Liz Stone Brewster is senior vice president of The Elliot Group, a boutique retained executive search firm with expertise in the restaurant, hospitality, retail and service sectors. For more than thirty-five years, The Elliot Group has been globally recognized for its thought leadership and human capital knowledge. This article does not necessarily reflect the opinions of the editors or management.
Company culture has gained new importance in recent years, as executive leadership teams exert a renewed focus on social and emotional well-being of their employees. Culture is no longer a byproduct of strategy, but rather a strategy in itself, managed with its own objectives, timelines and accountabilities. Today’s culture strategies are moving away from things like engagement surveys, opting instead to spend time creating meaningful, morale-boosting experiences for their teams. Let’s run through a few choice ways they do this effectively.
Align leadership teams to goals. A favorable and successful culture starts when leadership teams are aligned. That means clearly defining and creating synergy around key goals, objectives, and desired results. In addition, leadership needs to have a deep understanding of the existing company culture, so it can determine what shifts need to take place in order to get results.
Create the vision and action plan. But to see real changes, decision-makers need to translate the identified culture shifts into tangible action. To do so, create clear initiatives with defined measurements and accountability, ensuring everyone understands their own role and contribution in achieving the strategic goals. Engaged leaders encourage a high level of cross-functional collaboration, always identifying and celebrating the wins along the way.
Identify your champions. Empower key employees at all levels within your organization who believe in the cultural changes you’re trying to set into action. Peers value each other’s opinions highly, and an endorsement from a colleague can make a transition much more attractive among your ranks. Encourage these key employees to be the culture champions and to own it in their day to day actions.
Craft a transparent communications strategy. Culture thrives when leaders are deliberate in how information is shared across the organization. Encourage conversation, prioritize transparency, and provide multiple entryways for employees to contribute. Transformation is exciting, but it’s normal (if not expected) that some employees will be resistant or nervous in the face of change. Ultimately, it is up to the leadership team to spread enthusiasm, explain the “why” behind their actions, and articulate how change will benefit the company down the line.
Celebrate the wins. Celebrate and recognize achievements early and often, in both formal and informal ways. We encourage executives to frame wins alongside challenges, reinforcing regularly why these achievements are so important to the organization’s strategic goals. Highlight individually how the employee’s performance contributed to the financial and operations success of the company.
