Guest Post by Blaire Palmer
Organisational culture plays a huge role in your employees’ experience. You need to engage with your staff in order for them to truly believe in your organisation’s values. But do you know what you stand for?
On Thursday 26th January we had the pleasure of hosting a dinner at The Ned in London with HR Leaders from across the public sector. During this fantastic evening we discussed leadership, company culture and adapting to change through a challenging moment in the recruitment landscape.
We were also delighted to be joined by our guest speaker, Blaire Palmer, who is an expert in organisational culture and the future of leadership. The following article is the first in a series of posts by Blaire about how you can be the champion of values and change in your organisation!
The focus on company culture became de rigueur in the 1980s and 90s when companies started boasting about their Mission Statement and getting mouse mats printed up with the corporate values on for everyone to memorise.
At the time it was almost certainly a PR exercise for most organisations.
Today, however, there is a broad understanding that culture makes all the difference. In challenging times – cost of living crisis, impact of Brexit, inflation, budget cuts, the ongoing effects of the pandemic…I could go on – it is starkly clear that how people feel directly affects their work. People turn up or log in, in the morning, carrying the stresses and strains of their personal lives, the bigger national and international picture and then experience the culture created at work, and that whole thing can be the perfect storm. It is no surprise that mental health is so high on the agenda and so many people seem to be struggling.
We may not be able to change the whole world (although I know that you’d give it a go!), but we can improve the experience people have of working with us. Not only it is the right thing to do but it’s the number one way to address the challenges our organisations are facing. Whether it’s recruitment and retention, financial pressures or dealing with the knock-on effects of Brexit and the pandemic, a better culture where people can do their best work, driven by a sense of purpose, is more likely to deliver the impact out there in the community than a culture that needs to be circumnavigated to get anything done.
Most organisational values are worded as ‘We…”. “We trust our people’, “We work as a team”, and “We respect differences”.
But what happens when you change that word to “I”? “I trust people”, “I work as a team”, “I respect differences”?
Before you can expect anyone else to live by the organisation’s values and create a healthy, safe and vibrant culture, you have to know what YOU stand for. What is your ‘Why”? What values do you believe should be upheld and how do you feel when an organisation compromises on its values or doesn’t fully embrace what they mean?
If you aren’t willing to speak up, every time (using your emotional intelligence to inform you about picking your moment and your approach), then who is? Who else has culture and values slap bang in the middle of their remit? Who else is the voice of the employee if not you?
It’s not about winning every argument, because you won’t. But if you take the opportunity to keep culture on the table through all discussions then you’re being true to what you stand for.
Creatively addressing the challenges facing us today requires you to be the guardian of the values. And that means speaking your truth, every time, big issue or small issue.
Are you stuck on how to promote what you stand for to jobseekers? Get in touch with the Jobs Go Public team today to find out how we can help you with your recruitment and retention challenges!