Culture

Let’s design an Inclusive Culture that fosters wellbeing and drives performance.

In today’s fast-paced business world, the health of an organisation’s culture is not just a nice-to-have—it’s a vital determinant of success. Studies have consistently shown that companies with a positive culture experience increased employee retention, enhanced productivity, and improved financial results.

On the other hand, a disengaged workforce, often resulting from a poor culture, can cost companies up to 34% of an employee’s annual salary due to reduced productivity, absenteeism, and increased turnover. Research by Harvard Business School found that a strong corporate culture, aligned to an organisation’s strategy, can increase net income by four times. The question is, how does one foster such a culture?

What is Culture and what is it made of?

It is often difficult to describe and measure ‘invisible’ aspects of the organisation, such as resilience, leadership potential and culture. Here at Elite Mind, we love a good challenge, so we found a way! We believe that in order to make change possible we need to identify a clear starting point, define a vision of the ideal destination, and measure progress along the way.

Culture is a combination of how people feel and behave in a specific environment. It is the glue that connects people through shared purpose, values and ways of working.

Using our 3 I’s (or eyes, if you prefer) model rooted in behavioural science, we can unpack the complexity of culture into small, manageable steps of organisational change. Just like the same lego set can be used to build endless new possibilities, each company can also be ‘deconstructed’ and rebuilt into a better version of itself; a version that adapts to challenges and opportunities and constantly evolves with the changing needs of people, business, and market.

Designing a Thriving Culture by tapping into 3 levels of intelligence

We work with the three modes of intelligence, or forces, that drive culture:

Cognitive Intelligence (Insight). This is your ‘head’ wisdom – knowledge, information, data and the awareness you use to make the right decisions. It also includes values, beliefs, assumptions and perceptions.

Emotional Intelligence (Inspiration). This is your ‘heart’ wisdom – how you feel, what relationships you have, what motivates you, and what drains your energy. This is a social aspect of your culture, defining the level of belonging and inclusion, psychological safety, and capacity for creativity and innovation.

Somatic Intelligence (Impact). This is your intuitive ‘gut’ wisdom – it guides our actions and behaviours, including automatic habits and subconscious responses, as well as organisational processes and procedures that govern everyday operations.

Ok, that sounds great, but how do you put this into practice?

By defining those different modes of intelligence, we ensure that decisions are based on correct information, and that people feel happy, supported and invested in business success. This way, living and working in alignment with core values is as easy as brushing your teeth in the morning.

Step 1

The first step of our diagnostic process is to discern existing knowledge within the organisation – we may review your data systems, strategic and financial documents, organisational values and principles, policies and procedures. We also look at how data is collected, and how you interpret it to produce actionable insights. What you don’t know, who holds the information and the direction of the communication flow are equally important.

Step 2

Next, we listen to how people feel about the organisation, and within the organisation. We survey and interview your workforce to understand the impact of the physical and psychological environment on their wellbeing and performance, as well as personal, individual factors that shape culture and social ecosystem. We look at personal motivating factors, and to what extent organisation meets the needs and expectation of their people.

Step 3

We then look at specific habits, behaviours and operational processes, to understand to what extent it is enhancing or hindering a company’s success, and what are the barriers to change. Throughout the process, we aim to eliminate any inconsistencies between departments and levels of seniority, as vertical and organisational alignment is crucial for organisational integrity, resilience and brand credibility.

Step 4

Finally, we use the learning from our 3 Is above, as a starting point to co-design a new culture framework and change process. It may consist of (re)defining the brand story and role in the market, building new levels of awareness into your data sets, adjusting the structure and reporting lines, improving policies, communication flows and operational processes, and outlining new competencies and behaviours. You can choose to implement the change process yourself or trust us to guide it and monitor it until you’re happy with the end results.

By aligning what people know, how they feel, and what they do, we can ensure your company lives and breathes its values.

Using behavioural change principles, we help to intentionally embed your desired culture into every part of the business.

Ready to unlock the potential of your workforce?

It would be a privilege to help you create a thriving, inclusive culture that drives performance, wellbeing and brand credibility. Book a consultation with us, and start your journey of transformation today