Co-created a cultural north star

the challenge

No clarity on what good looks like.

We partnered with a global retailer who employ 80,000+ people across 17 countries worldwide. They came to us with two challenges: A new purpose, strategy and brand that needed people to adapt. There were 6 competing frameworks that each articulated what’s expected from people. The business needed a clearer, unified view of its desired culture and the expected behaviours at all levels.

THE APPROACH:

We created a global Culture Blueprint

The aim was to create a single ‘Culture Blueprint’ with connected values, behaviours, and competencies. We first got the various framework owners together in a working session to understand the problems each framework sought to solve. Together, we co-created a prototype of the Culture Blueprint together.

External research.

A review of eight competitors, the behaviours required for success in the future of retail, and a generational workforce needs review.

Internal sessions.

We conducted 49 ‘Walkaround Sessions’ with over 200 people across the organisation. We used these sessions to gather feedback, add detail, and iterate the content of the Culture Blueprint.

The final Culture Blueprint consisted of 3 universal principles, 9 behaviours, and detailed competencies across 5 levels of seniority. It was designed so that, no matter your grade, you would only need to read 2 pages to understand the expectations. The Blueprint was translated into 13 different languages. It’s now been embedded in processes such as talent assessment, performance management, and recognition. The previous 6 frameworks have been retired.

The results:

We were Business Culture Awards finalists.

- 100% of key stakeholders would want to work with us again.

- We reached the final of the Business Culture Awards for this piece of work.

- 100% of key stakeholders felt our solution was pragmatic, scientific and simple.

- The Culture Blueprint SharePoint site became the most accessed internal site across the whole business.

- 80%+ Store Managers have launched and taken steps to embed the values in their stores.

- Improvements in engagement survey items relating to clarity such as:

15% increase in people who feel, “Our company values provide a good fit with the things I consider important in life.”

8% increase in people who feel, “The work I do is meaningful to me.”

testimonials:

Here’s how our clients made us blush.

01/05

“Click really helped us create something totally perfect for our global and complex organisation.”

Head of Culture and Leadership

“Loved working with Click. Credible, trustworthy and delivered above and beyond on every promise.”

Development Lead

“Our new behaviours are straightforward and relatable. We use them to hold each other to account.”

Area Manager

“Our competencies were meticulously designed. They support our team to make more objective, robust talent decisions across the employee lifecycle. Colleagues are now clearer on the WHAT and the HOW of expectations.”

Head of Assessment

“For years we’ve been talking about our DNA, but couldn’t find the right words to explain it. Finally, we can describe how it really feels to work here.”

Head of People & Culture, Benelux