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Cultural transformation and behaviour change are notoriously challenging endeavours in the corporate world. Countless organisations struggle to achieve their culture transformation goals, as research consistently reveals. However, at the recent CultureScope Club Q3 Event, we delved deep into the heart of successful organisational culture transformations. Through a series of compelling case studies shared by fellow members, we explored diverse goals, measurement approaches, intervention strategies, challenges, and most importantly, the insights gained.

Case Study 1: Banking on Culture Transformation

A major UK-based bank embarked on an ambitious culture transformation journey. Their initial focus was on living up to the company’s values and enhancing risk management and consumer duty. Their approach leveraged CultureScope’s predictive analytics to uncover the behaviours aligned with the bank’s values and risk management objectives. They identified development areas to do with empowering teams and fostering collective innovation, which led to multiple company-wide actions and interventions.

The team articulated that they faced challenges with responding to the dynamic nature of culture, emphasizing the need for continuous measurement and agility. Shortly after implementing interventions around communication, prioritization, and leadership development, the bank experienced dramatic shifts in targeted behaviours as well as positive changes in 100% of the outcomes measured. The team emphasised that their culture transformation is still a work in progress at the bank but are pleased to see the significant progress made on their journey toward embedding their desired culture.

Case Study 2: A Journey of Values and Engagement

A Middle Eastern telecommunications company shared their culture transformation journey. Their objectives included evaluating their current values and their impact on company engagement and well-being outcomes. Their approach involved deploying CultureScope to identify the necessary behaviours to drive desired engagement outcomes. They implemented an extensive range of interventions, from new companywide artefacts, innovation portals, and leadership development initiatives to new communication channels. The team were relentless in ensuring that employee capability building, and organisational systems were strongly aligned with the target behaviours.

The team faced challenges around adapting to new leadership and ensuring openness to culture change. However, the culture transformation actions enabled a profound culture shift, with employees reporting strong alignment to the organisation’s values, and the key behaviours underpinning these values.

Case Study 3: Proactive Culture Shaping in a Diverse Environment

A prominent energy company took the stage to discuss a series of culture change initiatives that they have undertaken across various segments of their business. Their primary aim was to proactively drive the culture they needed rather than leaving it to chance. They emphasized the importance of diagnostics upfront. Their approach included (1) Mapping CultureScope dimensions against World Association of Nuclear Operators (WANO) Leadership Attributes, (2) Deploying CultureScope consistently across different business areas, (3) Identifying culture gaps and leading indicators of desired outcomes to inform interventions.

The outcome? They witnessed significant culture shifts and are now gearing up for remeasurement. Notably, they highlighted the challenge of dealing with “micro-cultures” within their large organisation and the need for tailored measurement strategies. Leader buy-in was crucial, and CultureScope helped them synthesize an abundance of data and focus on behaviour-driven outcomes. Metrics rooted in behavioural science proved invaluable for shaping leadership and organisational development strategies.

Key Takeaways and Closing Thoughts

The event was a testament to the power of sharing insights and experiences within the CultureScope Club community. Attendees learned lessons about the intricacies of culture transformation and the critical role of behavioural insights, evidence-based intervention planning, senior leader sponsorship and an agile approach to strategy and planning. The consensus was clear: culture is an ever-evolving work in progress that requires a holistic approach, top-down and bottom-up input, and a commitment to continuous improvement.

In the face of the challenges that come with cultural transformation, one thing became evident at the CultureScope Club Q3 Event: the effort put into strategically measuring and designing culture is not only worth it but essential for organisations looking to thrive in a constantly evolving business landscape.

Our recent Q2 session on “Cultivating a Culture of Recognition” run by Lloyds Banking Group served as an excellent platform for clients from various organisations to collaborate, share insights and learn from each other’s journeys in getting recognition right.

Aligning Recognition with Culture

An organisation’s culture is the lifeline of its operations, and recognition can be a powerful tool to reinforce or supress certain behaviours that drive an organisation’s desired culture. We had the privilege of learning about the significant strides various organisations have made in this area. As discussed in the session, it’s imperative to align both formal rewards and informal recognition with an organisation’s cultural values. We heard about a variety of creative ways companies are doing this from sharing stories of “culture champions”, to framing peer to peer recognition nominations in the desired cultural values.

Building Purposeful Recognition Programmes

The essence of any good recognition programme lies in its purposefulness. Recognition should not be a one-size-fits-all process, but rather, a bespoke experience tailored to the individual. We learned that many organisations have the same challenges around ensuring recognition is meaningful and adequately tailored to the audience. It became clear that meaningful storytelling is a powerful driver of successful recognition and reward programmes.

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The Changing Dynamics of Trust

Hybrid working has been a topic of much discussion and debate since the COVID-19 pandemic forced many organisations to adopt remote work policies. It is important to reflect on the lessons learned over the past few years and look forward to what the future holds for our businesses and our people. And that formed the theme for the latest CultureScope club event on the 20th March, which was attended by a variety of global businesses all grappling with this same challenge of building trust and maximising performance in the new world of work.

One key takeaway from the conversation is that organisations are dispersed along a continuum of ways of working, from fully remote to office-based. This dispersion has a significant impact on the ways in which we build and maintain trust. Line managers, in particular, have a key responsibility in this area and are often looked to as a weathervane for the attitudes of the wider organisation.

It is important to note that there is no single “right answer” when it comes to culture. Every organisation needs to settle on a way of working that is right for them. However, the way we implement culture is crucial. Trust, as demonstrated through looking at the issue of where people work, will become a key differentiator for employment in the future.

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Introduction

Diversity is now a pivotal strand of business strategy, regularly discussed at board meetings, team events and even product pitches.

It is also a topic often discussed at networking events and seminars, including at this month’s ‘CultureScopeClub’ forum. This quarterly event, hosted by iPsychTec and Chaired by Paul Bennett of Lloyds Banking Group, is attended by practitioners working in Audit, Risk,  Compliance, Transformation D&I Strategy and HR, representing global businesses across a range of industries.

This post captures some of that discussion, which explored current approaches towards D&I with regards to the importance of values and behaviours, building it into your organisational narrative and, despite the title of this post, the critical role of data.

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The Challenge

Dashboard is led by a team of highly skilled and professional individuals. However, these c-suite members rarely work together and have limited face-to-face time with each other, meaning that a strong connection amongst the group had not fully developed.

As such, the company decided that a team development programme was required to establish a more collaborative relationship

between this group of individuals. After being recommended iPsychTec’s  TeamScope programme, Dashboard engaged the firm to provide a bespoke experience that could address and overcome their challenges and deliver commercial benefits as a result.

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CultureScopeClub – Forum 2

We were pleased to hold the second edition of the CultureScopeClub, a forum that brought together leaders in Culture and Talent comprising financial services, oil and gas, utility, nuclear, fintech, professional services, media and FMCG etc. Chaired by Catherine Dineley, Head of Group Culture at Lloyds Banking Group, the discussion focused on Managing Risk.

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Culture is a big word. It can mean different things to different organisations, and it is often used in the wrong context. It is not just about your mission statement or core values, although those are important aspects of culture. The most important aspect of culture is how these translate in behaviours, how you do business on a day-to-day basis with all stakeholders – customers, suppliers, shareholders, and employees. If you don’t have that right, then everything else will be an uphill battle for the long-term benefit of all involved.

Many companies think they have great cultures, but their employees disagree or feel disengaged from the company vision and goals because the behaviours they observe are not aligned with the vision, for example, there may not be clear lines of communication between management teams and staff members at every level.

The good news is that successful companies are leading the way by taking responsibility for driving a cultural change to unlock business potential. They recognise that they need proactive methods of managing their workplace culture. To be successful, it is essential for an organisation to use predictive tools and analysis with proactive follow through, such as the strategies that CultureScopeClub members use with their workforce science analytics.

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“If you are a non-executive board member and you are not really close to the inside of the organisation, then you are not doing your job.”  Said Alison Gill – a behavioural psychologist who specialises in board effectiveness said in a recent webinar.

The corporate governance code clearly states that the board’s role is to promote the long-term sustainable success of the organisation – which involves being clear how the culture is aligned to the purpose, values and strategy of the organisation.

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