How to overcome a crisis is a million-dollar question. But as answers also exist, we should focus on them and I'm ready to tell you about one that can be quite powerful.
Ready to learn how a resilient organisational culture can prepare your company to succeed through adversities? Tag along!
You should already know that culture matters.
Since you’re here, you probably already know why a strong culture is essential. Nevertheless, I’m going to point out a few reasons why:
- Improve recruitment efforts, helping your company find and hire good professionals who are the right fit;
- Make the onboarding process more accessible, allowing newcomers to adjust faster and produce better;
- Decreases turnover, as it contributes to making professionals happier and more engaged in their work;
- Enhances productivity once workers who identify with their company culture tend to feel more compelled to do their best for great results;
- Builds a strong brand identity and employer branding once the organisation finds ways to communicate and reinforce who they are.
Culture works in times of abundance, but does it work in times of cost-cutting?
All this seems beautiful in theory and perfect for times of peace when everything ― if possible ― is going quite alright in business. But what happens when instability comes and no one feels like worrying about culture because they have a crisis to deal with? Does a sharpened culture narrative still work? The answer is yes.
Let’s bring that philosophical talk back for a bit. Have you ever noticed that knowing who you are makes choosing in a challenging situation easier?
Self-knowledge works like a compass even when life turns into chaos. The same happens to companies with a resilient culture because they can guide their decisions based on their values and goals. And that is not all.
When immersed in a crisis, a company needs to be able to rely on its people. And do you know which people are more likely to stay by and give their best to see the company overcome a crisis? The ones who identify with the organisation, its values, and goals.
This identification comes from getting to know “who” the company is. When the bad times come, the most dedicated, productive, and loyal people are the ones who, in the good times, feel they belong. Organisational organisational culture is responsible for that.
There is an intrinsic link between culture and employee engagement. And you do need an engaged workforce to overcome a crisis.
According to Gallup’s 2022 Exceptional Workplace Award, companies with 70% employee engagement use their organisational culture to guide their everyday journey and business decisions, even during disruptive times.
You’d want that when facing any adversity, right? So, use culture to engage and prevail.
So, how do you create a culture that will help your company prevail in a recession?
You know that organisational culture can work amongst chaos, so why develop a resilient one? The question I’m going to answer now is how to do that by sharing with you five essential tips:
1- PrioritisePrioritise brand-culture alignment
Brand and culture must be on the same page and work by the same terms. This alignment combines how your company is perceived by customers and other external players with the culture that drives the daily actions of the internal public.
This is a must when building a resilient organisational culture because it helps increase the company’s perceived value and helps decision-makers and leaders achieve clarity when working under pressure whenever a crisis occurs.
When this alignment exists, you will know what to prioritise prioritise. Your people’s understanding of “who” the company already guides their everyday actions, and it will do the same during a recession.
2- Make sure transparency is part of your organisational culture
Transparency works in favour of honest, strong and long-lasting relationships. Being able to count on your workforce when a crisis arrives depends on how the relationship between them and the company is built.
The same transparency needs to be there when facing a big problem: your people need to know what is going on, the predictions, and what the company might deal with.
This will let every employee know what kind of challenge they’ll be helping the company overcome. When you know what to expect, even in uncertain times, you feel less stressed and can focus more on doing your job well.
3- Set mental health as a priority
If you want your workforce to deliver its best during a crisis, understand that a resilient organisational culture must consider emotional intelligence’s importance.
Take care of your people’s well-being. Always. Healthier people ― physically and emotionally ― can deal better with the stress and all the dedication a recession or any other kind of challenge requires.
4- Consider that learning and development make a high-performance culture
A high-performance culture is a resilient culture that allows a company to survive and grow. High-performance levels are only possible with good workflow, established processes, and well-prepared people.
This means your HR should invest in learning and development programs, considering how each individual and each team can evolve to become more decisive to the company’s success.
Waiting until the crisis comes, only then trying to fill gaps, will do nothing but make the crisis come harder and take longer to leave ― at most.
5- Develop customer intimacy
Last but not least, a resilient culture should also cultivate customer intimacy. This proximity tends to keep customers loyal even during a recession.
Once again, relationships are not built over one night. So, the company’s culture has to enforce that everyone’s actions focus on understanding the client’s needs, following their journeys, and learning how to serve them well. Remember: the way customers perceive your company impacts your brand. Brand and culture must be aligned.
Before you click on that “X”…
Is it more apparent how a resilient organisational culture can help your company prevail in a recession or any other crisis?
The pandemic brought this understanding to many HR leaders, who now know that a company should stop investing in its culture during hard times.
The best way to convince decision-makers to support this is by building a solid culture to face other crises, such as the Great Resignation, relentless inflation hikes, and a cost-of-living crisis.
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