Getting to a culture of always is an elusive outcome for organizations. Achieving excellence with every process, behavior, and customer interaction—is hard. It separates great organizations from good ones. Even the best organizations don’t achieve perfection in all things.
The conversation around always led me to study and create materials on the topic. Achieving always involves a combination of people, processes, and tools/technology.
It also includes making sure each person understands what is being asked and is provided the opportunity to build skills and gain experience. However, this alone may not lead to always. The fact that a person can do what is being asked does not mean they will do it.
To create the always culture requires a mindset shift. The filling of the gap between “can do” and “will do” happens when the person sees that what they are being asked to do benefits them. It’s the “What is in it for me?” factor. For example: If a process is always followed, there is less work, and we finish the job on time. When a customer receives exceptional service, a bigger tip may happen. Sometimes it’s about connecting to values. For a person who works in healthcare: When I do what I am being asked to do, it helps the patient heal. These realizations move actions from “I can do it” to “How can I not do it?”
Another step in helping the person is aligning actions to organizational results and closing the loop on how company success benefits them. When the organization is doing well, it leads to being able to invest in facilities, equipment, and employee pay and benefits.
Tips to achieve an always culture:
- Provide clarity on the why and the what that are being asked and the impact the actions have. It is important to capture the heart and mind of each individual.
- Be empathetic. It takes time to learn a technique or method. Too often, people feel they are thrown into a situation without enough time to gain the experience needed for the job.
- Building on point one, emphasize what’s in it for them. If a person knows that what they are doing has a positive impact on them, alwaysbehavior is more likely to happen.
- Help each person know the organizational goals and their importance. At a session, I asked a company’s chief financial officer how many days cash on hand they had. The answer was 150 days. I remarked that this is good. She then said that 180 days is better. I asked her why. She shared that the company would then be able to move forward with some needed facility updates. We then discussed what each person can do—consistently and always—to help the organization increase days cash on hand. Ownership and knowledge go hand in hand.
This recent journey into always continues to provide interesting insights. Thank you for reading, and I wish you the best on creating your own culture of always.
