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BirdsEye View

 Organizational Culture is defined as “corporate personality”, consisting of the values, beliefs and norms which influence the behavior of people within the organization. Organization culture influences the way people interact, the context within knowledge is created, the resistance to certain changes and ultimately the way people share knowledge and behavior principles. Culture includes the organization’s vision, values, norms, symbols, language, habits and language among the people in the organization. A shared vision and culture norms facilitates organizational effectiveness, performance and resiliency. Organizational culture is seen as a discreet characterization of the organization, but it is also highly dependent on its leadership and members.

Companies with a healthy, performance oriented culture enjoy sustainable performance well beyond their peers in both level and duration; they have lower turnover rate, high employee involvement, strong internal communications and an encouragement of a healthy risk-taking in order to achieve innovation and future viability.

Organizational culture rose in prominence in the last decade as executives noticed that banks which were outperforming the industry also enjoyed strong culture roots and a clearly articulated commitment to living the cultural underpinning of the company and embracing adaptability and evolution within those underpinnings.

Elements of a healthy organizational culture

Common language, signs and symbols

A culture is brought to life through people communicating with each other in a unique and common language, comprised not only from words but also symbols, signs, rituals and historical lore (stories). Stating your mission, vision and values is not sufficient. All require repetition and numerous examples to communicate more clearly what words such as “integrity” or “collaboration” mean in the context of your corporate culture.

Start with CEO

It’s always surprising to see how a new CEO can change a company so quickly. Years steeped in culture can evaporate as a new leader embarks on cultural change. One cannot underestimate the critical importance of the CEO’s role as the keeper and leader of the culture. A suited-and-tied CEO will project a dramatically different culture from a CEO wearing corporate-wear. Similarly, a CEO who clearly expressed the lack of proximity bias will free more employees to work remotely since they clearly signaled that presence at corporate headquarters isn’t an important input into promotability. CEOs have an immeasurable impact on their company’s culture, and, as a result, they can affect culture change quickly. A CEO who speaks of change but doesn’t change their modus operandi speaks volumes with their behavior as well.

Skip level meetings deep into the organization

True understanding of the prevailing culture within an organization can only be achieved through unfettered conversations with the rank-and-file. No survey can provide better information than spending time with the people who live and embody your culture to customers and communities every day. Their perceptions, joys and pain will tell you more about your organization culture than anything else. Listening to your team members, especially at the call center, branches and operational functions, will give you, the leader, more information about which values and behaviors are practiced within your organization than any other source. It will also enlighten the leadership about both employee and customer pain points that can be relieved, once understood.

“Your voice” sessions

Listening to employees is another great way to spot culture misunderstandings, confused intentions and other roadblocks to cohesive cultural adoption. Listen to your people describing what they think is the desired vs. real culture in your company. It’s a learning experience that can help you direct your efforts to where culture needs greater clarity and positive reinforcement.

Dress code as a signal

Dress code has been a bone of contention in our industry for generations. Use the dress code to communicate cultural imperatives to the team. For example, formal dress will send a certain message to the team about approachability, professionalism etc., whereas “dress for your day” might imply greater flexibility and trust in the employees’ judgment as to what to wear for work today.

Values

Most banks share a similar list of values. I found the four values adopted by Andy Harmening, the relatively recently appointed CEO of Associated Bank in Green Bay, Wisconsin, refreshingly clear and poignant. They were:

•     Relentless focus on people and what it means
•     Winning spirit
•     Listen and act
•     Achieving together
  
•  

As I read these values they came to life for me. I felt I knew what Andy meant, the kind of company he wants to lead, and the type of human interaction he’d like to see among his team members.

Listing the values is often not enough. It is important to spell out what these values mean in terms of behaviors and interactions in your organization and between your team and other constituents. “Collaboration” can be interpreted in many different ways. Ensure consistent practices by supporting the value with a few statements describing what they mean. For example, “open door policy” can help employees understand better what “transparency” means.

Include all levels in the culture conversation - shaping, suggestions

A culture can only thrive if most of the team understand and lives it. This is why all levels of the organization should be involved in shaping it, expressing doubts and misconceptions, and openly communicating to help shape and hone the culture in a way that contributes to all participants. What might be obvious to some is not so clear to others, and input from all walks of the bank’s life is essential to developing a shared understanding of what your unique culture means.

Daily connect sessions 5 minutes a la Ritz Carlton

The founder of the Ritz Carlton Hotels developed 21 behaviors that embodied his vision for the company (“Ladies and Gentlemen Serving Ladies and Gentlemen”). He then required all employees to spend 5 minutes a day with their team reviewing one of these 21 guiding principles that translate the vision into actual behaviors. These sessions were led by a rotation of team members, and were an integral part of the work day for every member of the hotel chain. This requirement kept the culture front-and-center daily for all employees, and helped all develop a deeper understanding of what each principle meant. It brought together people from highly diverse cultures to the same place, no small feat.

Agility and openness to controlled failure are key

Whatever your values are, agility should become a major element of who you are. Embracing experimentation within certain levels (without betting the organization) and tolerance of small failures should become topics of daily celebrations. COVID reminded us of the exhilaration of achievement despite major obstacles. Let’s keep that exhilaration going by allowing our team to embrace and initiate change as an integral part of our culture.

Many tomes have been written about culture. this article is but a reminder of its importance, as well as some of the pitfalls in its implementation. As you contemplate its execution, Gino Wickman’s book “Traction” might prove beneficial to you.

One thing we do not without a doubt: companies with strong culture outperform those who do not. The reason why is obvious when you think about it - when everyone is pulling in the same direction you can reach greatness. There is no wind resistance; we are all united toward a common goal in a shared approach toward its execution.