plan to turn this around.

For more information on this service, call on 0844 8797286.

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