Cultural bridging, company culture and cultural change
Culture is the life elixir of every company. It must adjust with the time and new circumstances. As an experienced and long standing HR manager and coach, I actively support you in promoting and building up your own company culture! In the last few years, apart from Europe and the USA, I have primarily been present in Asia.
In which situations are cultural bridging or cultural change required?
When does the management have the biggest problems?
What are the consequences?
How do the employees behave?
What experience must a coach have?
- Whenever a company changes or wants to change. My experiences have shown that, especially in cases of acquisitions or reorganisations the concepts such as the strategy, financial planning and organisational structure are worked out in great detail.
- Unfortunately, the human and cultural side is neglected or even forgotten completely. But what use are concepts if the employees are not adjusted to the new circumstances and don’t know their new role?
- With wise forward planning and pro-active clarification you could greatly improve the implementation process and even stop many problems from happening in the first place.
- When additional components are added, at the same time as the actual reorganisation. Eg.new culture has to be integreted, with which the leadership is not really familiar with – either due to a merger or a change in regional responsibility.
- If the organisational structure changes in addition, for example in a matrix or a decentralised responsibility, management becomes overwhelmed in most cases. Above all, the line managers are often not adequately prepared for this change in management culture. A fact, that is not often admit.
- Have you ever come across a situation in which an employee was taken aside two years after a reorganisation with the words: “well… you know he comes from the other company…” Then something has definitely gone wrong. If you try to get to the root of this, it can mostly be found right at the beginning of the process.
- If two or more company cultures come together, it can basically be enriching for a company. However, as a rule, the employees tend to stick to their own, old culture. It is important to really understand the external culture and build on the acceptance of a new common culture.
- In this area, a coach definitely needs to have international experience. Not only from “holiday travel” – they must have actively worked in these cultures and, if possible, even managed employees. With this experience, they can get critical or reluctant employees to understand the new world and learn to accept it. This is the foundation that a cultural bridge is built upon.