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A business’s culture is what shapes the behaviour and actions of its employees. In other words, the culture is essentially the glue that binds the people and processes together, which is why you will have often heard employees say “this is the way things are done around here”. Having a strong and positive culture is essential to business success. In this article we will explore the layers of culture within a business and explain how culture can drive business performance.

Layers of culture

The culture of a business is often depicted as an iceberg, as shown in the diagram below, with the top section visible to everyone and the bottom section invisible, as it is below the water line.[wlm_ismember]

The above-the-line elements include things like the brand, logo, public documents, website and physical premises. These are the things that the customer can easily see, and they will often be the things that a business will focus on changing if they feel they need a cultural shift or performance boost. Businesses will spend time and money upgrading their offices or refreshing their brand, which can have a short-term positive effect on culture. However, it is the below-the-line elements that actually drive a business’s or team’s performance.

The below-the-line elements are difficult to see, but like an iceberg they are more dangerous if a business does not focus on or identified them early enough. These deeper cultural elements of culture have a direct impact on the business’s performance and include things such as the processes, systems and how people work together within the business and with customers. Team standards, management style and the shared values and beliefs combined influence the business’s performance.

Culture and vision

Ideally, a business’s culture should be linked to the vision and strategic plan. When the two are in sync, the people working in the business have a clear focus and work together to move the business forward towards achieving the business’s goals. However, for many businesses the culture evolves over time, with the employees having either a positive or negative impact for the period they are there. Often very little thought is given to how the daily actions and behaviour of those in the business will impact performance over the longer term.

Real versus espoused

Often you will see a culture in action that is at direct odds with how the business projects itself to those outside of it. For example, a bank may state in the company vision statement and in advertising that it operates with a “customer first” mandate. This is an espoused value that the business believes it should or does stand for. Imagine, however, that when you go into the branch you are left waiting in a long queue and are met by a surly teller rather than a smile when you finally reach the front of the queue. In this case the true culture and shared values of the people working in the business are clearly not aligned with the espoused values.

The best way to test if the espoused values and culture of your business are aligned with your reality is to take a step back and observe how employees are talking to customers, how they talk to each other and how they react in times of stress. Take an objective look at your processes and systems and see if they are designed to work for you or for the customer. Take some time to talk to customers, asking for their honest feedback on their experiences with your business.

Building a high-performance culture

Some of the ways that have proven to be effective in building a high-performance culture are to improve your levels of employee engagement and ensure that that you have everyone working towards a common goal. Consider the following questions to help build a high-performance and positive business culture:

• Does the business have a clear vision? Your culture and vision should be clearly aligned and the vision needs to be shared by everyone to ensure the best possible results.

• Are your core values shared and defined? If you find that you are not delivering on your espoused values or that there is some confusion about what they are, we suggest you use our article “Core Values” to get back on track. Working with shared and agreed beliefs and values is one of the key below-the-line elements in defining culture, and is therefore essential when striving to build a positive and high-performance culture.

• Do you have defined goals and objectives? If not, we suggest you work through our “Team planning day” or “Business planning” articles to ensure that you have clear goals and objectives to work towards. One of the key elements in building high levels of employee engagement is to ensure that you and your team are working towards a greater common purpose.

• Are we delivering on our promises? Do the systems, processes and behaviours in the business live up to the promises made to customers? If not, it is essential to work through each one to bring them up to standard. Conducting a SWOT or gap analysis can give you a great insight into the areas that need attention. Our learning articles in the business strategy section of the website on research and analysis will give you a step-by-step guide to work through.

• Is everyone being given an opportunity to shine? It is important to ensure the right people are in the right roles to maximise performance levels and employee engagement. Coaching and mentoring can help to ensure that you are bringing out the best in everyone in your team.

Follow the leader

One of the most important factors in developing a positive and high-performance culture is that it is driven by the leader or leaders of the business. An employee will look at a boss and expect them to “walk the talk”. A great leader does not lead with words, but by example. We have a number of articles on leadership that can help you to develop leadership skills that can define the people and culture in your business. It is also important to remember that a leader in the business does not necessarily have to be someone who manages people. They may be someone who influences others in the business such as a longstanding employee or someone who has developed relationships with suppliers or customers. When working to build a positive and high-performance culture, look for those in your business that can help you to lead by example.[/wlm_ismember]

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