Strategy, Not Ambiance: The Importance of Planning in Shaping Culture
In the realm of business, it's often said that culture eats strategy for breakfast. But what happens when this culture is misaligned and not serving the best interests of the company or its customers?
A company's culture is not just a feeling, but the sum of the choices a team makes when no one is looking. It's the invisible thread that binds employees together and shapes their interactions with customers. However, appearances can be deceiving, and a company that seems to have a great culture from the outside may be hiding accountability issues and avoidance of hard conversations.
In a study spanning 11 years by Kotter and Heskett, companies with performance-focused cultures experienced over 750% net income growth, compared to just 1% growth in companies that let culture stagnate. On the other hand, a misaligned culture can lead to disastrous consequences. For instance, the Wells Fargo sales scandal is a stark reminder of how excessive pressure to meet targets and poor oversight can foster unethical behaviors and damage customer trust.
One key indicator of a misaligned corporate culture affecting customer experience is a dip in employee engagement. When departments like product, sales, and marketing are not aligned around the customer journey, customer needs can fall through the cracks, resulting in inconsistent or disconnected experiences. This may also manifest as silos where different teams hold conflicting customer narratives, slowing decision-making and causing duplication of effort.
Another sign is inconsistent customer messaging across departments. When the voice of the company is unclear and contradictory, it confuses customers and erodes trust. Comparing the external brand promise to the day-to-day employee and customer experience can help detect culture drift.
Silent or unexplained customer attrition, also known as 'quiet churn', is another red flag. Declining customer feedback response rates and fractured internal understanding of customer needs are also indicators of a misaligned culture.
In extreme cases, this misalignment can make it difficult for leaders to connect CX initiatives to measurable improvements such as Net Promoter Score (NPS), churn reduction, or lifetime value (LTV). As a result, CX credibility and influence can deteriorate within the company.
To understand the true culture of a company, one should examine what is rewarded, who is above accountability, and where trust is intentionally built or left to chance. Trust doesn't scale on vibes, but is created through clear expectations, real feedback loops, and consistent leadership behavior.
Companies with a strong, customer-centric culture perform better financially. Business units in the top quartile of employee engagement outperform the bottom quartile with 23% higher profitability, 18% higher productivity, and 10% better customer loyalty.
The company in question, with "customer obsession" as a stated value, unfortunately, found itself in a culture crisis. Departments were siloed, and customer feedback was rarely acted upon. Service teams were overwhelmed and unsupported. Behaviors that win in a company often reflect its culture in practice, such as when output trumps integrity or speed beats alignment.
However, early recognition of these signs allows companies to investigate culture and process gaps that may impede true customer-centricity and address them before they lead to significant experience failures or reputational damage. Employees who have a sense of belonging to their company's culture are 2.7 times more likely to take ownership of quality and nearly five times more likely to respond to customer needs with agility.
In conclusion, culture is a powerful force in business, and it's crucial to ensure it's aligned with the company's values and customer-centricity. By understanding the signs of a misaligned culture and taking proactive steps to address them, businesses can foster a culture that drives growth, improves customer experience, and builds lasting trust.
[1] HBR.org, "Why Your Company's Culture Is Killing Your Customer Experience" [2] Forbes.com, "The Link Between Corporate Culture And Customer Experience" [3] Harvard Business Review, "How to Fix a Broken Corporate Culture"
- The misalignment of a company's culture, such as the one experienced by Richardson Bryant (presumably a company), can lead to customer experience failures, as illustrated by the Wells Fargo sales scandal.
- A strong, aligned company culture that prioritizes customer-centricity can significantly impact a business's financial performance, with employee engagement being a key indicator of such a culture. For instance, business units in the top quartile of employee engagement outperform those in the bottom quartile with 23% higher profitability and 10% better customer loyalty.
