'Cultureneering' to build a future-fit business By Ian Fuhr, Founder of The Hatch Institute
People are key to determining the success or failure of business in agile, ever-changing markets. Retrenchments, short weeks, and reduced salaries are widespread as businesses attempt to cut costs to stop the bleeding. But these survival tactics weren’t working before this pandemic, and COVID-19 has shone a spotlight on the inequalities of our country. Businesses might survive in the short-term, but the long-term impact of high unemployment rates will erode corporate consumer bases and result in wide-spread unrest.
Culture-focused vs fixating on the bottom line Instead of focusing on the bottom line, I believe businesses can make a real difference to our economy, country and society as a whole. This change begins with culture-driven leaders who believe that ‘cultureneering’, or focusing on culture first and foremost in an organisation, is the only way to build a future-fit business that is adaptable and able to deliver exceptional customer service. Bear in mind that the customer experience will never be better than the employee experience. The simple reason for this is that you cannot expect people to look after your customers if they don’t have a sense of belonging or feel cared for themselves. And customer service is critical. It builds customer loyalty, which directly increases revenue without requiring costs to be trimmed (or people or salaries to be cut). Commitment, loyalty and customer service will slip fast and furiously when your people don’t have a reason to believe in you, the leadership team, the business or in your purpose.
Culture-driven leaders From a leadership perspective, there are a number of things that you can do to earn the moral authority to lead. First, show genuine concern for the well-being of everyone in your organisation. Show a commitment to their development and growth, and create a place of safety where
people can speak up if they have any problems or grievances without fear of retaliation. In particular, work hard on all the socio-political and diversity elements of the company to IAN FUHR make sure that no polarisation or discrimination exists. In the South African context, good race relations and diversity inclusion form an important part of any business culture.
Linking purpose to create service-focused teams Everyone in the organisation, starting from the top, needs to be crystal clear about why the company exists, why we are here, and why we come to work every day. The answers to these questions should always begin and end with meeting and exceeding the needs of the customer – purpose can never be about money, because money is the result or reward of achieving your purpose. Everything and everyone should be aligned with your purpose. It should become your guiding light for every decision that gets made. The key is to link what they do on a day-to-day basis to a larger purpose. For example, if someone is on a production line, show them the bigger picture. Who is the customer? What problem are they helping to solve or what joy are they bringing because of the important role they play? We all need a purpose in our lives, now more than ever. I’m hopeful that this is the beginning of the next world – a world in which business takes on a more human face. Business leaders have a financial and moral obligation to uplift the people of this country. A narrow focus on profit won’t achieve that, but a culture that puts people first can.
YOUR BUSINESS | October-November 2020
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