Overview
From Covid and the subsequent economic challenges to changes in funding and a heightened focus on impact, housing associations have had a turbulent few years. Our client, Harbour, had also been through an acquisition, a digital transformation programme and a series of redundancies when they came to us, as well as appointing a new CEO.
An internal engagement survey had previously highlighted opportunities for improving engagement, enhancing collaboration and increasing accountability. So, in looking for a more empowered direction for the organisation, they knew they needed renewed focus – starting with company values.
Our approach
Following our tried-and-tested Insight, Design, Embed process, we kicked off the project by running in-depth interviews with senior leaders to clarify Harbour’s strategic objectives to help shape and contextualise the values work.
These conversations also offered valuable insights into the current culture, complementing the insight from the engagement survey, and we identified several recurring themes that were shaping behaviours and mindsets. When we played these back, they strongly resonated with Harbour and helped reframe the underlying challenges the values project was designed to address.
A cross-functional Culture Design Group drawn from across the organisation gave everyone a voice and helped tackle the internal pockets of resistance that the project faced. With their frank and honest feedback, the newly defined values began to enter the organisation’s vernacular well before the embedding phase began, and we were also able to develop a Behavioural Competency Framework to bring those values to life.
Culture measurement processes are being implementing, including a full annual Culture Dashboard and biannual Pulse Surveys. This will allow them to see the full impact of both this programme and future interventions.
CulturEmbed™ is being planned to support teams embedding the values and behaviours into their ways of working, enabling the defined culture to be owned by everyone and a lived reality throughout the organisation, hence delivering improvements in performance.
The results of the work done so far is already clear, even without quantitative data. The new values are becoming part of everyday language, with people actively referencing them when questioning decisions or discussing how things should be done. Managers are finding it easier to have constructive conversations, the leadership team is clearer about the role it needs to play, and there’s a new lease of life across the organisation.
What the clients said
How to get started
We help businesses of all shapes, sizes and industries overcome their cultural challenges. To find out more, click the button below and our Co-Founder Jo will directly be in touch.
Making
Complexity
Simple.
