The Role of Technology in Driving a Winning Culture
In the past, a smart business strategy separated the winners from the losers. But not anymore. Today, the best culture wins. Top Workplaces leaders recognize this, and they leverage it as a competitive advantage. How do they do it? More and more, they’re relying on a new technology to create an environment that gets results.
Culture technology has arrived
Look around your organization and you’ll see how it’s been transformed by technology. Sales and marketing use automation and CRM tools. Finance tracks all aspects of the organization through the ERP. Even HR is becoming increasingly digital. Just about every function has been impacted by technology.
But culture technology — what’s that?
To explain, let me first address what culture technology is not. Culture technology is not about translating old paper processes into the digital age. It’s not about efficiency. While these support new ways of work, they have little impact on engaging the human spirit.
It’s also not about more ways of “communicating.” In fact, many organizations are looking to pare down its communication tools. Some are even going as far as curtailing the use of email because of the negative impact it has on culture.
Culture technology is a multidisciplinary, science-based approach to improving organizational culture, at scale and with speed. Culture technology is about:
- Enabling senior leaders and employees to work together to build a collaborative environment.
- Building real connections based on trust and appreciation.
- Bringing teams together to align on a common purpose.
- Channeling negative emotions while elevating the positive.
Culture technology can take a variety of different forms, but the key characteristic is that fosters a strong, mutually beneficial relationship. And in the long term, it benefits employees as much as it benefits the organization.
Top Workplaces tap into the power of culture technology
Top Workplaces leaders focus on creating a culture that drives employee engagement. They know where they stand, they know what good looks like — and then they work to close that gap. To accomplish this, they do three things:
- Place employees at the center of their thinking: Viewing the workforce as the bridge between where they are today and their future success.
- Build trust and connect at scale: Creating the channel for open, two-way communication where employees feel safe and connections are formed across the organization.
- Adopt a coach mindset: Finding the best match between employee skills and interests and their organization’s needs.
The process of developing an employee-centric focus, building trust, and adopting a coaching mindset can seem daunting and the results are not immediate. While practices such as town hall meetings, focus groups, and elaborate manager training often prove useful, they require a great deal of time and expense. Fortunately, culture technology — sometimes in tandem with traditional approaches — is proving to be an effective tool for driving a winning culture.
Join me for a live webcast on October 18th
There’s more to know! Join me on October 18th for the live webcast, The Role of Technology in Driving a Winning Culture. I’ll discuss culture technology in more depth, give some examples, share three best practices, and leave you with resources to help you get started.