Turning culture into data: where do we go wrong?

This article explains three keys ways organisations struggle with their approach to culture and how to solve them through the collection and measurement of data.

In the famous words of management guru Peter Drucker, culture eats strategy for breakfast.

Yet strategy typically is the thing we measure progress against, set Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) for and monitor religiously. So why aren’t we doing the same for culture? These are the top three reasons we see, and help solve, with our clients…  

1. We haven’t clearly defined the goal.  

Culture is often described as the intangible, as a feeling rather than a ‘thing’, which is why surveys are typically used to try to measure and understand how employees are feeling about the organisation. 

When you have a clearly defined culture goal, then you can work out what the KPIs are and measure appropriately.  

2. We haven’t got the data.  

Not every organisation has their data in order or has the benefit of smart platforms and systems to support data tracking and measurement. Though with some simple strategy work, we can identify the data an organisation does have that clearly ties in with culture. It might be as simple as counting the number of new ideas that get delivered in 12 months or setting up a straightforward survey that can create the starting point for culture data collection and tracking.  

3. We haven’t tied it to our business strategy.  

All too often, organisations consider culture as a separate conversation to their business strategy. And yet, the strategic elements that most organisations want are inherently linked to an improved culture; more innovation, more effective decision making, improved customer satisfaction, better knowledge and insight sharing, and a workforce that are all pulling together in the same direction to achieve the agreed strategy.

All these things are impacted and underpinned by culture and - crucially - can be measured. 

To chat about understanding, measuring and strengthening your own culture, please get in touch via emma.nicholls@theclearcompany.co.uk.