Regardless of the size of the company or industry in which it works, the concept of alignment and organisational clarity are fundamentals that must be addressed and constantly nurtured.

A lever is a tool used to implement changes effectively and our research has identified 11 levers that work together to shift organisations towards positivity and improved performance.

In this last article of our three-part series, we round out our deep dive into the levers that drive impact at work and bring about alignment.

Our previous articles dug down into the definition of a “lever”, explained the differences between a compliant and committed organisation as well as laid out the first seven levers: Organisational Audit, Vision, Strategic Plan, Behavioural Alignment, Employee Performance Management, Reward and Recognition, and Positivity.

As a reminder, “COMPLIANT” can be defined as an organisation simply doing the minimum that is required.

“COMMITTED” is where your very being is invested in both the endeavour and the expectation of lasting impact.

Each lever includes a description of what it looks like when you are only in compliance with them. The key is to understand the impact you can and want to achieve. Are you simply being compliant or are you committed?

Lever 8: Organisational Structure

Being compliant/underperforming:

Compliant organisations believe in structure and work to create clarity around the reporting relationships throughout the company. However, in many companies, organisational charts don’t match people’s roles, responsibilities or influence. Many org charts are constructed on top of an inherited organisational structure creating a “frankenstructure”, with little organisational understanding or clarity. Compliant organisations build boxes to fit the people and their skills.

Being committed/creating impact:

• Create structure based on purpose, not people.

• Align your structure with strategy and your desired outcomes.

• Communicate the structure.

• Create pathways for expected growth (succession planning).

Lever 9: Environmental Design

Being compliant/underperforming:

Compliant organisations invest in creating an office environment to support their external brand and engagement efforts. They are often well appointed, more generic spaces.

These spaces are often disconnected from the culture and more focused on the customer perspective rather than the employee experience.

These spaces, which are often less than authentic from an organisational perspective, have generic artwork and some even employ motivational messaging for the back-office employees. This creates inconsistency and a divide in the organisation.

Being committed/creating impact:

• Promote the vision, values and behaviours within the space.

• Put the organisation’s identity and culture on display.

• Leverage the design to affect the way you work.

• Make periodic changes to keep it fresh and employees engaged and interested.

Lever 10: Organisational Communication

Being compliant/underperforming:

Compliant companies put great effort into communications. They have newsletters, videos and other web-based tools. They focus on delivering the message du jour, rarely linking it to organisational strategies and priorities or taking into account the manner in which it is received by employees. They value communicating over engaging. They focus on different messages to different audiences, often with an obsession on the external customer.

Being committed/creating impact:

• Develop an organisational communication platform with all constituencies identified.

• Align communications with strategy and culture, not just operations.

• Create internal focus first.

• Promote face-to-face communication when possible (that is, no e-mail day).

Lever 11: Customer Experience Modelling

Being compliant/underperforming:

Compliant companies focus on the customer experience with a variety of tools. Many place a heavy emphasis on one or two key touch points at the expense of all others. There is a lack of focus on the totality that a touch point on a customer, internal or external, will have with the organisation. This produces an inconsistent understanding of the customer, an uneven narrative and an unfulfilled experience.

Being committed/creating impact:

• Identify all touch points for customer experiences.

• Develop a plan for each touch point before, during and after the experience.

• Identify “100 little things” that can transform a customer experience.

• Develop a purposeful experience plan targeting a minimum number of changes each quarter.

These 11 levers together, noted over our three-part series, will have a demonstrable impact on moving your organisation towards positivity and propelling performance.

In fact, this is one of the areas, as a leader, where you have a choice between being compliant or being committed. Where you land on this spectrum goes a far way towards the ultimate impact you can drive. The intentionality of impact is real — and so, too, is the leader’s role in achieving it.

To learn more about creating impact and generating organisational change, visit our website at https://bermudaclarityinstitute.com