Highlights from Culture Can’t Wait

What a time to be alive!!  The Culture Can’t Wait workshop was a freakin’ blast. 

I’ll be riding that high for a few weeks. There’s something about getting folks together to have conversations about challenges they’re facing. 

If you missed the workshop, I want to share some highlights that came out of that day. 

What we got into: 

• Behaviors and their impact on culture 
• Designing a culture plan for 2024
• What trends will impact culture in 2024 and what to do  

Some highlights:

• Culture can mean something different to every employee. 
• Leaders set the tone for your culture – their good AND bad behavior manifest in your culture! 
• 5 key pillars of culture: leadership, vision/values, recognition, DEI, and internal comms. 

Wondering what we covered live? Here are some highlights of what we got into! 

Behaviors that make (or break) culture:

Raise your hand if someone has ever asked you to “fix culture.”

Same!

BTW: It should never be HR’s job to fix culture – culture is everyone’s job!

But if you’re facing this challenge, somewhere that is great to start?

Looking at how your employees behave because that  can make or break your culture. 

Some behaviors that can break your culture:

• Dishonesty: will create a lack of trust 
• Unwarranted competition: will damage any sense of teamwork
• Micromanagement: will squash any sense of autonomy and innovation 
• Lack of accountability: will lead to blame culture 

Dealing with some or all of these? I bet your culture is also suffering! 

Getting to the root cause of WHY these behaviors are happening is key. 

Some behaviors that can make your culture:

• Empathy: understanding each other’s perspectives is crucial for inclusion. 
• Transparent communication: encourages employees to share feedback and share ideas. 
• Recognition and appreciation: celebrates employees and their achievements which boosts morale and culture! 
• Adaptability: helps your organization stay agile and able to change quickly 

If you already have some of these behaviors in your workplace – you’re on the right track! The next step is to figure out how to continue supporting these behaviors. 

How to (re)design your culture:

I’d need about 80 newsletters to fully get into the topic of redesigning your culture. 

Here’s an easy place to start:

1. Review the 5 pillars of culture above
2. Where is your organization struggling the most?
3. Focus there!

Before you get started on any culture projects consider the following: 

1. What are your limitations? (ex: you can’t change all your leaders) 
2. What can you influence? (could be people, processes, outcomes etc)
3. Starting small. (1-3 culture initiatives max) 

We’re tackling making your 2024 culture plan at the virtual workshop so be sure to grab your spot! 

One thing you can do this week:

Yes, ONLY ONE!!!

Collect your data. 

I don’t mean launch a new survey, I mean get your data together in one place so that you can begin to analyze what is going on. 

An excellent place to start? Your exit interviews. 

Those can be a gold mine and can tell you SO MUCH about culture and why folks are leaving. 

Other sources of data to consider:

• Engagement surveys 
• Pulse surveys
• Performance reviews
• Goal status / completion 
• Retention data (who is leaving, is it certain teams or groups of people etc)

If you have none of the sources above, start with your observations. 

That is data!

Write down things you’ve been observing! Are the vibes off? Are certain teams quieter? Who is missing goals? Does anyone seem disengaged?

You can’t fix something you don’t know is broken!  

In case you missed it: 

I’m running a mini-version of this workshop virtually that should get you started down the right path for 2024.

While it won’t be exactly like the experience in NYC you still won’t want to miss this! 

You’ll walk away with a better understanding of what is impacting your culture and a plan for how to address it in 2024. 

Grab your spot here!