Phillip Weiss with Teresa Edmondson

It’s been over a year now with the “new-normal.” Still no in-person meetings for many. Lots of calls and sometimes with cameras off – only voices.

Now might be a good time to assess how your own corporate culture has fared through it all. Intentional or not, corporate culture does tend to evolve over time and through circumstances. And remember, culture is simply the end-result of the behaviors you see people exhibiting in the organization. Which is pretty easy to assess or simply observe.

So, the question to ask is: In what ways has your team or organizational culture changed over the past 12-14 months?

Here are some things to look for to help you perform a culture assessment of your team or organization: 

Clear Communication:

• Do employees know what the leadership’s top priorities are?
• Does the organization/team hear from the leadership regularly? Messages from the high levels help people see beyond their own functional groups and perceive the organization as a unified whole.

Connectivity (silo-management):

• Other than regular business transactions, what cross-functional lines-of-sight do people have beyond their own groups these days?
• Have the silo walls been “thickened or thinned” during this time between groups/teams?

Presence:

• To what degree have leaders been “present-and-accounted for”?
• To what degree do people “see” leadership? How visible are leaders to their directs, the whole team, the organization? (I don’t necessarily just mean that cameras are on.)
• Are leaders on the right calls? Do they have the needed voices on those calls?

Issues Addressed:

• Despite the physical distance, are leaders addressing issues?
• Are leaders having the discussions that need to be had, including the especially difficult ones?
• Are people being held accountable?

Employee Recognition:

• Are employees getting needed recognition at this time?
• Do they hear the coveted, and often critical, praise for jobs-well-done? It’s especially impactful when it comes from high places.

No doubt, there are more barometers for culture assessments. What other questions would you ask?   

As you look at the trends within your organization, what changes to your culture do you see as positive?  Are there trends that need attention? 

A healthy, intentional discussion about all of the above could be insightful and valuable for your business right about now.  

If you perform a culture assessment of your company and realize you could use assistance in effectively re-harmonizing your team, look to P. A. WEISS Leadership Solutions. We are industry experts in coaching, team assimilation, and meeting facilitation. Learn more about our services and client success stories today.