Organization Culture Change

A large electricity retailing company purchased three other companies and was faced with the integration of the four companies into one. Each company had its own business systems and processes, and distinctly different cultures.

After the purchases and subsequent restructuring the morale in the company was at an all time low. Despite the company assuming the largest electricity retailer in the country its performance was marginal.

There were significant issues with 'patch protecting', communication, and internal sabotage of new operating frameworks and systems to the point where staff refused to comply with the frameworks or utilise some equipment. There were union issues that complicated staff and management relationships.

Kirsty Hayes & her Associates were invited to implement a culture change programme to facilitate a seamless and unified culture across the company, improve morale within the company, align individual values and drivers with those of the company, and implement support systems to assist people improve their business results.

The Performance Attitude designed and implement a change programme based on the Appreciative Inquiry approach developed by the Professor of Organisational Behaviour at Case Western Reserve University, David Cooperrider.

The programme involved the formation of a 'project team' that represented a microcosm of the entire organisation. It included a cross representation of the leadership and management teams, a representative from every part of the business, and included a mix of supporters and saboteurs, a balance of genders, cultures, ethnic backgrounds, and ages.

This group of people were involved directly in designing the initiatives that were to ultimately improve the business. They achieved this through active involvement with and coaching from The Performance Attitude facilitators, and through the support from the senior leadership team of the company.

Click here for a graphic that provides a high level view of the process and some of the initial coaching and direction given to the project team.

The project team worked hard to engage and involve everyone within the organisation. Through the facilitated process lead by The Performance Attitude the project team were successful in:

Identifying core values of the company and drafting key behavioural measures of these values.
Redefining the performance management system to include a focus on key results and on key behaviours.
Redefining the recruitment processes of the organisation to represent and recruit based on the desired values.
Gaining commitment from the entire organisation to actively demonstrate and hold each other accountable for demonstrating the values key behavioural indicators.
Breaking down silos and mini cultures within the organisation.
Implementing a monthly company wide newsletter that provided useful information and updates on the company's position in issues, and its business performance.
Implementing monthly manager's forums where managers from across the company came to discuss and debate business issues, and receive specific coaching and information related to these issues.
Implementing a national training review, and prioritising the learning and development needs of the business.

There were other progressive outcomes achieved as part of this programme. Feel free to contact us to find out about those listed and others.

In addition to the outcomes mentioned above the following results were identified through the facilitation of an independent culture survey after six months of the programme.

Internal communications improved by 37%
Attitudes & feelings toward the company improved by 12%
Leadership behaviors improved by 14%
Team morale improved by 11%

These results impacted favourably on the financial performance of the company, which ultimately demonstrated to a larger international company the value and potential of this company. Within twelve months of this culture change programme the larger company purchased this company recognising the significant opportunity for further business improvement and growth.