GETTING TO KNOW YOU
This is then often followed up with staff sessions .
We can also train UGRs Champions – internal champions who have access to resources to help them drive an improved culture from within .
Our clients receive as much support as they need – including access to a vault of resources available to leaders and Champions , such as videos , articles and much more .
What challenges did you face in setting up your business ?
Getting some leaders to understand the importance of their culture – to some managers , ‘ culture ’ is a soft concept that therefore is a waste of time and effort .
That ’ s why we conducted research that provides a solid business case for focusing on culture . Our research asked this question : If the culture of your workplace was to become as good as it realistically could , how much improvement would there be on people ’ s performance / productivity ?
A total 91 % of senior leaders said 20 % or more improvement would occur . A total 58 % of middle managers said 50 % or more ! These are massive performance improvements – which in essence can be tapped into by improving the culture .
Tell us about some of the expectations that you had . Have they been met ? Our expectation when working with clients is that the is a demonstrable change in the culture . This occurs in the majority of cases . It fails to occur when leaders pay lip service to culture and fail to realise that their behaviours contribute in substantial ways to the culture .
What types of services do you offer ? I provide a range of services that include conference presentation , leadership workshops , roll-out of culture change programmes across an entire organisation and training of internal culture champions .
Do you provide services nationally ? Yes – and have been doing so for the past 25 years . I also work internationally .
Do you have any plans for overseas expansion ? I have focused to date mainly in the UK , South Africa , Australia and New Zealand . Our plan to work in the US in the coming period .
What would you say to someone looking for a business consultant and what advice would you give them ? When looking for a business consultant I think there are a number of criteria that need to be considered . These include :
• Does the consultant have a genuinely new offering that will add value to the bottom line ?
• Is the consultant able to connect with
all levels of staff within an organisation ?
• Is the consultant able to offer varying levels of support , including helping to build in-house expertise ?
• Does the consultant have a track record of working with organisations and achieving real outcomes ?
Have you written a book ? If so , please tell us a bit about what business owners can get out of it . I wrote the original book on UGRs in 2000 titled ‘ Cracking the Corporate Culture Code : Introducing UGRs .
I ’ m pleased to say that my latest book , co-authored with my South African business partner Stef du Plessis , has just been released . Titled ‘ A Culture Turned ’, the books guides readers through a culture transformation using UGRs as the vehicle for culture change . It ’ s based on our real-life experiences with organisations in countries all over the planet over the past 25 years . The Amazon reviews we ’ ve received since the book ’ s release have blown us away !
October 2016 ModernBusiness 49