Since I started writing about Culture Planning, I’ve had some interesting conversations about the main benefits a Culture Plan can bring.

Arguably the one we see most consistently is customers getting their desired culture shift much more quickly than anticipated, particularly in terms of behaviours.

A great example was an organisation that wanted to develop a more customer-centric culture.  Within just six months of signing off their Culture Plan, their impact measures showed that all their client facing people were operating with the customer in mind in every interaction.

This was a major shift from where they started. And it happened because of the thought they’d put into their Culture Plan.

Why?

Their Culture Plan was built by a group who represented the views and interests of all employees. This gave a level of ownership, clarity, understanding and governance that increased their chances of success more than you would imagine.

Their people, top to bottom, didn’t just feel consulted.  They felt genuine ownership and authorship.  They KNEW that their needs & concerns were reflected in a Plan.  And, that what was now being asked of them would create a future that they themselves were asking for.

Front line staff and managers knew clearly the part they needed to play in making change happen.  The Plan had oversight and approval from the Executive.  And everybody understood WHY this change was taking place.

Let’s say a little more about speed.

The speed of change is accelerated not through rushing, but because the possibility for confusion is reduced by the level of clarity that a Culture Plan brings.

It’s also increased by the learning process that the Plan provides when you implement it.  In our organisation above, the initiatives they introduced to build customer-centricity were piloted. Learning was captured - FAST.  Insights into what could be improved were acted on - QUICKLY. Then, they were rolled out in a coherent, organisation-wide way.

Another important benefit is evidence.  A Culture Plan ensures that you can PROVE that what you’re doing is working.

The KPIs and impact measures you will use to evidence success are identified, dovetailed into the plan and linked to other markers in the organisation.  They might be ‘soft’ measures like engagement, but ‘hard’ indicators are also important.  Do you want to reduce waste through rework, the number of accidents or near misses or other avoidable problems?  Maybe you want to increase customer satisfaction and repeat business?

Ultimately, all this comes down to culture!

You can demonstrate immense value and ROI when you tie the right measures to the activities that have been specifically selected to impact them - in a well-constructed, systematically and scientifically developed Culture Plan.

If you’ve taken something from this series and want to talk about building your own Culture Plan, connect with me and message me. We’d love to help you set out with confidence on the right path.