1. Take stock

Ask employees how they experience the organization’s culture. If you aspire to be a great place to work, how happy are people? If you aim to be innovative, do people feel their ideas and suggestions count?

2. Use data as a conversation starter

It’s easy to create stories around data points. It’s harder to know your stories – and all the assumptions you make within them – reflect reality. Talk with teams to understand the positive and negative drivers of your current culture.

3. Be specific

What policies, processes and behaviours make your aspirations for culture come to life, and which detract from them? Focus on a few things to action each quarter.

4. Adjust, adapt and amplify

Positive cultures cannot be enforced, so avoid the temptation to make big investments in one-time projects. Instead, invest time in regular conversations that help everyone stay alert to what’s going well and what needs further improvement.

5. Make organizational culture a team focus

The expression of culture varies depending on where a team sits within an organization. Support teams to do points 2, 3 and 4 above, and you will help create alignment between the cultural ideal and people’s lived experience.

Read more on how to change your workplace culture with consistent effort here