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Busting the myths about changing your business culture

Changing your business culture is one of the hardest things to do – and buying into myths about the process can make it so much tougher.

As a concept, ‘culture’ can be held up as the foundation of progressive thinking and innovation within a business – or cop the rap when things go wrong. It’s not easy to nail exactly what culture is, which makes it difficult to measure.

Culture change seems to be the flavour of the day in management, and everybody has their own spin on how to manage it.

But before deciding to launch into a period of change in your business, make sure you’re not buying into any hype.

So what are the myths about culture change?

1. Changing culture is the solution to all your problems

There are other causes of poor performance and discontent.

While not denying the huge impact culture can have, don’t assume that it’s at the heart of every problem.

Instead, consider alternatives and do your research before launching into culture change.

READ: 3 steps for hiring the culture you want

What if the cause has less to do with your culture and more to do with your processes? Here are just a few examples:

  • Customer service complaints due to one team member lacking the necessary skills to do their job properly
  • Late deliveries caused by an outdated system
  • Falling revenue because of poor market intelligence and lack of innovation

TIP: Analyse the problem before blaming ‘culture’

2. Employees will see the need for change

So let’s say that after analysing the problems in your business, you’ve come to the conclusion that you do need to change the culture.

Never assume that you and your employees are on the same page about this.

Even a culture that outsiders would describe as toxic can be invisible to employees who have adapted to it over time.

Don’t assume that because you see the signs that culture needs to change that your team has seen them too. You may need to persuade them of the need to change.

TIP: Collect evidence.

3. Everyone will embrace change

Some people love change. Others hate it. They may also hold well-founded fears about the unknown future.

Those who resist change, especially if they’re influential in the business, could derail your efforts to change culture before you even begin.

If you don’t take steps to make them feel safe, they will never support the change.

TIP: Address fear.

4. Culture will change easily

There’s nothing easy about changing the culture of a business.

Think of it as a journey from one place to another with many different options for routes, directions, start and end points, and modes of transport – all while conducting business as usual.

The culture you have in your business evolved gradually.

It won’t be changing overnight just because you’ve decided it needs to.

TIP: Plan for the long haul.

By falling for any of these myths, you can start destroying a culture you intended to improve.

It’s counter-productive to point the finger at your team’s performance without addressing the underlying problems of processes, resources or skills.

Until you have clear, convincing evidence that the culture in your business needs to improve it will be hard to engage others in the change project.

Even then, success is only likely if you understand the potential challenges and have plans to address them.

Always keep your eyes open and proceed with extreme caution down the culture-change road. Seek expert advice before you start to avoid the predictable detours and delays that lie ahead.

This article was originally published on MYOB’s blog, The Pulse. For more business news and tips, visit www.myob.com/blog.

Interested in improving the culture in your organisation?

Listen to Susan discuss workplace culture on the Work Wonders podcast.

We offer a range of services to support you. Why not take our quiz for a free report, and explore how coaching can help you.

We’re always happy to talk about culture and how we might be able to help you improve yours, so get in touch today to learn more!

About Susan Rochester

BSc MHRM FIML
Susan Rochester has been managing director of Balance at Work since 2006. Susan has a natural tendency to balance analytical thinking with an optimistic outlook to set direction and solve problems. She is an effective facilitator and constantly creates new and more effective ways of doing things, motivated by helping others to achieve their goals.

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