Aligning Culture & Strategy with Employee Engagement
8 August 2024
This article is a recap from the MaxContact podcast Talk Time which hosts key thought leaders to discuss emerging trends, industry insights, and innovative technologies that help contact centres optimise their customer experience.
Employee engagement is more than just keeping staff members happy. According to Danny Wareham, the founder of Firgun and a seasoned veteran in the corporate world, aligning culture with organisational strategy is crucial for fostering a productive and purpose-driven work environment.
On our recent episode of Talk Time with MaxContact, he also dives into the importance of finding an organisation’s WHY, the nudge theory, and cognitive diversity in the workplace.
The Essence of Culture and Strategy
“Culture is almost like the wind on your sails or the current in the water that helps blow your organisation toward its strategic goals. So culture and strategy are intrinsically linked.”
Danny’s perspective illustrates the integral relationship between organisational culture and its long-term goals.
Strategy dictates direction, but culture propels an organisation toward those objectives. It’s not just about how you do things around here but about how you achieve your aims.
Beyond Fun Activities: The Strategic Side of Employee Engagement
It’s a common misconception that employee engagement translates to simply organising enjoyable activities.
However, Danny cautions against this superficial interpretation.
“My view of employee engagement is that the purpose is not to create a great place to work. It’s to create a place of work where great work is done.”
Starting with WHY
The bedrock of any successful strategy is understanding the WHY behind it.
“Nobody goes to work wanting to do a bad job,” says Danny. Without a clear organisational purpose, employees can drift aimlessly, resulting in misaligned priorities and objectives.
Clear communication of the WHY ensures that everyone understands and works towards the same vision, from leadership to entry-level.
Leading by Example: The Nudge Theory
Have you ever heard of the nudge theory? Well, Danny introduces us to it, suggesting that small, subtle changes in the environment can encourage positive behaviours.
Leadership is where this begins. As leaders establish and model these behaviours, they create nudges that guide the entire organisation in the desired direction.
It’s about creating an environment where the preferred behaviour is the path of least resistance.
Diversity and Inclusivity: The True Essence of Organisational Culture
A powerful takeaway from Danny is the importance of cognitive diversity in the workplace.
He states, “I feel that organisations, even if they don’t feel that they need change, benefit from having different people and different cognition in their organisation and the environment that allows people to contribute those different cognitions. And that’s the essence of inclusivity. So inclusivity results in diversity.”
The corporate world is constantly changing. So adaptability and innovation are as vital as ever, as well as the balance between organisational culture and strategy.
As Danny puts it, “Culture is a tool that helps you achieve your strategic aims. So in that sense, the tool either works, and it matches what you’re trying to do, or it doesn’t, it mismatches what you’re trying to do.”
True employee engagement is not about providing superficial bonuses or having a laid-back office culture. It’s about ensuring every individual understands the company’s WHY, feels included in the vision, and is empowered to drive towards those strategic goals.
Listen to this episode of Talk Time with MaxContact to learn more from Danny on how to align culture and organisational strategy to enhance employee engagement.
