We are a finalist: Business Culture Awards

We speak to Miranda Wheatley Price, Director of Organisational Change & Excellence at Rubica on becoming a finalist for the 2018 Business Culture Awards. Miranda shares her insights on the culture change work completed at Blue Chip Technology, which led to the award nomination. 

How do you feel about Rubica being nominated as a finalist in the 2018 Business Culture Awards?

It goes without saying that we are really pleased and proud. The Business Culture Awards is a highly competitive awards programme, and it is great that our work in business culture change is being recognised. That said, becoming a finalist is down to a joint effort and should be recognised as such – that being the work Rubica and Blue Chip Technology (BCT) (the organisation who we completed the culture change project with and led to the award nomination) completed together to initially address the culture at BCT, and the ongoing work they have done to continue to drive and sustain its culture.

What project did you submit to become a finalist in the 2018 Business Culture Awards?

It was for the work we completed together with BCT, a manufacturing firm in 2016.

The company faced a challenging future, with 2016 seeing the introduction of its 5-year growth plan. This resulted in the management team recognising the need for the strategic objective: to use our culture and values to make us healthier and happier.

The ambition of this objective was to build a culture that positively affects the happiness, health and motivation of BCT employees. Achieving it would lead to a more productive workforce, improved customer service and the attraction and retention of high performing staff – ultimately supporting it to fulfil its ambitious 5-year growth plan.

How did you deliver the project?

We were approached by Dan Sherwen, the Quality and Organisational Improvement Manager at BCT regarding the project.

With Dan and the BCT management team we worked together to develop an approach that would help establish the culture they required.

Our approach – as with all our projects – was to allow BCT to visibly lead the change while we provided an expert culture change methodology. This led to the use of Rubica’s Culture Change Canvas, which is designed to unearth what’s really going, whilst providing real practical direction on where to go next – a positive change approach.

For BCT, this led to 4 project stages over a 3-month period:

1. Engaging all employees in the project with a compelling value proposition.
2. Conducting an anonymous culture and engagement survey.
3. Carrying out a culture inquiry across the business.
4. Identifying recommendations and mechanisms to support the culture change.

This approach would ensure involvement at every level of the organisation and engage the whole of BCT’s workforce – something that was key as BCT employees work across various disciplines and environments.

What were the results?

BCT have done a fantastic job in taking the Culture Change Canvas and continuing to embed it. As a result, in October 2017 when BCT conducted its 6-monthly culture survey, results demonstrated a significant improvement in its culture – supporting the fulfilment of its 5-year growth plan:

• 11% increase people agreeing they can make good use of their skills and abilities at work.
• 14% increase in people agreeing that they feel inspired by their team to achieve high standards.
• 33% increase in people believing their opinions count.
• 5% increase it people agreeing that they are recognised for the work they do well.
• 13% increase in people agreeing that BCT is a good place to work.
• 9% increase in people agreeing they feel motivated to do their work to the highest possible standards.

What does BCT say?

Rubica supported us in a critical culture change project that was fundamental to our business’ progression. Guiding us through their robust and interactive Culture Change Canvas, Rubica built understanding around our beliefs and behaviours and how they were positively and negatively influencing our culture.

Rubica’s approach was collaborative, went across functions and offered a series of digestible ‘building blocks’ that supported us in shifting our culture to an increasingly positive space that was built on our cultural strengths…

– DAN SHERWEN, QUALITY & ORGANISATIONAL IMPROVEMENT MANAGER, BLUE CHIP TECHNOLOGY