Every organization has its own unique culture which defines shared values, ideas, beliefs, attitudes and behaviors. One of the biggest challenges that a leader will face is how to change an entrenched culture. Creating an environment of innovation where the entire organization is involved, results in a winning strategy. In today’s corporate world, there are numerous drivers that support a change to the organizational culture. This fact holds true for large and small organizations, including non-profits. The process to change an organization’s culture can be extremely complex especially in large organizations where many loyal employees are vested in the longstanding culture and lack the understanding of why a cultural change is indicated. Additionally,an underlying fear may exist due to past change processes that were unsuccessful and created a state of chaos and uncertainty for employees, as well as, customers.
Creating a cultural change is not a short term process nor can it be perceived as a public relations campaign that lacks a real purpose. Successful change processes require extensive planning, well thought out communication strategies, employee engagement, and a thorough assessment of what is driving the need for change. So how does innovation fit into an evolving cultural change process? In the initial planning phase, leaders can create an environment where it is acceptable to challenge old assumptions and embrace new
creative ideas. Simply establishing teams who map out various sources for generating creative ideas is a great starting point. Leaders must remember that when ideas are submitted, timely feedback should be provided to the originating source throughout the change process. A common complaint of employees during a cultural change process is that nothing happened with their good ideas. One example that works extremely well is surveying employees for creative ideas and adding submission incentives via a rewards program. Exploring the value added of innovative ideas throughout the cultural change process will prove advantageous by encouraging employee participation and buy-in.
Organizational cultural changes frequently prove unsuccessful because leaders fail to communicate to employees and management why the change is needed. Although this omission is not intentional, it can lead to confusion and ultimately undermine the process. The mindset of employees will not change overnight and will require patience and ongoing reinforcement through effective communication channels. In large organizations, the implementation timeline may need to be adjusted for the complete evolvement of the cultural change. Managing the process in such a way that it minimally disrupts the operations and appears seamless to the customer, ensures support of its sustainability.
Some factors that leaders should consider when planning a cultural transformation process include: 1. defining values and behaviors that require changes, 2. aligning the cultural changes with the organization’s strategic plan, 3. developing communication strategies, 4. measuring accountability and performance, 5. utilizing innovative ideas, and 6. supplying necessary resources. Transforming the culture of an organization is not an easy task and can never be seen as a quick fix to resolving all organizational problems. However, a successful cultural transformation process, aligned with innovation, can make the difference in maintaining a competitive edge.