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Gotta get the Cultcha right!
Don’t you get curious about what is meant by the word “CULTURE”? “We need to recruit people
to match our culture”, “he simply had to go because he didn’t fit our culture”. Most business
owners seem to intuitively know what their organisation’s CULTURE is but find it very difficult to
put into words. Of course you can go out and buy culture surveys which will force fit your
organisation into a little box, but even then the whole issue is rather nebulous - a mysterious
and enigmatic realm that only we “touchy feely” consultant types dare tread. The irony for me is
that the word is bandied around the industry with gay abandon, even if referred to in the Aussie
vernacular as CULTCHA.
We want to help our clients and our readers get a better grip on this fascinating but difficult-to-
articulate organisational being that really can mean the difference between business success
and failure. As with everything that we do at Confiance, common sense and practical solutions
are the priority, not the high priced, flavor of the month gimmicks that seem to emerge from
many consultants’ bags of tricks.
The easiest way to think of an organisation’s culture is a description of “how we do things here
that help us to succeed”. Culture is powerful and invisible and its effects are far reaching.
Culture is an energy that spreads through the thinking, behavior, and identity of those within the
organisation. Very often what management pays attention to and rewards is often the strongest
indicator of the organisation’s culture. This can be quite different to the values it verbalises or
the mission statement that hangs in the head office foyer or in the boardroom.
If you can articulate your culture you can preserve it, change it, build it or destroy it. Here’s our
simple recipe for consciously shaping your company’s culture. There are five ingredients.
1. Define it
Everyone knows culture is important so articulate it! If you have a number of leaders running
your organisation, you may not immediately have full consensus on what your culture is or what
you want it to become. In that case, make the time to have the hard conversations so that you
can reach a consensus. Too often this topic is pushed to the bottom of the priority list; it belongs
at the top. Articulating the culture in writing is an essential element of making it successful.
When the dialogue stays verbal, it’s inevitable that everyone will leave the room with a different
version of what was agreed upon. Documenting it is a powerful way to help you get where you
want to go.
2. Communicate it
The more we talk to people, and teach them about what is unique about our culture, the more
likely it is to become the reality. Include discussions about the culture at every opportunity - e.g.
in state of the nation presentations, tool box talks, induction programs, training courses,
recruitment processes.
Talk also about parts of the current culture that you’re working on changing. There’s nothing
wrong with saying something like, “We’re working on building a culture that truly respects people
and values their input. In the past communication has tended to be top down. Suggestions to
improve two way communications here are now truly encouraged. I’m looking for your help to
make this a reality.”
One of the best ways to teach is to tell stories. Describing the company’s evolution is important,
and not just the successes, but the mistakes too. There’s a wisdom that comes from these
stories, a teaching that resonates with people far more than the theories or the rhetoric.
3. Live It
Culture is very little about what we say, and very much about what we do. If we don’t live it, it’ll
stay a myth. Organisational culture is built slowly over time, not with a quick decision or the
writing of a few well-chosen words. This is especially critical for the leaders in organisations;

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your workforce sees everything you do. Leaders shape culture. Pretending that your words,
actions and attitudes don’t impact the culture significantly would be to live in denial.
Some of the meaningful ways that you as leaders impact the culture include:
 how well your words match your deeds
 which of the organisation’s values you live and which you only pay lip service to
 who you hire and who you fire
 who you reward and who you don’t
 the systems/ processes you put in place
 how you handle failure
It’s easier to build a culture when everything is going well. But strong cultures are also built by
what you do during tough times. When there is a downturn in the industry, what do you do?
When money is tight, how do you act? When a staff member is ill, how do you respond? When a
good client can’t pay their bills, what do you say?
Ultimately, everybody needs to take responsibility to personally live the culture that you seek to
create. No one individual will get there alone.
4. Measure It
Once you’ve identified the key elements of the culture that you are trying to shape and written
them down, you must start to measure your success. If you want to have a productivity-driven or
safety first organisation, you will only succeed if you progressively measure your success in
weaving these aspects of the culture into everything that you do. If you’re setting out to measure
less tangible characteristics like “morale or job satisfaction”, remember that the judgment will be
made by people in your organisation. Once you establish a definition of what “morale or job
satisfaction” means, you can measure it. When you track those measures progressively, just as
you would your production rates or your safety stats, you can identify improvement initiatives
and implement an action plan.
5. Reward It
A common problem in every organisation is the mismatch between what it says it wants and
what’s rewarded. In some cases, the issue is just an absence of rewards. I yawn now every time
I hear the words “high performance culture”. So often the actions are inconsistent with the
words – that’s when you get rhetoric, words for the sake of words. Companies purporting to be
High performing cultures which don’t provide variable reward schemes, or training and
development opportunities will never be truly come high performing. The other pet phrase I
loathe is “employer of choice”. An “employer of choice” who treats people poorly or pays people
below industry standards or offers rosters and working conditions inconsistent with family values
is hardly an employer I would choose to work for. If you have ambitious cultural objectives, be
prepared to implement the initiatives that clearly support that culture. Reward schemes that
reward specific individual achievements are not consistent with a company which boasts a team
based collaborative culture. Match the reward to the culture, reinforce the culture with the
reward.
Summary
There is no way to build or change a culture in days, weeks or even months. It’s infinitely easier
to move a longwall, build a new mine even, than it is to change the culture of an organisation. It
requires lots of communication, years of stubborn persistence and relentless follow up. You
can’t build or change a culture overnight but you can do it – and whether you call it culture or
CULTCHA, it’s yours and it defines you – so get it right.
Joanne Westh
April 2013