How Do You Align Organisation Culture and Strategy?

While many companies invest in workplace culture initiatives, the real challenge is ensuring these programs are not isolated efforts but are deeply intertwined with the organisation’s overall strategy and objectives. A well-aligned culture doesn’t just make employees happier—it becomes a strategic enabler that helps drive performance, innovation, and growth.

So, how can organisations ensure their culture programs support broader business goals? Below are key steps to ensure that culture and strategy are working hand in hand.

1. Understand the Organisational Strategy and Objectives

• Begin by thoroughly understanding the organisation’s long-term vision, mission, and strategic goals. This includes grasping both business objectives (such as revenue growth, market expansion) and people objectives (such as employee retention, leadership development).
• Collaborate with leadership to identify how culture influences the achievement of these objectives. For example, if the strategy is innovation-driven, then fostering a culture of creativity and risk-taking becomes critical.

2. Conduct a Culture Assessment

• Utilise diagnostic tools such as employee surveys, focus groups, and leadership interviews to understand the current culture. Psychometric assessments like the EQ-i 2.0 can also offer insights into emotional intelligence levels, which impact culture.
• Determine where there are misalignments between the current culture and the strategic objectives. For instance, if the strategy calls for agility but the culture is resistant to change, this gap must be addressed.

3. Involve Leadership

• Leadership buy-in is critical for ensuring cultural alignment. Engage top executives to model and reinforce behaviours that align with both the desired culture and organisational objectives. Leaders must communicate the importance of culture as a driver of strategy execution.
• Leadership training programs, using tools like Change Style Indicator, can prepare leaders to manage cultural change aligned with strategic goals.

4. Set Clear Cultural Goals Aligned with Business Strategy

• Define specific cultural values and behaviours that support the organisation's strategic objectives. For example, if customer-centricity is part of the strategy, the culture program should focus on fostering collaboration, empathy, and problem-solving skills across all departments.
• These cultural goals should be measurable, allowing the organisation to track progress and adjust as needed.

5. Integrate Culture into Performance Metrics

• Align cultural transformation with performance management by incorporating cultural objectives into employee KPIs, team goals, and leadership evaluations. Ensure that the right behaviours (aligned with strategy) are recognised and rewarded.
• Sales culture, for example, can be aligned with strategy through process design, competency frameworks, and sales KPIs that reflect desired cultural traits.

6. Leverage Continuous Learning and Development

• Use learning and development programs, including eLearning and blended learning approaches, to reinforce the desired cultural traits that align with business strategy. This could involve embedding cultural goals into leadership development programs, team-building initiatives, and ongoing coaching.
• eLearning can serve as an ongoing reinforcement tool to ensure employees continuously adopt the desired cultural behaviours.

7. Monitor and Adjust

• Continuously assess the impact of culture initiatives by monitoring organisational performance, employee engagement, and strategic outcomes. Make adjustments as needed to ensure cultural evolution stays on track with changing strategic priorities.
• Regular reviews ensure that culture programs remain agile and responsive to any shifts in the organisational strategy.

By following these steps, culture programs can become a strategic enabler, ensuring that the organisation’s workforce is aligned and empowered to achieve business objectives.