Organizational Culture Assessment: Why You Need One Now
Hi there, team! It’s me, Mary, and this month I’ve been pondering what causes cultural misalignment, how it can be remedied, and why an organization might want to get an organizational culture assessment sooner rather than later. (Writing this blog turned out a bit different than my normal style, but hopefully you will find it just as helpful as the previous ones.)
What It Is
An organizational culture assessment helps teams evaluate their shared behaviors, attitudes, values, beliefs, and practices. It’s a process that helps teams understand how they work with one another. Leaders learn how the workplace is experienced/perceived, if organizational values are reflected in everyday action, and whether the current culture supports the organization’s mission, goals, and success.
Rather than focusing solely on what an organization or its leaders say about its culture, an organizational culture assessment reveals how the culture manifests in reality. At a high level, an organizational culture assessment evaluates:
· Core Values
· Leadership Behaviors
· Communication
· Employee Engagement
· Workplace Relationships
· Decision-Making
· Organizational Norms
· Adaptability
Did you know that all of these things contribute to the bottom line? Therefore, an organizational culture assessment can help you scale.
How to Get One
Utilizing our proprietary S.M.A.R.T. BizVision™ process, IA Business Advisors performs a deep organizational culture assessment to assess and understand your team’s unique needs. Our proven model has helped shape, sustain, and scale companies since 1996. We would be honored to develop a custom strategy tailored to meet your organization’s goals.
Why You Need an Organizational Culture Assessment Now
Cultural inconsistencies between what an organization states its culture is and how the culture is truly experienced/perceived create gaps that impact the bottom line. Alignment creates consistency which develops and supports the organization’s perceived public image. This consistency also creates trust. With a positive public image and established trust, organizations thrive and scale.
People are the driving force behind an organization which is why these cultural inconsistencies turn from gaps into canyons. Without a team or individual, an organization does not exist. Through an aligned culture, people establish trust in their team and leaders. This trust boosts morale and produces a high-performing team. People create and uphold policies and procedures; they motivate and inspire their peers; they perform and learn from mistakes.
However, the converse is true. An organization that lacks cultural alignment suffers from high turnover (both employees and customers), trust issues, inconsistent or nonexistent accountability, increased resistance to change, and poor productivity and collaboration. Recovery from a poor or toxic culture often takes longer than addressing the issues now. Plus, the organization’s reputation is likely to suffer. All these actions and inactions influence revenue.
Bottom Line
If you keep wondering why your business won’t grow, is losing customers/employees, keeps hemorrhaging money, or any other issue that makes you feel like you’re pushing a rock up a hill, you likely need an organizational culture assessment. Yes, business can be challenging. Yes, there are ups and downs. However, running into the same problems consistently hinders growth. IA Business Advisors can figure out what those problems are, design a strategy for them, and improve your organization. Contact us today.
A Word of Caution
An organizational culture assessment is best performed by a third-party because it removes bias. IA Business Advisors is ready to assist you.
This assessment is not an employee satisfaction survey. While employee satisfaction is one aspect of the culture, it is so much more. We will use our S.M.A.R.T. BizVision™ approach to treat your organization wholly and with care.
