Organizational Culture Types To Consider For Your Business
Do you want a corporate community where collaboration is king? Or are results and structure the driving force behind your corporate shift so that you can achieve targeted objectives?
To help you answer these questions, let’s take a deep dive into company culture analysis. First, we’ll highlight the most popular types of culture to consider for your business, then explore how to evaluate your current approach and define your new corporate framework.
4 Types Of Company Culture
1. Clan
Clan culture is all about getting together (virtually) and collaborating with coworkers. It’s more of a community atmosphere that encourages collective problem solving and knowledge sharing. Peer coaching, live video conferencing sessions, and regular meetings are part of the L&D package. The key to a successful clan organization is balancing individual goals with group training objectives. Otherwise, employees may feel as though their personal needs aren’t met and that they get lost in the crowd.
2. Adhocracy
Adhocracy cultures are all about calculated risks. The pillars are innovation, creativity, and real-world application. Above all, these companies emphasize adaptability and personal growth through experimenting. For example, they might pose a problem and invite employees to brainstorm and share their ingenious solutions. Or, you might incorporate group projects where everyone can share ideas and use their lateral thinking skills. Unsurprisingly, entrepreneurs and “go-getters” tend to thrive in this type of culture.
3. Market
If you’re looking for a corporate culture that prioritizes competition, then the market approach is a worthy contender. The main goal is to achieve the best results and encourage every employee to bring their A-game, even if that means holding them to higher standards and applying some degree of pressure. For example, team leaders might host daily meetings to set sales goals or personal achievements. Gamification is the ideal training tool for market cultures because they add friendly competition and let employees track their own progress and performance.
4. Hierarchy
This is the most structured of the company cultures and is founded on stringent rules, regulations, and task protocols. Employees must go by the book and avoid risks that might lead to workplace instability. In many ways, hierarchy cultures are at the other end of the spectrum from “clan” organizations. While clan organizations mimic a family structure, hierarchy businesses are more like a corporate ladder, wherein “higher-ups” hold the professional power.
4 Ways To Evaluate Your Current Culture
It’s possible that your organization fits neatly into one of the cultural boxes listed above. But, it’s more likely that you fit somewhere between two or more of these categories. To help determine where exactly you sit currently, try these four techniques for evaluating your current culture.
1. Employee Focus Groups
Host focus groups to get input from your staffers and evaluate the organization from their point of view. Do they think the current culture is too leadership-driven and that they don’t have a say in personal development? Would they like more competition or risk-taking? Try to keep groups small so that employees feel comfortable sharing their thoughts and opinions. For example, each live event could have 10 staffers present, and managers not in attendance. One of the attendees could host the session and then report their findings to higher-ups.
2. Leadership Surveys
Get feedback from team leaders to see where you currently stand in terms of culture and corporate structure. Leaders interact with their departments every day so they know what’s working and what needs to improve for your cultural transformation training. For example, several employees may have complained about the lack of clear goals or maybe they want more peer collaboration. Leaders can help reveal employees’ perspectives and bring to light topics that wouldn’t usually be shared via meetings or surveys.
3. Business Objectives
Take a closer look at your business objectives and outcomes. What terminology do you use in your statements? Do the outcomes reflect your new image or core values? For example, your objectives may be packed with high-pressure verbs, or maybe they’re so lax that employees don’t even know how to proceed. Every aspect of your cultural transformation training program should reflect your new corporate culture, and objectives provide a successful framework.
4. Brand Image
What is your brand identity? Does it also need to undergo a change? How does the public perceive you? How would staffers sum it up in one word? Cultural change may be an internal process, but it has a direct impact on your brand image. For instance, customers may think that your company is highly competitive because employees are too pushy, or you have an overly aggressive marketing campaign that focuses on sales instead of service. Is this the image you want to portray? If not, how do you realign your corporate culture to revamp your brand representation?
How To Define Your New Organizational Culture
One of the most effective tools to identify the best types of organizational culture for your business is a vision board or brand checklist. Which values or beliefs do you want to incorporate? What does this mean for your employees and L&D program?
In short, you need to map out how to get from point A to B using the available resources. As an example, you may be focusing too much on profits instead of staffer satisfaction. The catch
is that high satisfaction has a direct impact on sales and service, which can increase your profit margin. Another great way to define your new culture is to compile a team of “makeover
managers.” These are hand-selected staffers who can help you transform infrastructure and get peer buy-in.
Conclusion
Cultural transformation training requires planning and needs analysis. It calls for a holistic overview of your brand image, public persona, and employee perspectives. The right LMS can help you identify areas for improvement and personalize training so that you achieve desired outcomes. This is made easier by a platform that gives you the reporting power to drive into your data and make for most of employee feedback.
Many organizations overlook the emotional ramifications of change, such as how new team leaders or company protocols affect staffers’ stress levels and on-the-job productivity. Download Time For Change: How To Launch A Successful Cultural Transformation Training Strategy For Your Enterprise to ease employees into the transition and retain top performers.
