Leaders look at data to assess their culture.
You know that intelligent leaders have a deep understanding of their organizational cultures. And because you are shrewd, you want to put your finger on the pulse of your culture now.
By delving into your culture's current state, you can uncover opportunities for improvements and change. Perhaps your current culture, when harnessed effectively, could be the catalyst for increased engagement and productivity.
To effectively comprehend what is going on in your organizational culture, you need robust resources for gathering and analyzing new data - or so you believe! And you are not underestimating this challenge.
However, what if you could get what you need without spending much money and dedicating many hours to developing and administering a culture survey?
Consider the possibility that you already have the data you need to assess your organization’s culture adequately.
Sometimes, the best views of your company's cuture come from examining the information already in hand.
Working with your Human Resources Department, you may dig into the current state of your culture without hiring an expert to design a new data collection process. Instead you can mine information already available to understand your culture.
Here are seven kinds of data your company most likely has available that can help you assess your culture:
Performance Reviews
Performance reviews are a critical data source. You can understand how your company reinforces stated cultural values and norms by analyzing these reviews.
This analysis can also show how the organization's goals align with individual performance criteria. Any discrepancies suggest a misalignment between what the company promotes and its practices.
Turnover Rates and Reasons
Examining turnover rates and why employees leave the company offers insight into potential cultural issues. High turnover might be a red flag indicating underlying problems with the culture. Furthermore, the reasons cited for leaving can provide more granular insights into what aspects of the culture contribute to employee dissatisfaction.
Customer Feedback
Customer feedback, especially from customer service interactions, can reflect how employees demonstrate organizational values in their day-to-day operations. This feedback can help you gauge the depth to which certain cultural aspects influence customer relations. If you find a disconnect, you should commit to embedding the values into the culture more adequately.
Internal Communication
Analyzing the content and tone of internal communications, such as emails, newsletters, and posts on internal social media platforms, can reveal both the formal and informal values promoted by the organization. How the company shares information and the language leaders use in doing so can provide significant clues about the actual cultural atmosphere.
Participation in Company Initiatives
Participation rates in company-driven initiatives, such as volunteer programs, training sessions, and social events, can also indicate employee engagement and acceptance of company values. High participation rates suggest a healthy cultural alignment, where employees feel connected to and supportive of the organization's initiatives. Low participateion may mean a lack of engagement or worse.
Compliance and Ethics Violations
Reviewing records of compliance and ethics violations can reveal patterns that may indicate systemic issues related to organizational norms. These records help assess whether the company has deeply embedded the ethical guidelines into the organization. This information also sheds light on the effectiveness of the integration into daily practices.
Recognition and Rewards Data
Finally, assessing how the company distributes rewards and recognition can show what behaviors and outcomes the company genuinely values and encourages. This information is a direct reflection of the organizational culture, highlighting what the organization prioritizes in terms of employee actions and achievements.
With some creative thinking, you can expand the list of informational resources available to tap for understanding your culture.
If you want to foster a positive organizational culture, you need to know where you stand before embarking on a new culture development strategy.
By finding insights from the data at hand, you can build your improvement strategy on tangible evidence without breaking a sweat or your budget.
