What’s the ROI? Probably the most common, and important, business question.  

Without being able to measure the impact of your culture initiatives it is very difficult to determine if you are spending your efforts in the right areas, if you are heading in the right direction and of course to secure funding to support your initiatives. It’s also really hard to improve on something if you don’t have a base to start from.  

Measurement of culture should happen at all stages: prior to evaluating the current situation and what can be improved, during to see if you’re heading in the right direction and after to determine what worked that should be continued and what didn’t that need to be improved or scrapped. 

Now the question is, how do you measure culture? There can be a misunderstanding that an engagement survey sent every year is the measurement of culture when engagement is an outcome of company culture. Culture measurement is more complex than a yearly survey and made of many moving parts. Yet, finding the tools to measure is not the issue. With a good Google search, you will find plenty of tools out there.  

The real challenge is choosing the right tool, know how to appropriately use it to and what to do with the results that you will get. If we backtrack even more, you will also need to know exactly what the purpose is of using this tool, what outcomes you are after and what are the measures of success. For instance, if I put you in front of a car you might know what’s broken, you might know what tool to use, but it doesn’t mean you know how to use it, that you will successfully solve the issue or know what "fixed” looks like. That’s why we go to a mechanic, right :) 

So where to go from there? We would argue that more than grabbing a tool already built, the best approach is to create your own. Through a thorough diagnosis and a well-targeted approach that blends face-to-face workshops and technology, organisations can hear the diverse views of their people fairly easily.  

In this early stage, it’s important to generate positive energy and build the momentum for potential improvement or change. That means providing your people with the ‘why’ so the need for the initiatives and where you want to go is understood by everyone. Ultimately, creating a shared vision – one that’s owned as much by employees as by leaders – is crucial to successful culture change. If you’re looking for fast and sustained change, you need to involve everyone, more on that in another post. 

Finally, it is essential once you have developed an approach that meets your objectives, will help you assess where you are and where you want to be, to continue measuring culture consistently. Maintenance is essential for long-lasting results and potential adjustments, a bit like servicing your car. 

When we onboard clients we always start with a thorough diagnostic and then co-design projects with them to make sure we solve the right issues together and get the right outcomes now and in the long run, you can find some of our case studies here. Always feel free to get in touch if you wish to explore solutions for your team or company, message us at enquiries@theoutperformer.co