Think You Know Everything About Culture? Time to rethink and transform!

• How did the company culture change in light of the lockdown?
• How can employees help change the culture? 
• What are the essentials when it comes to changing the culture within the company?

At HR Week 2021, in a compelling keynote, Ross Wainwright, CEO of Alida, gave us four strategies to pivot the business by changing the company culture:

1. You need to build a BRAND – changing the brand results in pride and connectivity between the employees; 
2. Create an EMPATHIC ENVIRONMENT – measure the happiness of employees, listen to their needs and use the power of recognition;
3. Have an EMPATHIC LEADER – have a leader who will admit that he/she does not always know everything, a leader who will create a culture of trust and a leader who will show some kind of vulnerability
4. Have your employees create company values that are important to them – this creates the feeling of a psychologically safe place.

But, how can a culture drive business impact? 

Bogdan Radaković, Vice President of Human Resources in Essity, might have an answer on this. In his keynote, Developing Leaders and Culture to Drive Business Impact, he gave us four lessons on culture and learning:

1. Have a strong case for change
2. Include your employees in defining the new company culture
3. Have a clear program for changing the culture
4. Have an anchor in business reality.

Here is what is really important: Culture change should be anchored in benefits that the company already has!

Some extra advice on culture change comes from Ivan Dmitrić, Managing Director at Human Synergistics. In his keynote, Don’t Even Think about Culture Transformation without… (Based on True Stories), he says that:

„Organizations and their top teams are usually not aware of what their culture looks like and what is really happening in their organization.“

Employees and management always see company culture differently. Change is messy but changing when it is not working out and taking the risk even when you don’t have all the info is what is going to give you desired results. Ivan concluded his captivating keynote by saying that we shouldn’t even think about the culture transformation if we think we know it all.

Even more gems are hidden in Ron Lovett’s, President of Connolly Owens, keynote – Scaling Culture and a panel discussion How to thrive and not just survive: It’s all about the culture by Renata Matotek Ivušić from Transcom, Jovana Ivanović from Coca Cola HBC, Saša Škundrić of OTP and Danica Ristić who moderated the session.

KNOW THIS: Renata, Jovana and Saša gave us amazing advice on how to thrive and not just survive when it comes to company culture:

• Listen to your employees and ask for feedback
• Stay tuned in reality and stay connected to your company
• Act upon the employees’ feedback!

Let’s finish off with Ron’s advice on company culture – the KEY to great company culture is to transform our employees into PASSIONATE STAKEHOLDERS. This way our company becomes equally important for them as it is for us.

WANT TO HEAR MORE ABOUT CULTURE?

Secure your seat today and don’t miss awe-inspiring speeches from HR professionals all around the world at HR Week 2022!