Changing The Culture of a Company
Leahcim Semaj, Ph.D. - Change Agent

The first basic premise on which Psychological intervention is based is that of a person admitting that something is wrong. This set in motion a number of activities driving the person to seek possibly solution. This process does not have to be linear. The person can get caught up in denial. They can now spend their time trying to find some one to blame. The least likely person for them to point to in this mode is self. Sometimes they can get stuck in neutral and start to wallow in self-pity. Anxiety now creeps in. The alternate mode is you accepting that you need help. The rules for individuals also apply to companies. It is not very easy for most managers to admit that something is wrong much more a realization that they need help. The good sign is that we are seeing more managers moving in that direction.

The Power of Measurement
This brings us to Change Rule #1: If you want something to change, You must measure it. Just be careful that you use valid and reliable measuring tools. Be wary of praise singers. Some authoritarian managers have created a posse of "Yes-men" around them. This is an age-old situation. Remember the story of the Emperor's New Clothes. The biggest risk in daring to measure what is happening in your organization is that you may hear bad news. Better you hear this now than later. Chances are your competition has long been aware of the problems in your organization and has been building strategies to take advantage of them

People Do What We Inspect
Once you identify the problem areas of your corporate culture the work begins. These problems exist because they were created and rewarded over time, willingly or unwillingly. This brings us to Change Rule #2: If you want it to stop, you must extinguish it (stop rewarding it). What Is the Reward Structure for Employees in your company? In many companies the reward structure is at best unclear. We say one thing but actually do another. The reality is the employees do want we inspect, not what we expect. Many employees just do not do what they are supposed to do. Why?

• There is no positive consequence to them for not doing it
  
• They anticipate future negative consequences
  
• They are rewarded for not doing it
  
• They are punished for doing what they are supposed to do

Encouragement Sweetens Labour
You have measured the situation and you have begun to put forces in place to stop the problem from getting worse. We now have to look for some positive signs on which to build. We need to clearly identify the direction in which you wish to grow. Carol Lavin Bernick developed the concept of Individual Economic value (IEV) at Alberto-Culver in 1998. (Harvard Business Review, June 2001) This is a short statement that describes how and individual contribute to the profitability of the company. One customer relations rep stated in her IEV that "I respond to customers calls within one hour" and "I am prompt and courteous with my response'. This is reasonable but not quite the perspective you need in and IEV. After some discussion with the customer service rep they came up with the IEV "I turn every customer I talk to into a company fan". What this IEV does is to communicate to themselves and to the world that they have the power to drive the success of the company. Once you begin to define IEVs you need to big-up the employees who has realized the changes required and have started to live them. Change Rule #3 dictates this: If you want it to grow you must celebrate it, reward it. The importance of celebrating the positive culture shift cannot be over emphasized. If you wish to keep the culture moving towards a higher and more productive existence for all.