having provided an increased frequency for information gather-ing.
These methods of gathering data are very useful; they give
employees a chance to feel heard and are becoming increasingly
more intelligent. However, surveys are still limited by factors such
as timing, design, interpretation and disruption. Not to mention,
they don’t necessarily solve the problems that they find.
Today, in our personal world, cultural data can be found in social
platforms such as Instagram, Twitter and YouTube. As an exam-ple,
Desislava Hristova at the University of Cambridge is using
data from Flickr to show that culture makes cities more prosper-ous.
Similarly, in the business world, corporate social networks
and core value/behaviour-aligned applications are revealing sim-ilar
insights about organizations. These social business platforms
are forging their way into the Future of Work. But before getting
too excited, it is important to note that the need for data and vali-dation
should be balanced with the humanistic goals and activities
within the organization. After all, we are talking about people and
culture – an emotional connection between the employee and the
organization. This needs to be authentic.
What are the analytic benefits of these cultural platforms?
REAL-TIME INSIGHTS
The data is real-time – it changes every day, every hour and every
minute. This frequency of data collection provides a pulse of the
interactions within the organization. It is live and in-the-moment,
much like a heartbeat. Is the company thriving or is it having a
heart attack?
BEHAVIOURAL INSIGHTS
Since values and behaviours are vital to identifying culture, under-standing
value alignment at any point in time is crucial. Any turn
of events can have an impact on culture and engagement, and in
turn, behavioural alignment within the organization. Is every-one
rowing together? Is leadership living the core values? Does
everyone really understand what teamwork is? What areas of the
company need attention? If the company and its people are meant
to be in sync to see success, having validation of this alignment
is crucial.
BUSINESS INSIGHTS
Many things can impact culture: business decisions, manager and
leadership actions, peer relationships, recognition, respect, trans-parency,
diversity and even geopolitical events. While there may be
advanced notice about some of these events, others happen in the
moment and are uncontrolled. The benefit of having real-time cul-tural
data is that a particular moment can be pinpointed to see if
a business decision or event affected an organization or continues
to affect an organization.
PERFORMANCE INSIGHTS
Ultimately, none of this matters unless it makes the business bet-ter
or delivers a ROI. This is where mapping business performance
data on top of cultural data becomes important. The large consult-ing
firms have been conducting similar analyses with survey data
for many years. New cultural platforms are making this valuable
function increasingly more accessible and affordable to all sizes of
organizations in all industries.
PREDICTIVE INSIGHTS
As an organization gathers more data and experiences fluctu-ations
in its data, the pattern of the organizational heartbeat
develops. Points of negative and positive stress evolve and make
their mark, and after time they can provide greater insight into
how future events or previously utilized solutions may affect the
business down the line. Having these insights is invaluable and
can enable better decision making and change management in
the future.
While organizational culture may be seen as warm and fuzzy,
HCM Cultural Analytics is breaking this stereotype. We are living
in a time where technology is transforming the way we do busi-ness
now and in the future. It’s a movement that gets us closer
to who we are as people and what we are meant to achieve, both
for ourselves, as well as the businesses we belong to. Because all
organizations can benefit from a little bit of data and a little warm
and fuzzy. n
Muni Boga is chief executive officer and founder of Kudos Inc.
innovation
AS AN ORGANIZATION GATHERS
MORE DATA AND EXPERIENCES
FLUCTUATIONS IN ITS DATA, THE
PATTERN OF THE ORGANIZATIONAL
HEARTBEAT DEVELOPS.
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44 ❚ SEPTEMBER 2018 ❚ HR PROFESSIONAL
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