For More detail visit https://www.oceanicpharmachem.com/
Oceanic Pharmachem Private Limited (OPPL) believes that one major challenge for an organization creating a culture change is ownership; which is just as much of a leadership concern as an HR priority.
A strong culture is vital for organizational success, as is evidenced by the influence of culture on leadership, employee commitment, customer satisfaction and innovation. However, a strong culture is never static and as the organizational goals change over time, so too should culture. But there’s one barrier that holds many organizations back from genuine and successful culture change: ownership.
The answer is, too often, HR. As with most medium-to-large organizations, official responsibility for shifting organizational culture lies in the hands of senior HR executives and their team.
While culture change can be an important and exciting project for HR, making it HR’s sole responsibility doesn’t work out. Too often, it devolves into a transactional “box-ticking” exercise, because of competing priorities. So unless it’s the official responsibility of business unit leaders, it’s hard to move culture change to the top of their agenda when there are so many other formal responsibilities. Particularly when they know that HR, who tend to have greater skills and expertise in this area, is supposed to be leading the charge.
True culture change means altering the way the organization operates. It shapes the way people make decisions, get their work done, what they prioritize, and how they interact with colleagues, clients, and customers. It is really only successful and powerful when business leaders see it as their responsibility, and see HR as a resource for helping them achieve it. That’s why culture change has to be a collaborative project.
HR leaders can help business executives successfully execute culture change by doing four things:
Facilitate the research phase
To move from an existing culture to a desired, future culture, a lot of time is spent to facilitate conversation and consultation for the change, but not enough time to have a tangible, meaningful understanding of the existing state. The current culture has to be studied at all levels - values, behaviours, processes, policies and artifacts. Business leaders need to know, and HR can be a huge resource in facilitating this process.
Convince leaders culture can change
Many senior leaders are, in reality, very sceptical that culture really can change. Most have only seen culture change when drastic internal or market circumstances have forced it upon the organization. This scepticism is justified, as there are many examples of culture change not transpiring despite all the “talk” or of the change not turning out well. HR can help by sharing examples of how organizations have, in line with their long-term strategic objectives, proactively and positively driven culture change.
Teach the leaders how to change it
It cannot be assumed that business leaders will know how to influence culture. Some may have the expertise already, while others may find that it comes instinctively. But for the rest, it can be a new
and uncertain path, since they may not have been involved in leading culture change before. It is not enough to engage business unit leaders to get their input on what needs to change and their buy-in to the initiatives. Only when these business leaders are equipped with the skills to drive culture change, only then can they be given ownership and be held accountable for its success.
Have a formal “handoff”
When the culture change project is handed over to the business and changes are made to facilitate the new culture, the message to business leaders should be clear from the very top that the project is of the company, not of the HR. HR is there to support, help, and facilitate the change, but ownership of making these changes does not lie with them; it lies with the business unit leaders themselves.
It is clear that in the life cycle of an organization, culture should change and this change is best led from the very top, driven through equipped, accountable business unit leaders, working collaboratively alongside HR.
From India, Mumbai
Oceanic Pharmachem Private Limited (OPPL) believes that one major challenge for an organization creating a culture change is ownership; which is just as much of a leadership concern as an HR priority.
A strong culture is vital for organizational success, as is evidenced by the influence of culture on leadership, employee commitment, customer satisfaction and innovation. However, a strong culture is never static and as the organizational goals change over time, so too should culture. But there’s one barrier that holds many organizations back from genuine and successful culture change: ownership.
The answer is, too often, HR. As with most medium-to-large organizations, official responsibility for shifting organizational culture lies in the hands of senior HR executives and their team.
While culture change can be an important and exciting project for HR, making it HR’s sole responsibility doesn’t work out. Too often, it devolves into a transactional “box-ticking” exercise, because of competing priorities. So unless it’s the official responsibility of business unit leaders, it’s hard to move culture change to the top of their agenda when there are so many other formal responsibilities. Particularly when they know that HR, who tend to have greater skills and expertise in this area, is supposed to be leading the charge.
True culture change means altering the way the organization operates. It shapes the way people make decisions, get their work done, what they prioritize, and how they interact with colleagues, clients, and customers. It is really only successful and powerful when business leaders see it as their responsibility, and see HR as a resource for helping them achieve it. That’s why culture change has to be a collaborative project.
HR leaders can help business executives successfully execute culture change by doing four things:
Facilitate the research phase
To move from an existing culture to a desired, future culture, a lot of time is spent to facilitate conversation and consultation for the change, but not enough time to have a tangible, meaningful understanding of the existing state. The current culture has to be studied at all levels - values, behaviours, processes, policies and artifacts. Business leaders need to know, and HR can be a huge resource in facilitating this process.
Convince leaders culture can change
Many senior leaders are, in reality, very sceptical that culture really can change. Most have only seen culture change when drastic internal or market circumstances have forced it upon the organization. This scepticism is justified, as there are many examples of culture change not transpiring despite all the “talk” or of the change not turning out well. HR can help by sharing examples of how organizations have, in line with their long-term strategic objectives, proactively and positively driven culture change.
Teach the leaders how to change it
It cannot be assumed that business leaders will know how to influence culture. Some may have the expertise already, while others may find that it comes instinctively. But for the rest, it can be a new
and uncertain path, since they may not have been involved in leading culture change before. It is not enough to engage business unit leaders to get their input on what needs to change and their buy-in to the initiatives. Only when these business leaders are equipped with the skills to drive culture change, only then can they be given ownership and be held accountable for its success.
Have a formal “handoff”
When the culture change project is handed over to the business and changes are made to facilitate the new culture, the message to business leaders should be clear from the very top that the project is of the company, not of the HR. HR is there to support, help, and facilitate the change, but ownership of making these changes does not lie with them; it lies with the business unit leaders themselves.
It is clear that in the life cycle of an organization, culture should change and this change is best led from the very top, driven through equipped, accountable business unit leaders, working collaboratively alongside HR.
From India, Mumbai
The views of the author are doubly correct. HR has to play the crusader role and bring about change. Having witnessed OD activities from close quarters it was exciting to see the evolving organisational culture "from conflict to cooperation" and from "Cooperation to Development" and from "Development to Excellence" witnessed by the organisation from 60's to end 90's.
From India, Mumbai
From India, Mumbai
Organizational culture grows over time. People are comfortable with the current culture. For people to consider culture change, usually a significant event must occur.
When people in an organization realize and recognize that their current culture needs to transform to support the organization's success and progress, change can occur. But change is not pretty and change is not easy. By its very nature, changing your workplace culture is messy and challenging.
The cold, hard truth is that the responsibility for culture leadership lies solely with senior leaders.HR plays supportive role. They’re the only players that can change policies, procedures, systems, incentives, and more than that, which can formalize your desired culture and reinforce it over time by personal example
Most important, senior leaders set the tone for the culture with every plan, decision, and action. How leaders treat others by itself, becomes default standard for treatment across the organization - for good or bad! If you want a culture that demonstrates integrity, excellence, service, and respect (as an example), senior leaders must define those values in behavioral terms then model those behaviors in every interaction, every day.
We can’t let senior leaders off the hook. Creating a purposeful, positive, productive culture must be a strategic imperative for your organization—driven by senior leaders, supported by HR.
Role of HR in cultural change is vital but has to be driven from top,supported strongly by the top for it to be a success.
From India, Pune
When people in an organization realize and recognize that their current culture needs to transform to support the organization's success and progress, change can occur. But change is not pretty and change is not easy. By its very nature, changing your workplace culture is messy and challenging.
The cold, hard truth is that the responsibility for culture leadership lies solely with senior leaders.HR plays supportive role. They’re the only players that can change policies, procedures, systems, incentives, and more than that, which can formalize your desired culture and reinforce it over time by personal example
Most important, senior leaders set the tone for the culture with every plan, decision, and action. How leaders treat others by itself, becomes default standard for treatment across the organization - for good or bad! If you want a culture that demonstrates integrity, excellence, service, and respect (as an example), senior leaders must define those values in behavioral terms then model those behaviors in every interaction, every day.
We can’t let senior leaders off the hook. Creating a purposeful, positive, productive culture must be a strategic imperative for your organization—driven by senior leaders, supported by HR.
Role of HR in cultural change is vital but has to be driven from top,supported strongly by the top for it to be a success.
From India, Pune
Find answers from people who have previously dealt with business and work issues similar to yours - Please Register and Log In to CiteHR and post your query.