CULTURE ALIGNMENT

What is organisational culture alignment?

Culture alignment is when all aspects of an organisation, from the people, to the processes and shared goals, are in keeping with that organisation’s values. In order to be effective, cultural alignment must be practised at every level, with leaders and team members striving for the same outcomes, and demonstrating this with their actions, as well as their words. 

Every organisation, from non-profits, to workplaces, and even educational institutions, should take steps to make sure their culture is aligned with what they are trying to achieve. For instance, if your organisation expects team members to display integrity in their work, then this should be built into the organisation’s values, and also practised by leaders and executives at every level of the organisation. This ethos also forms a key part of our culture training programme, Leading by Example.

A four-step approach to culture alignment

In order to support our clients with aligning their culture throughout their organisation, we employ our tried-and-tested 4-step approach to cultural change to achieve measurable and long-lasting results.

Our methodology includes assessing the current culture of your organisation, and how well it is aligned. Using these findings, we then go on to develop a bespoke cultural development plan, with the option to provide training to your leadership team, and team members at all levels. Finally, once initial improvements have been made, we can advise you on how to maintain these positive changes, and make plans for the future of your organisation.

We have worked with clients across the world and in a number of different industries, using over 30 years of experience in cultural transformation to gain measurable results. For more information on how we work with organisations, you can take a look at our case studies, which include examples from the media, not-for-profit, and finance sectors, among many others.

What are some cultural alignment examples?

Examples of good cultural alignment could include, but are not limited to:

• Organisations with good communication between departments, enabling them to work together towards a common goal.
• Employees who feel that the organisation is true to the values they espouse, and share those same values.
• A leadership team that follow the same processes and are consistent in their practices, across the organisation.
• A culture that values understanding, communication, teamwork, collaboration, and is working effectively towards a shared vision.

What are the benefits of an aligned organisational culture?

Organisations that prioritise building an aligned culture often see the benefits of their investment. Many of our consulting clients report:

• More collaboration between departments, resulting in the sharing of ideas, resources, and a more cohesive team structure.
• Improved employee engagement and satisfaction, as their team is motivated by contributing and working alongside one another towards a common goal.
• Fewer absences and lower turnover, due to improved rates of employee wellbeing and engagement.
• A culture of innovative thinking, knowledge-sharing, and the discovery of new solutions due to their team working more collaboratively.

Resources for culture alignment

As well as working directly with organisations and workplaces to help them to improve and align their organisational culture, we also have a wide range of online resources to help leaders, team members and executives to enact cultural change. We have a range of blog articles and videos covering various topics about culture and leadership, as well as our catalogue of published books and eBooks, and episodes of our Walking the Talk podcast.

If you aren’t sure where to start, you may like to begin with the related video below, which explains how Walking the Talk’s tools and consultancy services can help to transform your organisation’s culture for the better.