Leadership & Culture | Insights
Rhys Davies , Director, Employee Communication (US)
24 May, 2021 · 4 -minute read

‘There is nothing permanent except change’ – Heraclitus

No, that quote wasn’t uttered today – you’d need to go back to 500.bce to meet the speaker.

But with organisations all over the world having no choice but to make change a key business priority as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, the views of this Greek philosopher couldn’t be more relevant right now – especially for internal communication teams.

The truth is, nothing can change without communication; and communicating change is something that has to be done right. Because without the proper plans, creative ideas and authentic messages in place, you’ll find yourself struggling to engage your employees the way you want to.

The time is now

Our State of the Sector findings have told us that a particular area of focus for organisations this year is going to be culture change – and, specifically, the role that leaders have in implementing this.

So why are organisations choosing to rethink culture, values, behaviours, and leadership styles at this particular moment in time?

It’s fair to say that leaders have been under huge amounts of pressure throughout the pandemic, and that those demands will continue to grow as we continue to move through 2021.

But we’re now more than a year into that ‘new normal’ that COVID-19 presented back in March 2020 – we can’t really look to the unknown entity of the dispersed workforce, use of unfamiliar ‘quick-fix’ comms platforms or the loss of face-to-face interaction as a reason for not quite getting things right any more, especially as we start to head back into the workplace.

The value of culture

With EX coming of age, it’s encouraging to see that culture change is high priority right now.

Is this purely because of COVID-19? No. Is it as a result of COVID-19? Yes.

Why? Because the pandemic has placed a spotlight on where organisations are failing to deliver – and a red flag here seems to be the fact that, because they’ve never really had to do it before, a lot of leaders don’t actually know how to lead their people. And that HAS to be addressed.

So before you start planning how to transform your culture, take a serious look at the leaders in your organisation – and be honest about what you see.

Rhys Davies

It’s fair to say that leaders have been under huge amounts of pressure throughout the pandemic, and that those demands will continue to grow as we continue to move through 2021.

Rhys Davies

Director, Benefits & Reward Consulting

Mixed messages

There’s a popular misconception that increased CEO visibility has been great for morale during the pandemic. To some extent, it has; but, in reality, not all employee groups have benefitted.

The leadership tier has found itself feeling overlooked and undervalued – and rightly so; because the messages that would have normally been cascaded to employees via leaders are now being recorded by a CEO and shared wholesale via digital platforms within a matter of minutes.

This group feels like it no longer has its finger on the pulse – they learn the ins and outs of the business at the same pace as their direct reports, and they find themselves lacking when they are called upon for that extra layer of detail that goes beyond the high-level messaging.

Leading the way

Sound familiar? Then it’s time to help your leaders learn how to, well, lead; it’s time to empower them to reclaim ownership of their responsibility; and it’s time to make this group of key employees the evangelisers for change at your organisation.

But you have to do this through changing behaviours. You have to make sure your leaders are clear about what they need to do – and that they are equipped to engage and inspire their people.

The truth is, culture change is about changing behaviour and leading change. And, above all, it’s about creating certainty against a backdrop of uncertainty.

Ultimately, it’s about asking: how do we lead change?

  • Gallagher’s Culture Change Consulting team are behaviour change experts and practioners who work with senior teams to help them set the tone for engagement and culture to thrive. Connect with an expert to start your culture change journey today.