16. Culture Change Analysis
What is it?
Cultural assessment is about defining the cultural characteristics required to deliver the change strategy at all levels across the organisation. It enables the organisation to identify the cultural attributes associated with change, define the current and target behaviours and determine how to transition most effectively to the desired culture to sustain the change and realise the benefits
Why do it?
This process will:
- Engage staff in determining what the future culture should look like to enable and sustain the change – and gain their buy-in to the new ways of working
- Create clear behaviour guidelines for staff during a period of uncertainty
- Ensure successful transition to the desired culture
- Inform and support the behavioural change programme and change leadership requirements
When to do it?
Undertake the culture change analysis in the Design phase – once the Define Future State and Change Impact Assessment processes are complete as part of the Diagnosis phase
Inputs
Stakeholder Analysis
Future State Definition
Change Impact Assessment
Outputs
How to do it?
What is Culture?
Culture is the shared beliefs, behaviours and assumptions that lead to expectations regarding ‘how things are done round here’. These expectations guide the way in which people approach their work and relate to one another and, therefore, have important implications for individual and organisational change.
Organisational culture drives employee work habits – it influences the way people think, feel, react to and carry out their jobs – which has a direct relationship to business performance and ability to change.
Organisational culture is expressed in:
- The design of the organisation and its work
- The artifacts and services the organisation produces
- The architecture of its spaces
- The technologies it employs
- Its meeting structures and processes
- Its values and philosophies
- The jargon, lifestyle and appearance of its employees
For the change initiative to be successful with new ways of working and the desired benefits achieved we often need to change our culture and behaviours. To achieve this we need to think about our current culture and identify the key changes that need to happen for the agreed future state to be realised. The Culture Web is a useful way to break down the culture into elements that we can consider separately and develop an action plan (link) to create quick wins and longer term changes that will help embed and sustain the desired changes.
The Culture Web was developed by Gerry Johnson and Kevan Scholes in 1992 as a model for mapping an organisation’s culture. There are three main benefits to mapping the the culture:
- Surfacing that which is taken for granted can be a useful way of questioning what is normally rarely questioned. If no one ever questions what is taken for granted then, inevitably, change will be difficult.
- By mapping aspects of organisational culture it may be possible to see where barriers to change exist and also what aspects of the existing culture are in line with the desired future state.
- A map of organisational culture can also provide a basis for examining what changes need to occur to deliver a new strategy and how such changes can be managed. So practical ideas for implementing strategic change can be developed.
The tool can be used in workshops to develop ‘as is’ and ’to be’ statements to understand the challenge of moving from the current ‘way we do things’ to a new way (to successfully achieve the change).
The Culture Web consists of six elements which make up the paradigm or core identity of the organisation.
| Stories | What stories are all employees familiar with about the organisation. Who & what an organisation chooses to immortalise says a great deal about what it values, what it perceives as good behaviour and what matter to the organisation |
| Rituals & Routines |
The daily behaviour and actions of people that signal ‘normal’ behaviour. This determines what is expected to happen in given situations and what is valued |
| Control Systems |
Measurements and reward systems that monitor and focus attention on the activities the organisation considers important |
| Organisational Structures |
Both the structure defined by formal organisational charts and the informal lines of power and influence |
| Power Structures |
The most powerful groupings within the organisation – how is power distributed? |
| Symbols |
Symbolic, often visual representations of the organisation including logos, buildings, dress codes, language and jargon. These symbols become a shorthand representation of the nature of the organisation. |
Tool: The Culture Web tool gives more information about how to use this approach