I have outlined the best steps in organizations past and current that I believe will help develop best practices.
Human resources:
In the previous organization, I worked for the HR department was not regarded very highly. They did not have clear policies and procedures. If you had a question and you asked three different people you would have three different answers. In my current organization the HR department is streamlined they have policies and procedures that are concrete.
For best practices in the Human Resources department, there needs to be clear and direct communication. Everyone in the department needs to have clarity on all policies and procedures company-wide. It is HR’s responsibility to communicate policies to the rest of the organization.
Corporate identity:
Corporate identity is vital to the organization’s success. Ask crucial questions such as: who are we and why are we here? Once you can identify who that corporation is and why they exist you are on your way to establishing a corporate identity. Next, you need to establish core values. What does the organization believe in? what are their morals? Define your goals and objectives, in doing this you will be able to create a shared vision.
Organizational culture:
Creating a great organizational culture takes a lot of commitment and work. When you work with people from different backgrounds, expertise and personalities not everyone is going to get along. I went through two very bad corporate cultures in my last two jobs. There was a culture of animosity, jealousy, and hate. For example, the Director hired her son in law and put him a high-level position. Other employees disagreed with this nepotism. There was a manager in this company as well when things were not going well, she would focus on one person and rip them apart. Both instances added to the negative culture and made way for the acceptance of bullying. The culture started to wear on my health, I was emotionally and mentally exhausted.
My current organization is a joy to be a part of the culture. The management team does not put up with any disrespectful behavior in the workplace. Employees are held accountable for their actions. My direct superiors have made it their personal mission to create a positive atmosphere. They see the value in team building and getting to know each member of the team. Not only do they know each person by name, they know their strengths their likes and dislikes, and push them to be their best self. I have never been in a company where the CEO sits down with frontline staff for lunch. I see it every day at my current place of work. Culture is what you put into it, it is vital to the success of the company. If people are happy in their environment, they will be more productive.
- Negative organizational renewal, execution and design challenges in the organization:
In my experience which is limited, I have noticed a trend where negative organizational renewal happens when there is no plan. Your plan does not need to be concrete but when there is a lack of vision and goals you cannot create buy-in. Most recently my organizational department split into two separate departments. There was not much notice or reason given for the split. All staff was given the date and their new assignments. No one was informed of this happening before it happened except the top managers. As you can imagine this did not go over very well it hurt a lot of people. Some felt they could not handle the long commute. There was a lot of resentment and anger toward upper management. Longtime staff was displaying inappropriate behavior. the plan was not executed properly.
Employees did not feel valued at all. People were desperately seeking leadership and it became a survival of the fittest situation. Staff was competing to be the assigned leader. It took a well-seasoned leader to come alongside the frustrated staff. it took months for things to settle down and people to start feeling heard. the culture has done a complete 180-degree flip.
To promote a positive renewal of our organization I will be a role model, coach and lead by example the values I want to emphasize. You need to teach people how you want to be treated and how to treat others. Behaviour is learned and can be changed. Hold people accountable, when they do something against policy and procedure call them on it.
Create a supportive environment. Lepsinger explains “a supportive environment encourages people and makes them more comfortable with trying new behaviors and taking on challenging assignments” (2010, p.64). In my current job I have worked hard so that my staff knows they work in a supportive environment. It is interesting that creating this in an effective way is correlated to the leader’s actions. All eyes are on the leader.
Make an execution plan that is flexible. The plan does not need to be rigid (find another word for rigid). The best-laid plans, especially in organizations, need to have some flex, as when you are working with many people there are a lot of variables. The plan needs to be able to adapt to changes as needed.
Lepsinger, R. (2010). Closing the Execution Gap: How Great Leaders and Their Companies Get Results. Hoboken: John Wiley & Sons.