Here's how you can increase productivity in a culture change role with time-saving techniques.

In my approch in this element i would follow this steps: 1-Utilise methods such as the Eisenhower Matrix to achieve the goal of prioritising tasks in accordance with their level of importance and the degree of urgency they require. 2-Also Place your attention on high-priority projects that are in line with the overarching objectives of the initiative to alter the culture.

I was fortunate that working in Fusion Safety allows me to explore various Organisational and Safety culture transformation models that aligns productivity, efficiency and safety together. What we were pushing for is the notion of creating high reliability organisations (HRO). We had developed a pathway to support this through our Accelerated Culture Transformation for Safety program

All roles are culture change roles. Especially formal leadership roles. But the surest ways to drive efficiency when trying to influence culture are: A) to have a goal enshrined in the organisation’s strategy (the why and what) with clear, accountabilities B) have a culture change strategy (the how) suited to the prevailing culture Without these fundamentals, you’ll create noise and some catharsis but won’t really change anything.

Although very challenging, but possibly revolves around strategic planning and time-saving techniques, I suggest to Conduct Surveys: Start with dipstick surveys to identify challenges and cultural dimensions for data-driven initiatives. Engage Stakeholders: Align on gaps, standards, and industry norms to secure support. Sensitivity Training: Foster understanding and inclusivity for a cohesive environment. Clear Communication: Use efficient channels for updates and feedback. Leverage Technology: Utilize tools to streamline processes and boost efficiency. Set Goals: Define clear, manageable goals and milestones. Monitor Progress: Use KPIs to measure and adjust strategies. Foster Positivity: Encourage recognition, collaboration, and growth.

Boosting productivity in a culture change role hinges on effective delegation. Know Your Team: Assess strengths and match tasks accordingly. Define Roles: Clear roles and responsibilities prevent overlap. Set Expectations: Clearly define outcomes and deadlines. Empower and Trust: Give autonomy and avoid micromanaging. Regular Check-ins: Monitor progress and provide feedback. Prioritize Tasks: Delegate high-impact tasks to capable members. Foster Collaboration: Encourage teamwork and open communication. Monitor and Adjust: Track performance and reassign as needed. Effective delegation not only enhances productivity but also builds a stronger, more capable team ready for cultural transformation

Defining roles involves assigning work to members of the team based on their areas of expertise and respective skills. You may help your team save time and enhance overall productivity by giving them the authority to take responsibility for the tasks they are assigned.

I took a lot away from Gladwell's Tipping Point - the biggest is to look beyond a person's title or role to see how they fit in to the broader landscape. Are they naturally a maven, a connector or a salesman? When tasks are delegated, by considering their impact beyond the tick in the box, it can give a change the nudge it needs to really roll.

Your expectations of the team's performance are a key aspect to achieving the desired outcomes within an acceptable time frame. However, we often rely more on the faster team members, which affects load balance and fair delegation. It's important to know everyone's capabilities to plan tasks effectively without impacting overall performance. Establishing benchmarks for task execution timelines can help in managing this balance.

Delegate Decision-Making: Empower team members by delegating not just tasks, but also decision-making authority. Example: Assign a team member to lead a project and make key decisions, fostering leadership and accountability. Peer delegation based on mutual strengths and interests. This will promote a culture of collaboration.

Communication the human connect but make sure it is ongoing crisp clear agenda based but with the caveat we also listen to understand and redress your be on same wavelength and best results

Now more than ever, it is important to factor in CI (Cultural Intelligence) to ensure that communications meet people not just 'where' they are but 'who' they are. Encourage diversity of thought and build an inclusive space to cut through communication pitfalls.

Simple communication is a major driver of cultural change, especially when focused on deliverables and execution rather than documentation as evidence for future disputes and blame. Remote working enhances corporate communication, and using platforms like WhatsApp groups and Teams meetings makes it more effective to get things done. However, documentation is still needed for audit and reporting purposes and can be done with team recognition at the end of the task.

Keep it as simple as possible however, communication is Multi-channeled and multi-faceted. In order to effectively land clear messaging to key audiences, allow for a real-time feedback loop. Common best practice is to amplify the use of authentic ‘you said, we did’ actions. Use the feedback mechanisms to show effective listening. Where necessary, reinforce the tough messages with compassion & restate the vision & future strategy. Allowing time for people to embrace new ways of thinking and to secure new habits, allowing behaviours that emulate the new culture to flourish.

What messages do you need to get across and at what levels? Have you briefed change agents (organisational champions) who are working with the project team to effect the cultural transformation? What every you think is enough communication double, triple or quadruple it. Better for there to be too much communication than too little. Too little communication or sporadic communication will fuel the rumours and build upon the fears of change already within the organisation. It’s best to get ahead of any rumours or gossip and reinforce the objectives for the culture change and the short, medium and long-term benefits of these planned changes. Ambiguity and not explaining why you are doing this will foster fear and encourage resistance.

Automation is a tool to help the team get free from repetitive tasks, allowing them to focus on developing overall processes and improving to the next maturity level rather than relaxing and letting the system do their jobs. It's crucial to ensure everyone is trained for alternative manual processes as part of resilience control. This involves manual tasks that require regular training and periodic testing to ensure there is no disruption during any system failure, this will enhance the culture for saving time during challenging situations.

Project management tools: Use software like Asana, Trello, or Monday.com to track tasks, deadlines, and dependencies. Communication platforms: Utilize tools like Slack or Microsoft Teams to streamline communication and collaboration with your team.

This is s as key part as it is important yo focus on the value add activities. Automating repetitive and non value add tasks is critical as many companies do look for productivity improvements in addition to drive change

Repetition & Consistency is key. & both can only be effectively done with automation. People like variety, people do not like monotonous tasks. When they dont like they lose engagement and interest. Therefore identify those tasks and automate to make it easier. Such an automation will help not only save time but more importantly people engagement leading to much higher productivity and progress.

I believe the culture change initiative predominantly is a multi stakeholder engagement activity. This requires engagement of both internal external stakeholders equally. Also the leadership should live by its values and display alignment with the set objectives. Building trust is essential with clarity on the deliverables set. Addressing ‘why’ we change is critical. Transparency plays a vital role in this journey as results may not be visible overnight. Need patience! Also, the Measurements are valuable as long as it’s been used and applied for corrective actions where necessary.

To effectively measure progress in culture change and boost productivity, regularly track key metrics aligned with your objectives. Utilize employee engagement surveys to gauge sentiment & participation levels. Monitor internal process turnaround times to identify efficiency improvements. Implement feedback loops through regular check-ins & retrospectives with change agents and teams. Analyze data from these sources to pinpoint successful strategies & areas needing adjustment. Use dashboards for real-time visualization of progress against set goals. By focusing on relevant metrics & timely adjustments, you can enhance decision-making, maintain momentum, and ensure that efforts remain impactful and aligned with overall strategic objectives.

Measuring success is extremely important. It is a good idea to hear the voice of employees, stakeholders and customers before during and after the changes to culture. Feedback loops for improvement is essential to tweak the project plan and shift the focus to ‘pain points’ or ‘bottlenecks’ that may slow or frustrate and can be turned to quick wins or ways to gain more support through solving those problems/issues faced. How successful has the project of cultural transformation been? You will only know if you are successful by measuring using set KPIs set before, during and after the project. The key focus to be on those most material areas and those with the highest impact on the overall project. Most changes fail 75-90% in fact.

To enhance anything, you must first measure it. This principle is crucial in cultural and any other type of change. Evaluating progress against specific targets allows you to discern what's effective and what requires refinement. With this clarity, you can develop actionable steps that focus directly on addressing needs, avoiding wasteful efforts on irrelevant matters. So understanding objectives, defining clear goals, and continually assessing them are essential. This approach enables efficient and effective identification of areas needing improvement and maximize productivity.

what gets measured gets done. Like Peter Drucker said, if you cannot measure it you cannot manage it. People behave the way they are measured. Measurement is often mis-used as a weapon to reward or punish. Measurement should be used to encourage desired behaviour and discourage undesirable behaviour. So, measure and keep it transparent and visible for everyone to self-direct and self-correct rather than using as a weapon to control.

You don't really change a culture, by directly focusing upon 'culture.' Culture refers to shared values, beliefs, behaviors, and norms. Most of the time values are expressed in nice words. They often don't match the way people behave. So if you want to change the culture what are the specific behaviors you desire to nurture and reinforce. How will people be held accountable to adhere/align with that standard. If not willing to do this, then forget about culture change, it will not happen.

Why are we planning to change the culture, is this what is needed now? Not all change is good. Just changing something because it hasn’t been changed for a long time isn’t a good enough reason to make a culture change. During times of mergers and acquisitions (M&A) very little is usually done around identifying the cultural climate and understanding the norms of each company. This is why so many M&As are either failures or there is a rift between ‘them’ and ‘us’. During times of uncertainty even arch enemies will stand together against an unknown threat. This is why it’s important to plan such cultural changes correctly and understand the drivers and fears with each group of employees and with their customers.

As a Business Coach, Trainer, and Educator, I teach... Pre-mortems and Post-mortems. They are invaluable for achieving cultural change goals and cultivating innovative solutions. A pre-mortem involves anticipating potential challenges and failures before implementing a change. This proactive approach helps identify risks, develop contingency plans, and enhance the likelihood of success. Conversely, a post-mortem involves analyzing the outcomes after a project or change initiative. This reflection helps understand what worked, what didn’t, and why, providing critical insights for future improvements. Together, these techniques set-up ongoing learning, adaptability, and a culture of accountability and innovation. Imagine integrating both?!

Taking time to reflect after a change allows us to be more effective with our time because we identify better practices that help us in the future. It is always beneficial to reflect in order to innovate but also to understand why things turned out the way they did. The mindset of continuous improvement is a valuable asset for team synergy and productivity.

During culture changes, it is impotent to monitor progress and adapt new tools, when needed. It is hence important to observe and be open to listen and hear others’ opinions as they may have a creative point of view that was not shared nor discussed before. When we reflect we will save time in terms of repeating processes that didn’t work before. Or even communication campaign that didn’t achieve the desired ROI or hit the target needed. Taking time To reflect and evaluate is certainly a way to use time more efficiently and hence can be considered a time saver during change.

Culture change happens as a result of new information, experiences that bring about a shift in understanding, perspective or behavior. Change communications that bring about emotional responses from stakeholders to changes can be an effective tool as well as an effective reward system that supports the future state/desired change.

The need for a ‘Culture Change’ suggests you have operating systems or practices that are not aligned to the emerging situation. Often people think this needs a blanket 100% change, which is highly unlikely…so I would recommend a systemic ‘recalibration’ approach. Majority of ‘culture change’ initiative fail to deliver…so find a ‘small’ aspect that you can take the risk of experimenting with a new approach. Involve others and collaborate, design potential solutions. Share learning and extend to related areas. Taking a the more systemic human approach, things will start small and build momentum…we learn, we extend and develop more agile mindsets, we reduce resources and increase wellbeing and therefore better performance

Strategies to achieve this: 1. Define cultural change project goals and objectives. 2. Create a roadmap: Outline the steps needed to make cultural changes. 3. Use technology: Project management, communication, and other tools can expedite procedures, measure progress, and improve teamwork. 4. Automate repetitive tasks: Find time-consuming tasks to automate. 5. Avoid multitasking: It reduces productivity and increases errors. 6. Promote open communication: Make team members feel comfortable discussing ideas, concerns, and comments. 7.Agile methods encourage flexibility, collaboration, and continual development. 8.Review and adapt: Track progress, identify bottlenecks, and adjust the plan as needed.

Adjust your rituals and routines to the target culture. This way you demonstrate and practice the culture change automatically during work. You could adjust your slide decks and templates or use the company values as base arguments in discussions.

Mobilize action and encourage people to take the lead: 1. Change is time sensitive and not taking action in time can have a negative impact on profits, people opportunity and growth. 2. Encourage second in command leaders to take charge and create ripples of change through an empowered mindset. 3. Mobilize agile action by creating easy decision making hubs of trust worthy people who can lead/ Influence at all levels of the system. 4. Use agile project management strategies and design thinking to arrive at solutions quickly and correctly. 5. Keep feedback loops open to let people accept change and share early feedback thus ensuring quick assimilation and adaption.