Culture Audit Assignment

The Culture Audit A tool for understanding culture This audit assignment requires you to work with 2-3 other key stakeholders and conduct an audit of your organization. Your goal is to identify your true culture and compare it to the desired culture. Please complete and submit this document following the steps below: 1) Identify the audit organization/area 3 2) Identify the vision, mission and strategic goals of the organization/area 3 Vision 3 Mission 3 Strategic Goals (2-3) 3 3) Culture Narrative 4 To identify culture gaps, it becomes important to identify the desired culture. Please provide a 1-2 paragraph summary of the ideal culture for your organization/area. Consider the following questions from the article. You DO NOT need to answer them, but use them as a guide. • How do you want your employees to view the organization? • How do you want customers to view the organization?

• What “feeling” do you want to permeate throughout organization? • What stories best represent what this organization stands for? • Who are the legendary leaders in this organization and what do they represent? 4) Select the Audit Team 4 (name and position) 5 & 6) Data Collection & Interpretation for each of the below I. Physical Characteristics 5Questions: What do the physical components of the organization say about the culture? Is there consistency behind the scenes? How does it feel? What to Look For: Signage (quantity and style), colors, logos, lighting, sounds, uniforms, cleanliness, organization. II. Customs & Norms 6Identify aspects of the organization that indicate what customs and norms are important. Questions: What regular behaviors and expectations are in place that affect the culture? What impact do these have on the culture? What to Look For: Greetings and introductions, language and phrases, expectations, common employee interactions, common leader-employee interactions, unspoken rules, uniform norms. III. Ceremonies & Events 7What ceremonies and events do the organization’s leaders and employees engage in? Questions: What is systematically celebrated and recognized at the organization? What impact does this have on the culture? What to Look For: Regular staff events held, birthdays, tenure celebrations, service quality acknowledgement, certifications, holiday parties, quarterly celebrations IV. Rules & Policies 8What rules and policies are important at this organization? How strictly are the rules enforced? Questions: How formalized is the organization? Is the culture more rule-based or empowering? Does it strike a balance? What to Look For: What is prohibited vs. what is permitted, number of rules and policies, depth of manuals, rule signage, number of SOPs, amount of training on policies and procedures, employee perceptions of formalization, leader perceptions of their role and function (rules vs. empowerment vs. balance) V. Measurement & Accountability 9Questions: What gets measured in this organization? Is there accountability?

Are measurements consistent with vision, mission, values? What to Look For: Types of measurements use. Who is accountable? How often? How are senior leaders, supervisors and employees evaluated? Is it fair? Measures vs. espoused values? What gets you promoted? What gets you fired? VI. Leader Behavior 10 Assess how leaders act and interact in this organization. Questions: What do leaders make a priority here? Are leaders at varying levels of role models? What to Look For: Do leaders focus on process or people? Do leaders encourage employees? Leader-employee interactions, leader-guest interactions, employee perceptions of leaders, legendary leaders, outlaw leaders. VII. Rewards & Recognition 11Assess the relationship between rewards and the culture. Questions: What gets rewarded here? How are employees recognized for their efforts? How does this impact the culture? What to Look For: Types and quantity of rewards, formal vs. informal rewards, employee perception of reward value, genuine feeling behind rewards, quantity, Amount of encouragement provided, programs planned. VIII. Training & Development 12 Do the training and development efforts help to develop the culture? Questions: How much does this organization invest in its human resources? What impact does this have on the culture? What to Look For: Amount and types of training, on-the-job vs. formal training, service vs. rule or policy training, mission training, certifications, orientation processes, leadership development programs, succession planning. IX. Communication 13 Is the communication system used here in sync with the culture? Questions: How are messages, both formal and informal communicated? What is the impact on the culture? What to Look For: How do employees find things out? Email vs. memos vs. signage vs. face-to-face, number and type of meetings, senior leader communication, effectiveness, appropriateness, level of grapevine communication. X. Organizational Structure & Culture Development Efforts 14 Does the structure in this organization facilitate the desired culture? Questions: How is the company organized? Does the organization actively work towards developing its culture? Does the organizational structure (hierarchy) impact the culture? What to Look For: Layers on the chart, rigidity of chain-of-command, employee perceptions of hierarchy, disconnects between the top and bottom, communication barriers, vision, mission, values, senior leader activities to build the culture, employee perceptions of these efforts, employee view of the culture. 7) Gaps Analysis 15 For each of the areas you assessed, identify gaps in the desired vs. actual culture as a result of your audit. (Table will expand) Area Gaps I. Physical Characteristics II. Customs & Norms III. Ceremonies & Events IV. Rules & Policies