Mobile
+61 411 295 888
Address
PO Box 339
Essendon North Vic 3041
Australia
A large Australian-based organisation of 360 staff was not performing to its past optimal levels. Management encouraged staff to talk openly, to be creative, proactive and innovative, but there was no evidence that this was actually working or being taken up so they undertook to conduct a cultural snapshot survey to establish exactly what was causing the dysfunction.
Organisational wellness diagnostic – this measured 10 factors of organisational health: Trust, Learning, Gratification, Language, Ownership, Energy, Change, Interaction, Creativity and Communication.
The survey revealed Trust and Ownership as two prevailing dimensions which were unhealthy and negatively impacting the culture and being reflected in everyone’s performance.
Post the survey, focus groups were conducted across all segments to identify why staff felt as they did. Within the focus groups, staff revealed verbatim comments that had been communicated by management to them, which was attributing to the disconnect.
“Feedback is like noise – I have to get it but I don’t have to listen to it.”
“Anyone who is in the same job for more than 3 years is a loser.”
“You are no more than white collar factory workers.”
“People serving fish and chips work harder than you.”
“That dissent was borderline to code of conduct.”
Findings from the cultural survey plus the focus groups as well as strategies to help improve the culture of the organisation were presented to management, but the engagement ended at that point, so it is uncertain if the recommendations were implemented or not.
This is neither a one-pronged approach nor a short term intervention. Culture change requires consistency, interventions across various streams, commitment and the desire to change by everyone in the organisation - the leaders are at the forefront.
