It is highly likely you will have heard much in recent times about the culture problems of some of Australia’s leading financial institutions. The drivers of these cultural problems have been identified also, including boards that lack sufficient oversight, troubling remuneration policies and unacceptably high risk appetites. New evidence however, suggests that these issues are not limited to the financial sector, and there is actually reason to believe that financial and insurance services firms have less significant cultural problems than firms in some other industries.
A new report by the Australian Human Resources Institute and Insync has some interesting evidence of this (https://www.hrmonline.com.au/leadership/ceos-cultural-problems/). A survey of almost 1000 respondents from a range of industries and roles identify that cultural problems exist in most industries. But the most alarming finding is that organisational leaders don’t see the same need for change that so many of their employees do.
While a recent cry has been for organisations to no longer tolerate ‘brilliant jerks’ – individuals who get results but often break rules or hurt culture doing so – the study found that there was a significant discrepancy between leaders and other employees when asked whether their organisations should tolerate such individuals. There was indications to suggest leaders lack the confidence and willingness to take action on issues of behaviour and performance.
As CEO of AHRI Lyn Goodear said in a press release, “Despite the wake-up call delivered by the Hayne Royal Commission, it is alarming to see a clear disconnect still remains across Australian businesses between the CEO’s impression of company culture and what is being felt at the frontline.”
While some interesting ‘truths’ are found in the report, including the need for HR to take on a much stronger role as culture partner, HR is not the complete answer to cultural issues. The report offers several recommendations covering different stages of culture and are well worth exploring in more depth within organisations.
Dr Peter Williams, Senior Lecturer, Avondale Business School [email protected]