Context

Our client is a large regional conglomerate headquartered in the Middle East that operates in six diverse sectors across 50 companies. While the executive team was a strong, well-knit team, the organizational culture was siloed across 50 units. The approaches to business, therefore, were unique and dominant, but they were not driving potential synergies that could greatly benefit them as a single organization. It had started out as a family-run organization, and the then-CEO was the daughter of the original founder who herself had been in the role for many years. She was looking to leave a strong legacy behind and unify the company a bit more under one culture.

Actions

We conducted a series of focus groups across sectors and levels in the different organizations. Along with the qualitative data from these focus groups, we also collected quantitative on the topic of culture. We then worked with the Executive team across a series of culture sessions to define the company’s ‘Culture Code’. After much deliberation, we identified a set of Core Values and associated Leadership Behaviors.

We then conducted culture building workshops throughout the organization to ensure the messages and expectations were clearly conveyed far and deep into the organization. Elements of culture were then embedded across all Talent programs and processes. We identified a set of champions were identified within each group to take the movement to a grassroots level.

Outcomes

The company observed significant improvements in the engagement scores conducted in subsequent years. The Leadership Behaviors were embedded deep within all the HR processes, and these became a matter of pride and ownership across employee levels. It provided them with an improved common brand image too and helped them present a united front at universities and to candidates during recruitment.