Making Sustainable Change the Culture in Your Organisation

According to The Institute of Hospitality's Above and Beyond white paper for creating what they call 'Cultural Gold'.

Good company culture is as essential to the performance of the individuals as it is to an organisation's success and it has to come from the top. Culture is the lived experience of all in an organisation. It represents shared values and the behaviour and attitudes that reflect that, ensuring that there is a happy and productive environment, but good culture is not a wholly 'nice to have', it is defined by people who bring it to life.

One thing is essential, it must come from the top. If the CEO and those at board level do not lead on values and how they are expressed, there is no reason for anyone else to subscribe. But if leadership is communicative, supportive and affirmative, that will trickle like lava into every corner of the business and onwards to customers.

Beyond Bamboo, would like to add to that and propose that in order to make sustainable change stick within your organisation, it is important for you to bring all your people on the journey with you by giving all stakeholders in the business the autonomy and freedom to also be 'leaders' within your organisation and this is how we think you can make that happen.

Using a concept from Implementation Science as a framework for creating sustainable change, you will be more likely to make changes stick within your organisation. This is the decision to appoint what is called a vertical slice team to work on the strategy and implementation of sustainable changes to your business. Allow a person from all levels, departments and roles within your organisation to have a seat at the table. Invite them into the boardroom and make them the executives in your sustainable journey is going to be a really great way for you to pinpoint where problems may lie and also identify where the solutions are going to come from.

The ideas can of course initiate in the first instance from the top, but by providing a seat at the table for all the people affected by the change and making it clear to them that they are safe to express themselves and that all opinions and ideas are valid and open for discussion, you will be creating a culture which cares and values it's people, and in doing so, your people will more likely want to own and be accountable for the changes that are made within your organisation.