Feature

How corporate culture impacts performance

An effective organisational culture aligns with the business strategy to ensure that the company meets its long-term goals, writes Vinita Gupta. Developing the right organisation culture is not just the responsibility of the human resource department. The top management of every company is proactively involved in the process. And why not, after all the corporate culture has a major impact on employee morale and productivity. It is not about just being a good employer, but about having employees committed to the vision and the strategy of the organisation, and possessing the will and the means to make these a reality. There are however many companies who view their corporate culture only as a recruitment tool and an element in employee motivation and communications. The focus is now shifting and organisations are realising that an effective corporate culture engages employees at a fundamental level, and translates that engagement into high performance. An effective culture also aligns with the business strategy to ensure the organisation meets its longterm goals. Organisational growth Both research and practical observation of successful companies have established a direct link between strong corporate cultures and high performance. Culture has a vital and measurable impact on the organisations ability to deliver on its strategy. Thats why you cant ignore it when tackling issues such as risk management, customer relationship management, business process outsourcing, change management, wellness, growth, or leadership. Thus culture is central for a successful operation and to long-term effectiveness of the company.
"Organisation s do not achieve a cultural change by accident. They achieve it with a defined strategy for high involvement and a measurable action plan" - Sudeesh Yezhuvath Chief Operating Officer Subex Azure

Joji Gill, Director-HR, Microsoft India, says, Culture is the underlying shared assumptions, values and beliefs of the organisation which describes the way it works. She adds, Values are the foundation of any company and if the foundation is weak the company can never grow and hence its very crucial to build strong values. These values should be around innovation and methodology on how you focus and utilise resources, and creates a vision of the organisation. Every organisation has its own unique culture or value set. For instance, at Microsoft the culture is an embodiment of their six core values that include integrity and honesty; open

and respectful; willing to take on big challenges; passion for customers, partners and technology; accountable for commitments and personal excellence and self-improvement. Microsoft believes it is very important for the entire organisation to have the companys values align with its overall performance, including employee retention. Recently the company did a few changes in the value system and are looking at few more like feedback from peers and stakeholders. Patni feels if the culture of the organisation is not proper and transparent then it leads to high attrition rate as corporate culture matters to the employees. Kalpana Jaishankar, VPHR Operations and People Development, Patni, feels that it is important for an organisation to build a performance culture, and if the employees are not performing then it is necessary that the organisation should give them a fair chance to improve. She adds, The value system should be inculcated in all the employees, and at Patni we have articulated values wherein customers come first. Sudeesh Yezhuvath, Chief Operating Officer of Subex Azure, asserts that fairness, innovation and commitment are the three values that drive the organisation culture. He believes that merging two cultures (when an organisation has merged or acquired another) well, is a supreme challenge that needs to be actively shaped and carefully managed. He says, Organisations do not achieve a cultural change by accident. They achieve it with a defined strategy for high involvement and a measurable action plan. Hence, his company has a cultural integration task force which looks at the alignment of the corporate culture at different levels. Teamwork and innovation The importance of corporate culture is growing as the result of several recent developments. Companies are encouraging employees to be more responsible and act and think like owners. They are also encouraging teamwork and the formation of teams as a strong culture is one in which they work together effectively, share the same values, and make decisions to meet the organisations primary goals and objectives. Microsofts employees are empowered to do their job, the company encourages team spirit and do not focus on hierarchy. The company has My Microsoft, an employee performance review system driven by certain values. At Patni, open culture is encouraged and values workshops are conducted by senior staff members to find out employees ideas about the companys values. A company must cultivate a creative corporate culture that transcends the ability to capitalise on emerging opportunities, and begins to create and exploit opportunities in the global marketplace. Jaishankar adds, Our employees are knowledge workers and hence we have given them freedom to innovate, we also have learning environment for them. The employees are given freedom to freely interact with their seniors, but we make sure that they are loyal and flexible to the customers.

Subex Azure allows the employees to explore their innovations. Yezhuvath feels that communication and culture go hand in hand. He adds, Motivation and communication between the seniors and the employees through feedback sessions, meetings, etc., is very important as it helps to find out the problems being faced by them. Tips for effective culture
Align culture with the business strategy Change culture to drive performance Benchmark the culture against your competition Quickly and simply assess the culture Engage the workforce through culture Combine culture with initiatives driving performance Develop a culture that respects and celebrates diversity Understand the role of senior management in building culture Use a positive culture to sustain performance in times of major change With a positive culture build trust inside and outside the organisation

Adaptation for new joinees A new entrant is introduced to the culture of the company during the recruitment stage itself. Culture also includes external influences like working environment, architecture, interior design; transitional influences: office politics, dress codes, social events; and internal influences: equal opportunity, diversity and benefits. According to Yezhuvath, it is important that every employee should align with the companys culture and hence the organisation should have proper training programmes for the new recruiters to guide them. He adds, We at Subex Azure have two-days offsite training camp that explains the values to the new employees. We also keep a track on the consistency of these cultures and make sure that the business practices are focussed towards customers and employees. Microsoft conducts in-depth new employee orientation, including online classes (every Microsoft employee has to join the M/S online code) that teaches them integrity, honesty and the values of the organisation. The fundamental values of the organisation are made clear to the new-comer and then specified programmes according to the job profile are conducted, says Gill. The newly joined employees of Patni have to attend a corporate orientation programme wherein the seniors talk about their journey in the organisation and the culture of the environment. Role of HR While corporate culture is not necessarily the responsibility of HR, the people who are hired and the training and cultural imperatives placed on the business are done through

HR, hence it can have a big impact on whether or not the firm is culturally attuned to innovation. Over time, one can argue that innovation is a sustainable competitive advantage, and that businesses that attract and retain creative, innovative people and implement a culture that sustains innovation, will possess a strong competitive advantage. If so, HR will have a huge impact on that company and its culture. HR is the companion and facilitator of the Microsoft values. The HR department has to do in-depth analysis and take actions to improve the non-performers, says Gill. Jaishankar believes that HR plays an important role in the culture of the organisation as it has to understand and communicate with both the management and the employees. She adds, HR explains to the employees why the management is doing so and briefs the latter what are the expectations of employees. E.g. employees want to be a part of the decision-making process. Since, culture is an important factor for the success of a firm, human resources professionals need to increase their proficiency in impacting culture.